U.S. Senators Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono, with U.S. Representatives Jill Tokuda and Ed Case, reintroduced a bicameral bill that would strengthen and protect healthcare for seniors in Hawaii.
“As more people reach Medicare age in Hawai‘i, we are seeing fewer health care providers because of the rising operating and living costs in our state,” said Schatz.
“Our bill would help fix that, boosting Medicare payments to providers and protecting health care access for the 300,000 seniors in Hawai‘i who rely on Medicare.”
For Hirono, the bill “will help expand and protect access to health care across the islands by ensuring that physicians and other health professionals are being fairly compensated.”
Called the Protecting Access To Care in Hawaii (PATCH) Act, the bill would provide fair Medicare reimbursements to Hawaii providers, help retain doctors in the state, and protect access to healthcare for seniors across Hawaii.
Medicare physician payments per beneficiary in Hawaii are among the lowest in the country. While health care operating costs in Hawaii are substantially higher than in other states, its Medicare reimbursement rates do not account for those rising costs.
The PATCH Act would increase healthcare provider payments by up to 38%.
Representative Tokuda highlighted the importance of these increased payments.
“By adjusting Medicare payments to reflect the true costs of care in Hawai‘i, we can better support our doctors, strengthen local health systems, and ensure that our kūpuna aren’t left behind when they need care the most,” she said.
Representative Case shared that this bill is about taking care of our kupuna.
“The PATCH Act reinforces our commitment to Hawai‘i’s kūpuna by ensuring that their medical practitioners are adequately compensated for the care they provide to our seniors,” he said.
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