# 119-s-2524: Restoring Essential Healthcare Act

119-s-2524, Restoring Essential Healthcare Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2524
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-2524
- Congress: 119
- Title: Restoring Essential Healthcare Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-07-29
- Sponsor: Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN)
- Cosponsors: 30
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Restores Medicaid payments to entities barred under a recent law and makes that restoration retroactive.** This bill would repeal Section 71113 of Public Law 119-21 and require Medicaid to pay for items and services those 'prohibited' entities furnished during the period between the earlier law's enactment and this repeal. - Families and Medicaid enrollees: People who received care from these entities during the covered period would have those services treated as payable under a state Medicaid plan or waiver. - Providers labeled as "prohibited": Entities defined in subsection (b)(1) of Section 71113 would be eligible to receive Medicaid payment for covered items and services furnished during that period, processed as if the prohibition had not existed. - Scope and definition: The bill keeps the original definition of "prohibited entity" from Section 71113, so only entities meeting that definition are affected.

## Cosponsors (30)

- Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA] (D-WA), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI] (D-WI), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] (D-IL), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] (D-IL), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI] (D-RI), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] (D-NM), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] (D-MN), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE] (D-DE), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] (D-MA), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] (D-RI), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM] (D-NM), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME] (I-ME), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] (D-HI), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO] (D-CO), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Slotkin, Elissa [D-MI] (D-MI), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA] (D-PA), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] (D-NY), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] (D-MA), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT] (D-CT), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV] (D-NV), 2025-08-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-08-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Alsobrooks, Angela D. [D-MD] (D-MD), 2025-08-01T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Restore Medicaid payments to providers: benefit, low. This bill would repeal a rule in Public Law 119-21 that blocked Medicaid payments to certain providers. If enacted, Medicaid would have to pay for items and services furnished as medical assistance under a State plan or an approved waiver that those "prohibited entities" provided during the past pe…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026
- 119-s-1503: Equality Act
- 119-s-852: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025
- 119-s-2150: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025
- 119-s-2523: John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2025
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-s-2524 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2524)

## Related
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503)
- [119-s-852: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-852)
- [119-s-2150: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2150)
- [119-s-2523: John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2523)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2524 (as of 2026-04-21).