# 119-hr-3021: Empowering Patient Choice of Medical Care Act

119-hr-3021, Empowering Patient Choice of Medical Care Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Spartz, Victoria [R-IN-5] (R-IN); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2025-12-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3021
- As of: 2025-12-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-3021
- Congress: 119
- Title: Empowering Patient Choice of Medical Care Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-04-24
- Sponsor: Rep. Spartz, Victoria [R-IN-5] (R-IN)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2025-12-21

## Summary

**Expanding outpatient access for Medicare patients** is the bill’s core aim. The bill would bar the Secretary of Health and Human Services from refusing to label a hospital service as a Medicare outpatient service solely because it has only been provided in an inpatient setting. - Medicare beneficiaries: More procedures and tests could be available on an outpatient basis, increasing patient choice and access starting January 1, 2026. - Hospitals and clinicians: Providers could seek outpatient designation for services historically done only as inpatient, which may shift some care to outpatient settings. - Medicare program: The bill would limit the Secretary’s discretion under current Medicare law without creating new funding or changing other benefits or eligibility.

## Provisions PRIA read

- More Medicare services could be outpatient: benefit, medium. Starting January 1, 2026, HHS would not be able to deny outpatient status for a hospital service only because it says the service must be inpatient for safety. This would effectively end the inpatient-only rule for deciding outpatient status. More procedures could be billed as outpatient. If that h…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-5582: Patients Deserve Price Tags Act
- 119-hr-3222: SMART Health Care Act
- 119-hr-2548: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1357: Susan Muffley Act of 2025
- 119-hr-3184: PFAS Alternatives Act
- 119-hr-10463: Combat Veterans Retirement Restoration Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-3021 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3021)

## Related
- [119-hr-5582: Patients Deserve Price Tags Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5582)
- [119-hr-3222: SMART Health Care Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3222)
- [119-hr-2548: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2548)
- [119-hr-1357: Susan Muffley Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1357)
- [119-hr-3184: PFAS Alternatives Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3184)
- [119-hr-10463: Combat Veterans Retirement Restoration Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10463)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3021 (as of 2025-12-21).