# 119-hr-9972: American Patients First Act of 2026

119-hr-9972, American Patients First Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Sessions, Pete [R-TX-17] (R-TX); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-09).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9972
- As of: 2026-08-09
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-9972
- Congress: 119
- Title: American Patients First Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-07-27
- Sponsor: Rep. Sessions, Pete [R-TX-17] (R-TX)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-09

## Summary

**Creates a new Medicare payment and domestic sourcing system for skin substitute products.** It defines skin substitutes as a Medicare-covered category, sets a dedicated per-square-centimeter payment, and adds U.S. donation, manufacturing, and distribution rules for wound-care products.

## Provisions PRIA read

- 2027 coverage protection for patients: benefit, low. This bill would bar Medicare from denying coverage during calendar year 2027 for a skin substitute product based only on that product's clinical evidence. The Secretary could still deny coverage if the product is unsafe because of contamination, infectious disease, or serious adverse reactions. Thi…
- New billing code and reporting relief: benefit, low. This bill would require the HHS Secretary to create a single consolidated billing and payment code for all skin substitute products by January 1, 2027. It would also exclude skin substitute products from certain drug and biologic reporting rules beginning January 1, 2027. If enacted, these steps wo…
- Public list of high-use skin providers: benefit, low. This bill would require the Secretary to identify the top 3 percent of providers by Medicare payments for skin substitute products and other high-use providers. The Secretary would publish that list by December 1, 2026 and every two years through December 1, 2036, and send it to the HHS Inspector G…
- New Medicare rules for skin substitutes: mixed, high. This bill would set a fixed Medicare payment of $457 per square centimeter for skin substitute products from January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2030. Medicare would pay 80% of the lesser of your bill or that amount, so beneficiaries would owe 20% of the allowed amount. Medicare payments would be…
- Domestic sourcing rules for wound products: mixed, medium. This bill would define which products count as skin substitutes and require U.S. sourcing and manufacturing. Human tissue would have to be donated by U.S. citizens, nationals, or lawful permanent residents, and donations and processing would have to occur inside the United States under FDA and indu…
- Prepayment and prior authorization for providers: mixed, low. This bill would require CMS to do prepayment review of some skin substitute claims starting January 1, 2027. By January 1, 2028 CMS would apply 180-day prior authorization periods for specified providers, with exemptions if approval rates are high. Beginning January 1, 2029, repeated high denial ra…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
- 119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025
- 119-hr-6955: Main Street Capital Access Act
- 119-hr-4317: PBM Reform Act of 2025
- 119-hr-3383: Incentivizing New Ventures and Economic Strength Through Capital Formation Act of 2025
- 119-hr-471: Fix Our Forests Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-9972 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9972)

## Related
- [119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6644)
- [119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2725)
- [119-hr-6955: Main Street Capital Access Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6955)
- [119-hr-4317: PBM Reform Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4317)
- [119-hr-3383: Incentivizing New Ventures and Economic Strength Through Capital Formation Act…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3383)
- [119-hr-471: Fix Our Forests Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-471)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9972 (as of 2026-08-09).