Skip to content
Govbase

Policy-Driven News

Govbase
Congress·In Committee·H.R. 7666

Medicare: Higher Payments for Small Outpatient Clinics

SOS: Sustaining Outpatient Services Act

18 days ago·View on Congress.gov
Part of: SOS: Sustaining Outpatient Services Act

Legislative Progress

House
Senate
President
Law

Key Points

  • This bill, called the SOS Act, changes how Medicare pays for medical care at clinics that are owned by hospitals but located away from the main hospital building. These are often called 'off-campus' clinics.
  • Currently, Medicare often pays these off-campus clinics at a lower rate than the main hospital. This bill would allow some of these clinics to get the higher hospital rate if they provide specialized services that are not used very often.
  • To qualify for the higher pay, the total amount Medicare paid for that specific type of specialty care across the whole country must have been less than $2 million in the previous year. This targets niche medical services that might otherwise struggle to stay open.
  • The goal is to help smaller or more specialized clinics stay in business, especially in areas where it might be hard for patients to find specific types of doctors. If passed, these new payment rules would start in 2027.
  • While this helps keep local clinics open, it could lead to slightly higher costs for the Medicare program and higher out-of-pocket costs for some patients, as hospital-based rates are generally more expensive than standard doctor office rates.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions
Feb 24, 2026House

Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Feb 24, 2026

Introduced in House

Related Bills

1 bill
S. 3908Related bill

SOS: Sustaining Outpatient Services Act

Feb 25 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

SOS: Sustaining Outpatient Services Act

Bill NumberHR 7666
Congress119th Congress
ChamberHouse of Representatives
Latest ActionReferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(1)
D: 1

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.