Hawaiʻi lawmakers reintroduce bill to boost Medicare physician payments, protect senior health care access

Hawaiʻi’s congressional delegation has reintroduced legislation aimed at improving access to health care for seniors by raising Medicare reimbursement rates for local providers.

The Protecting Access To Care in Hawaiʻi (PATCH) Act, led by US Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono and US Reps. Jill Tokuda and Ed Case, seeks to address the state’s shortage of physicians by increasing Medicare payments by up to 38%. Lawmakers say the boost would help retain and recruit doctors amid rising operating and living costs, ensuring that the state’s 300,000 Medicare beneficiaries can access care.

“As more people reach Medicare age in Hawaiʻi, we are seeing fewer health care providers because of the rising operating and living costs in our state,” Schatz said. “Our bill would help fix that, boosting Medicare payments to providers and protecting health care access for the 300,000 seniors in Hawaiʻi that rely on Medicare.”

Medicare physician payments per beneficiary in Hawaiʻi are among the lowest nationwide, despite substantially higher operating costs. Health officials say that gap threatens access to care.

“There is a serious workforce shortage in Hawaiʻi that affects the ability of residents in the state to access timely care,” said Hilton Raethel, president and CEO of Healthcare Association of Hawaiʻi. “This bill will provide long-overdue relief to our state by ensuring that physicians are paid fairly for their services.”

The full text of the bill is available here.