# 119-s-4582: Ensuring Access to General Surgery Act of 2026

119-s-4582, Ensuring Access to General Surgery Act of 2026, 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 2026-06-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4582
- As of: 2026-06-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4582
- Congress: 119
- Title: Ensuring Access to General Surgery Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-05-20
- Sponsor: Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] (D-HI)
- Cosponsors: 4
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-06-11

## Summary

**This bill would create a framework for designating general surgery shortage areas.** It would direct the Secretary, acting through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to study access to general surgeons and to identify methods for naming underserved areas. - Patients and families would get public data comparing general surgery availability across urban, suburban, and rural areas and could see official shortage-area lists if the Secretary adopts a designation method. - Hospitals and surgeons would be mapped into "surgery service areas," with identification of actively practicing general surgeons and development of surgeon-to-population ratios using thresholds at four levels: optimal, adequate, shortage, and critical shortage. - The Secretary would be required to report to Congress within one year, consult medical societies and patient groups, publish findings in the Federal Register, and may use regulation and annual review to implement designations.

## Cosponsors (4)

- Sen. Barrasso, John [R-WY] (R-WY), 2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA] (D-WA), 2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Marshall, Roger [R-KS] (R-KS), 2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] (D-MN), 2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- New general surgery shortage designations: benefit, medium. If enacted, HHS would direct HRSA to study access to general surgeons and create rules to name general surgery shortage areas. The study would map hospital surgery service areas using ZIP Code Medicare patient origin data and identify all actively practicing general surgeons. The Secretary would se…

## Related bills

- 119-s-3923: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026
- 119-s-524: Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025
- 119-s-1261: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025
- 119-s-1289: 25th Anniversary of 9/11 Commemorative Coin Act
- 119-s-1032: Major Richard Star Act
- 119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former United States Senator for the State of Kansas.

## Sources
- [119-s-4582 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4582)

## Related
- [119-s-3923: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3923)
- [119-s-524: Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-524)
- [119-s-1261: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1261)
- [119-s-1289: 25th Anniversary of 9/11 Commemorative Coin Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1289)
- [119-s-1032: Major Richard Star Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1032)
- [119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former Uni…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-913)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4582 (as of 2026-06-11).