Ensuring Outpatient Quality for Rural States Act

This bill lets Medicare pay a bit more for hospital outpatient care in Alaska and Hawaii to reflect the higher cost of living there. The added amount applies to non-labor costs (like supplies and overhead), not staff wages. It aims to help hospitals cover real-world expenses so patients can keep access to services in high-cost areas. Starting January 1, 2026, the government may make these payment adjustments, and they don’t have to cut payments elsewhere to balance it out.

Key points:

• Who is affected: People getting care at hospital outpatient departments in Alaska and Hawaii; the hospitals that serve them.
• What changes: Medicare may add a cost-of-living increase to the non-labor part of outpatient payments in these states; this increase is not required to be budget neutral.
• When: For services on or after January 1, 2026.