Sponsors (2)
Introduced February 3, 2026 by Lisa Murkowski · Last progress February 3, 2026
The bill expands Medicare coverage, telehealth, and trial support to improve access to multidisciplinary ALS care and accelerate research, but it increases federal spending and administrative complexity and could leave gaps if payment levels, broadband access, or follow-through on recommendations are inadequate.
Medicare beneficiaries with ALS will get comprehensive outpatient ALS-related services covered with no per-visit cost-sharing and a standardized per-visit Medicare payment (set at $800 in 2027), improving access to coordinated multidisciplinary care.
Patients with ALS and researchers will gain stronger support for clinical trials — including funding, provider payment adjustments to offset trial-related costs, and measures to improve trial staffing — which should increase trial participation and speed development of new treatments.
People with ALS in rural and mobility-limited areas will have better access to care through expanded telehealth and remote management options, reducing travel burdens and improving timeliness of care.
Taxpayers and the Medicare program face increased federal spending to fund new per-visit payments, no cost-sharing, and enhanced trial support, raising budgetary demands and potential pressure for offsets.
Medicare's fixed base payment (e.g., $800 in 2027) may be insufficient in some regions or for complex multidisciplinary visits, risking strained providers, reduced service intensity, or reluctance to offer full ALS care.
New provider-qualification rules and complex payment adjustments (for trials and novel technologies) could create administrative burdens and billing complexity that limit which clinicians or organizations participate and add overhead for providers and Medicare.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Creates Medicare coverage and a new per-visit payment for specified ALS-related services, sets base rates and growth rules, waives cost-sharing, and mandates an NIH report on trial challenges.
Creates a new Medicare benefit and payment system for defined “ALS-related services” delivered to people medically diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, effective for services furnished on or after January 1, 2027. The bill establishes a single per-visit payment to qualified providers (assignment-only, no cost sharing), sets an $800 base payment for 2027 (with minimums and a growth rule for later years), requires payment adjustments for providers participating in NIH-registered clinical trials and for new costly services or technologies, and directs use of an ICD-10-CM ALS diagnosis code for claims. Requires the HHS Secretary, through the NINDS Director at NIH, to publish to Congress within 90 days a report identifying problems in ALS clinical trial administration and staffing, actions NINDS can take, and any legislative or appropriations recommendations. The law directs notice-and-comment rulemaking to define qualified providers and gives other implementation authority by program instruction, and includes triennial Comptroller General review and possible payment recommendations.