The Patient Choice and Access Act of 2026 would allow health insurance plans sold through the Affordable Care Act marketplace to operate without maintaining a network of contracted doctors and hospitals, starting in 2027. Currently, qualified health plans must establish provider networks to participate in the marketplace. Under this bill, plans could instead allow patients to see any willing provider and pay based on the plan's benefit amounts. To protect consumers, plans without networks would be required to provide clear information about out-of-pocket costs and the risk of balance billing, as well as offer customer service or online tools to help people find providers who accept the plan's payment rates. The bill has no specified funding mechanisms and would take effect for plan years beginning January 1, 2027.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.