# 119-s-551: Ensuring Outpatient Quality for Rural States Act

119-s-551, Ensuring Outpatient Quality for Rural States Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Sullivan, Dan [R-AK] (R-AK); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2025-12-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-551
- 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-551
- Congress: 119
- Title: Ensuring Outpatient Quality for Rural States Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-02-12
- Sponsor: Sen. Sullivan, Dan [R-AK] (R-AK)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2025-12-21

## Summary

**Would apply a targeted cost-of-living adjustment to the non-labor portion of Medicare hospital outpatient payments for Alaska and Hawaii.** This change would let Medicare account for the unusual cost structures of hospitals in those states and would take effect for outpatient services furnished on or after January 1, 2026. - Hospitals in Alaska and Hawaii: Could receive higher Medicare outpatient payments for the non-labor portion of costs by using the same COLA method already used for inpatient payments. This targets the unique operating conditions of facilities in those states. - Medicare patients in Alaska and Hawaii: May see more financially supported local outpatient services if hospitals receive adjusted payments that reflect higher non-labor costs. - Medicare program and federal oversight: Gives the Health Secretary discretion to apply the adjustment and explicitly allows the change to be non-budget-neutral. The measure does not create a new mandatory appropriation. *Because the adjustment is explicitly not required to be budget neutral, this change could increase Medicare spending.*

## Cosponsors (2)

- Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] (D-HI), 2025-02-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK] (R-AK), 2025-02-12T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Higher Medicare outpatient pay for Alaska, Hawaii: benefit, low. If enacted, HHS would be allowed to raise the non-labor part of Medicare outpatient payments for hospitals in Alaska and Hawaii. The change would apply to services furnished on or after January 1, 2026. HHS could use the same COLA method already used for some hospitals. The bill says the adjustment…

## Related bills

- 119-s-524: Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025
- 119-s-3923: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026
- 119-s-1541: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-s-306: Fire Ready Nation Act of 2025
- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act
- 119-s-4638: Promoting Strong Native Families and Children Act

## Sources
- [119-s-551 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/551)

## Related
- [119-s-524: Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-524)
- [119-s-3923: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3923)
- [119-s-1541: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1541)
- [119-s-306: Fire Ready Nation Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-306)
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [119-s-4638: Promoting Strong Native Families and Children Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4638)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-551 (as of 2025-12-21).