# 119-hr-8109: Save Struggling Hospitals Act

119-hr-8109, Save Struggling Hospitals Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Kustoff, David [R-TN-8] (R-TN); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8109
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-8109
- Congress: 119
- Title: Save Struggling Hospitals Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-03-26
- Sponsor: Rep. Kustoff, David [R-TN-8] (R-TN)
- Cosponsors: 6
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

**Boosts Medicare area wage indexes for hospitals with very low local wage rates.** The bill would add a new rule that raises a hospital's area wage index by half the gap to the 25th percentile for discharges on or after October 1, 2019. - Hospitals with area wage indexes below the 25th percentile: Would have their applicable wage index increased by one-half of the difference between their original index and the 25th percentile for the fiscal year. This applies to discharges on or after October 1, 2019. - Other hospitals and Medicare payment policy: The change must be applied in a budget-neutral manner. Adjustments may not reduce a hospital's index if its pre-adjustment index is below the 75th percentile, and no hospital's new index may be less than 95 percent of its prior-year index.

## Cosponsors (6)

- Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-AL-7] (D-AL), 2026-03-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Figures, Shomari [D-AL-2] (D-AL), 2026-04-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Harshbarger, Diana [R-TN-1] (R-TN), 2026-04-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fleischmann, Charles J. "Chuck" [R-TN-3] (R-TN), 2026-04-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. DesJarlais, Scott [R-TN-4] (R-TN), 2026-04-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Griffith, H. Morgan [R-VA-9] (R-VA), 2026-08-31T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Higher Medicare payments for low-wage hospitals: benefit, medium. This bill would create an "area wage index adjustment" for Medicare hospital payments. If enacted, for discharges on or after October 1, 2019, a hospital with an area wage index (before this rule) below the 25th percentile would have its index raised by one-half of the gap up to the 25th percentile…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-1628: 761st Tank Battalion Congressional Gold Medal Act
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-4382: America’s Olympic and Paralympic Games Commemorative Coins Act
- 119-hres-166: Expressing support for the Iranian people's desires for a democratic, secular, and nonnuclear Republic of Iran, and condemning the Iranian regime's terrorism,…
- 119-hr-1502: North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act
- 119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-8109 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8109)

## Related
- [119-hr-1628: 761st Tank Battalion Congressional Gold Medal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1628)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-4382: America’s Olympic and Paralympic Games Commemorative Coins Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4382)
- [119-hres-166: Expressing support for the Iranian people's desires for a democratic, secular,…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hres-166)
- [119-hr-1502: North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1502)
- [119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4669)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8109 (as of 2026-09-21).