{"bill":{"id":"119-s-4583","congress":119,"type":"S","number":4583,"title":"Legalizing Premium Health Care Act of 2026","originChamber":"Senate","introducedDate":"2026-05-20","sponsors":[{"bioguideId":"P000603","fullName":"Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY]","party":"R","state":"KY","district":null}],"cosponsorsCount":1,"latestAction":{"actionDate":"2026-05-20","text":"Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance."},"policyArea":"Health","subjects":[],"actions":[{"date":"2026-05-20","text":"Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.","type":"IntroReferral","chamber":"Senate","hasVote":false},{"date":"2026-05-20","text":"Introduced in Senate","type":"IntroReferral","chamber":"Library of Congress","hasVote":false}],"summary":"<p><strong>Legalizing Premium Health Care Act of 2026</strong><strong></strong></p><p>This bill allows any Medicare beneficiary to enter into a contract with an eligible professional, regardless of whether the professional is participating in Medicare, for any item or service covered by Medicare.</p><p>Such beneficiaries may submit a claim for Medicare payment in the amount that would otherwise apply, except that, where the professional is considered to be non-participating, payment shall be made as if the professional were participating. An <em>eligible professional</em> is a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified registered nurse anesthetist, certified nurse-midwife, clinical social worker, clinical psychologist, registered dietitian or nutrition professional, physical or occupational therapist, qualified speech-language pathologist, or qualified audiologist.</p><p>A Medicare beneficiary must agree in writing in such a contract to (1) pay the eligible professional for a Medicare-covered item or service; and (2) submit, in lieu of the eligible professional, a claim for Medicare payment. However, a beneficiary may negotiate, as a term of the contract, for the eligible professional to file such claims on the beneficiary's behalf.</p><p>The bill preempts state laws from limiting the amount of charges for physician and practitioner services for which Medicare payment is made.</p>","updateDate":"2026-06-12T19:34:48Z"},"markets":[],"stateBills":[],"meta":{"sources":["congress.gov"],"latencyMs":706,"ts":"2026-07-14T06:52:27.855Z"},"nextActions":{"inspect":[],"related":[{"description":"Search related legislation","method":"GET","url":"https://simplefunctions.dev/api/public/query-gov?q=Legalizing%20Premium%20Health%20Care%20Act%20of%202026"}]}}