The Preserving Patient Access Act protects Medicare beneficiaries and individuals with private insurance from losing access to their doctors and medications mid-year. Under the bill, Medicare Advantage plans and prescription drug plans cannot remove a patient's current doctor from their network or eliminate coverage for a drug the patient is currently taking without allowing that patient to switch to a different plan outside the normal enrollment period. The same protections apply to people with individual health insurance plans purchased through the marketplace or privately. These changes take effect January 1, 2027, giving insurance plans time to adjust their policies and procedures. The bill essentially creates new mid-year escape routes for patients who would otherwise be forced to switch providers or medications or pay out-of-pocket costs until the next open enrollment period.
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