Workers' Comp Fraud Crackdown: Feds Can Now Block Crooked Providers

What it does

This bill amends the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) to give the Secretary of Labor the power to suspend payments to medical providers who have been convicted of fraud—whether the fraud involved FECA itself, any federal health care program, or state health programs. The bill takes effect 180 days after enactment and requires the Secretary to write regulations explaining how the suspension power will work.

Why we flagged it

The bill's sole operative mechanism is to authorize suspension of FECA payments to providers convicted of fraud. It is a straightforward anti-fraud accountability measure with no secondary purpose or hidden rider.

What the text implies

• The Secretary's suspension power applies retroactively to any provider convicted of fraud in federal or state health programs, not just FECA-specific fraud, potentially affecting a broader set of providers than the title suggests.
• The 180-day implementation window gives the Secretary time to identify fraud-convicted providers in federal and state databases, but the bill does not mandate data-sharing between state and federal agencies, so identification may be incomplete.
• Suspension is discretionary ('may suspend'), not mandatory, leaving room for Secretary to exercise prosecutorial discretion in enforcement.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Federal employees and their dependents covered by FECA gain protection against paying for services from fraud-convicted providers, reducing waste of workers' compensation funds and ensuring money reaches legitimate care. The bill does not restrict workers' access to care—it only bars payment to providers already convicted of fraud, a straightforward accountability measure.

Named in the bill

Secretary of Labor, Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA), 5 U.S.C. § 8103, 18 U.S.C. § 24 (Federal health care benefit program definition), federal health care benefit programs, state health programs

Where it stands

1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.

• May 14, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• May 14, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Education and Workforce and Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce”
• Jun 25, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Jun 25, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 33 - 0”
• Jul 20, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required)…”
• Jul 20, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Walberg moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

2 lobbying clients named this bill on 3 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $5,673,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 103 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 41% of bills with at least one filing.

Ryan Mackenzie, the sponsor, reported $1,066,117 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• American Medical Association — $5,643,000 on 2 filings
• Workers Injury Law & Advocacy Group — $30,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 21, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.