PATCH Act

This bill raises how Medicare pays doctors in Hawaii. It sets a minimum level for a payment factor tied to doctors’ work. If that factor would be lower than 1.5, it must be increased to 1.5 for Hawaii. This starts on January 1, 2026 .

Medicare will not make cuts in other places to offset this increase. That means the change is meant to boost payments in Hawaii without lowering payments elsewhere .

• Who is affected: Doctors and other clinicians paid by Medicare in Hawaii; Medicare patients in Hawaii who rely on access to care .
• What changes: A minimum payment factor of 1.5 for the “work” part of Medicare’s pay formula in Hawaii; if the number is lower, it gets bumped up to 1.5 .
• When: Applies to services on or after January 1, 2026 .