# 119-hr-8500: Timely Access to Coverage Decisions Act of 2026

119-hr-8500, Timely Access to Coverage Decisions Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Dunn, Neal P. [R-FL-2] (R-FL); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8500
- 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-8500
- Congress: 119
- Title: Timely Access to Coverage Decisions Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-04-27
- Sponsor: Rep. Dunn, Neal P. [R-FL-2] (R-FL)
- Cosponsors: 3
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

**Faster, clearer Medicare local coverage decisions.** This bill would require Medicare administrative contractors to meet strict deadlines for local coverage determination requests and reconsiderations, create public draft and meeting rules for major LCDs, and let the agency review reconsideration outcomes. - Families and patients would get more notice and chances to weigh in on important coverage rules through public drafts, open meetings with remote access, a minimum 30-day comment period, and final rules posted at least 45 days before they take effect. - Providers and suppliers would face quicker formal responses and appeal paths because contractors must tell requesters if a submission is complete within 60 days and must act on complete requests within 1 year. - Medicare administrative contractors and CMS would follow new transparency steps for specified LCDs, including publishing drafts, meeting records, comment responses, and allowing the Secretary to review final reconsideration decisions on specified legal and evidence grounds.

## Cosponsors (3)

- Rep. Barragán, Nanette Diaz [D-CA-44] (D-CA), 2026-04-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tenney, Claudia [R-NY-24] (R-NY), 2026-04-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Foushee, Valerie P. [D-NC-4] (D-NC), 2026-07-21T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Faster Medicare local coverage decisions: benefit, medium. This bill would require Medicare contractors to say within 60 days whether a formal LCD or reconsideration request is complete. If a request is incomplete, the contractor would tell the sender what information is missing within 60 days. If a request is complete, the contractor would finish the requ…
- More public review for Medicare coverage: benefit, medium. This bill would require contractors to post draft local coverage determinations and related evidence on CMS's database and the contractor website before finalizing them. Within 60 days of posting a draft, contractors would hold open public meetings with remote options and post agendas at least 14 d…
- New federal review of Medicare decisions: benefit, medium. This bill would let an interested party ask the HHS Secretary to review a contractor's final decision after a complete formal reconsideration. The Secretary would check for misapplied qualifying evidence, language that goes beyond the intended scope, wrong findings about medical necessity, missing…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025
- 119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act
- 119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-hr-3514: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2102: Major Richard Star Act
- 119-hr-1151: Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-8500 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8500)

## Related
- [119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4669)
- [119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-842)
- [119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9237)
- [119-hr-3514: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3514)
- [119-hr-2102: Major Richard Star Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2102)
- [119-hr-1151: Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1151)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8500 (as of 2026-09-21).