119th Congress · introduced in the Senate · May 21, 2026
Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2026
Official title from Congress.gov
Latest action (May 21, 2026): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
View on Congress.govPolicy area: Health
Congressional Research Service summary, version: Introduced in Senate (May 21, 2026)
Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2026
This bill deems an individual receiving outpatient observation services in a hospital as an inpatient for purposes of satisfying the three-day inpatient hospital-stay requirement with respect to Medicare coverage of skilled nursing facility (SNF) services. (Generally, individuals must have been an inpatient at a hospital for at least three days in order to qualify for SNF services. An individual's time spent under observation at a hospital for purposes of determining whether the individual should be admitted does not count towards this requirement.)
Includes amendment, cloture, and procedural votes. Each is labeled with its exact question; only a passage question is a vote to pass the bill.
No recorded roll calls on this bill in coverage.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced in Senate
Actions from Congress.gov, newest first.
LD-2 reports whose issue descriptions explicitly cite this bill (bill type and number validated against Congress.gov records). A citation does not establish the client's position or any contact with a member.
Loading lobbying reportsCoverage: reports for 2025 onward, posted Jan 1, 2025 through Oct 23, 2026.
7 citations.
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ASSOCIATION · lobbying firm or registrant: AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ASSOCIATION
2026 Q3 report (Jul 1, 2026 – Sep 30, 2026) · posted Oct 20, 2026 · issue area: Medicare/Medicaid
$830,000
Spent on own lobbying
Observation Stays and 3-Day Stay Outreach (S. 4641/H.R. 3954) Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2025 (S. 4384/H.R. 8375) Ensuring Seniors Access to Quality Care Act (S. 4467/H.R. 7096) Survey Relief/…
Congress inferred from the report year; bill number matches Congress.gov records and the bill predates the report; no title was cited with it. The amount is lobbying spending for every issue on this report, not this bill alone, and none of it is paid to any member of Congress. View filing
NATIONAL COMMITTEE TO PRESERVE SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE · lobbying firm or registrant: NATIONAL COMMITTEE TO PRESERVE SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE
2026 Q3 report (Jul 1, 2026 – Sep 30, 2026) · posted Oct 19, 2026 · issue area: Medicare/Medicaid
$190,000
Spent on own lobbying
Medicare Observation Stays. The Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act (H.R. 3954/S. 4641): Proposals to count time spent in observation status toward the three-day prior inpatient stay required under Medicare for coverage of a subsequent stay in a…
Congress inferred from the report year; bill number and the title cited with it match Congress.gov records, and the bill predates the report. The amount is lobbying spending for every issue on this report, not this bill alone, and none of it is paid to any member of Congress. View filing
DIRECT SUPPLY, INC. · lobbying firm or registrant: DIRECT SUPPLY, INC.
2026 Q3 report (Jul 1, 2026 – Sep 30, 2026) · posted Oct 19, 2026 · issue area: Health Issues
$170,000
Spent on own lobbying
…Advantage Improvement Act of 2026 (H.R. 8375/S. 4384) - prior authorization normalization and prompt pay. Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act (H.R. 3954/S. 4641) - 3 day stay requirement updates.
Congress inferred from the report year; bill number and the title cited with it match Congress.gov records, and the bill predates the report. The amount is lobbying spending for every issue on this report, not this bill alone, and none of it is paid to any member of Congress. View filing
SOCIETY OF HOSPITAL MEDICINE · lobbying firm or registrant: CHAMBER HILL STRATEGIES
2026 Q3 report (Jul 1, 2026 – Sep 30, 2026) · posted Oct 19, 2026 · issue area: Medicare/Medicaid
$40,000
Paid to lobbying firm
…care providers; S. 1640/HR 879, the Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act; S. 1816/HR 3514, the Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act; S. 4641/HR 3954, the Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act; HR 538, the Critical Access Hospitals Relief Act of 2025; provisions in CMS-1832-F, the CY 2026 Medicar…
Congress inferred from the report year; bill number and the title cited with it match Congress.gov records, and the bill predates the report. The amount is lobbying spending for every issue on this report, not this bill alone, and none of it is paid to any member of Congress. View filing
MEDLINE · lobbying firm or registrant: MEDLINE
2026 Q2 report (Apr 1, 2026 – Jun 30, 2026) · posted Jul 20, 2026 · issue area: Health Issues
$400,000
Spent on own lobbying
…Education Services (DIABETES) Act (S. 4037), The Medicare Advantage Improvement Act of 2026 (S. 4384/H.R. 8375), The Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act (S. 4641/H.R. 3954), The Ensuring Seniors Access to Quality Care Act (S.4467/H.R. 7096)
Congress inferred from the report year; bill number and the title cited with it match Congress.gov records, and the bill predates the report. The amount is lobbying spending for every issue on this report, not this bill alone, and none of it is paid to any member of Congress. View filing
AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ASSOCIATION · lobbying firm or registrant: AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ASSOCIATION
2026 Q2 report (Apr 1, 2026 – Jun 30, 2026) · posted Jul 20, 2026 · issue area: Medicare/Medicaid
$840,000
Spent on own lobbying
Observation Stays and 3-Day Stay Outreach (S. 4641/H.R. 3954) Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2025 (S. 4384/H.R. 8375) Ensuring Seniors Access to Quality Care Act (S. 4467/H.R. 7096) Survey Relief/…
Congress inferred from the report year; bill number matches Congress.gov records and the bill predates the report; no title was cited with it. The amount is lobbying spending for every issue on this report, not this bill alone, and none of it is paid to any member of Congress. View filing
DIRECT SUPPLY, INC. · lobbying firm or registrant: DIRECT SUPPLY, INC.
2026 Q2 report (Apr 1, 2026 – Jun 30, 2026) · posted Jul 20, 2026 · issue area: Health Issues
$230,000
Spent on own lobbying
…Advantage Improvement Act of 2026 (H.R. 8375/S. 4384) - prior authorization normalization and prompt pay. Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act (H.R. 3954/S. 4641) - 3 day stay requirement updates.
Congress inferred from the report year; bill number and the title cited with it match Congress.gov records, and the bill predates the report. The amount is lobbying spending for every issue on this report, not this bill alone, and none of it is paid to any member of Congress. View filing