# 119-s-1624: PATCH Act

119-s-1624, PATCH Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] (D-HI); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2025-12-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1624
- As of: 2025-12-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-1624
- Congress: 119
- Title: PATCH Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-05-06
- Sponsor: Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] (D-HI)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2025-12-21

## Summary

**Creates a 1.5 minimum work geographic index for Medicare physician payments in Hawaii.** This bill would raise the work geographic index used to calculate physician payments for services furnished in Hawaii to at least 1.5 when the calculated index would otherwise be lower, effective January 1, 2026. - Physicians in Hawaii: The work geographic index applied to physician services would be set no lower than 1.5 for services on or after January 1, 2026, which increases the per-service payment factor used in Medicare calculations. - Medicare program and federal spending: The floor is explicitly not applied in a budget-neutral manner, so Medicare payments for physician services in Hawaii would rise and federal Medicare spending would increase. *Would increase federal Medicare payments by raising the work geographic index floor for Hawaii, thereby increasing federal spending.*

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] (D-HI), 2025-05-06T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Higher Medicare pay for Hawaii doctors: benefit, medium. If enacted, Medicare would use at least a 1.5 work geographic index for physician services in Hawaii. This rule would start for services furnished on or after January 1, 2026. After the usual calculation, the Secretary would raise any lower index up to 1.5. The bill says the increase would not be b…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-3923: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026
- 119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026
- 119-s-5283: Momnibus Act
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act
- 119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act

## Sources
- [119-s-1624 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1624)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-3923: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3923)
- [119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5071)
- [119-s-5283: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5283)
- [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823)
- [119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3869)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1624 (as of 2025-12-21).