Medicare patients can request visits from clergy members.
H.R. 9851 — Protecting Access to Spiritual Treatment and Organized Religion Act of 2026 · Filed by Mike Flood (R-NE) · Introduced Jul 22, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The bill lets Medicare patients ask to see a clergy member of their choice. Healthcare providers must allow these visits starting January 1, 2028. Clergy members must follow the facility's safety and security rules. Providers can still enforce safety measures.
Who it affects
Medicare patients gain the right to request clergy visits. Healthcare providers must allow these visits if safety rules are followed.
One thing to notice
The bill does not say how providers must arrange clergy visits. The bill does not say who pays for the work to set up these visits.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
- Jul 22, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jul 22, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce and House Committee on Ways and Means · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- Medicare — A government health insurance program for people age 65 and older.
- clergy — Religious leaders such as priests, ministers, rabbis, or imams.
- healthcare providers — Hospitals, clinics, and other places where people get medical care.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (925 characters) on Jul 25, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,707 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-23.
“Medicare patients can request visits from clergy members.” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr9851/simple Report an error