# 119-hr-7198: Ensuring Access to General Surgery Act of 2026

119-hr-7198, Ensuring Access to General Surgery Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Bera, Ami [D-CA-6] (D-CA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-03).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7198
- As of: 2026-10-03
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-7198
- Congress: 119
- Title: Ensuring Access to General Surgery Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-01-22
- Sponsor: Rep. Bera, Ami [D-CA-6] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 9
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-03

## Summary

**Create a federal framework to study and designate general surgery shortage areas.** This bill would direct the Health Resources and Services Administration to measure where general surgeons are scarce and develop methods and thresholds to identify shortage and critical shortage areas. - Patients and families: Would give clearer data on local surgical access by reporting wait times, travel times, and patient experience so planners can target care. - Rural communities: Notes rural areas have about 69% of the general surgeons needed and focuses designation work on those gaps. - Hospitals and health systems: Would map hospitals with surgery services and count actively practicing general surgeons using Medicare patient origin data to define surgery service areas. - Policymakers and workforce planners: Would set four levels: optimal, adequate, shortage, and critical shortage and require HRSA to consult medical societies and publish lists and data for planning.

## Cosponsors (9)

- Rep. Bacon, Don [R-NE-2] (R-NE), 2026-01-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Peters, Scott H. [D-CA-50] (D-CA), 2026-01-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Joyce, John [R-PA-13] (R-PA), 2026-01-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2026-03-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bishop, Sanford D. [D-GA-2] (D-GA), 2026-03-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Davids, Sharice [D-KS-3] (D-KS), 2026-03-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13] (D-MI), 2026-04-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carbajal, Salud O. [D-CA-24] (D-CA), 2026-07-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2] (D-WI), 2026-07-14T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Study and name surgery shortage areas: benefit, medium. This bill would require HHS, through HRSA, to study access to general surgeons and test whether current shortage rules work. The Secretary would report the study to Congress within 1 year and publish regular Federal Register data comparing urban, suburban, and rural needs. The bill would define a “…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
- 119-hr-1065: Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025
- 119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act
- 119-hr-3514: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-7198 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7198)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [119-hr-1065: Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1065)
- [119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-842)
- [119-hr-3514: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3514)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7198 (as of 2026-10-03).