Medicare changes how it pays for emergency transport using real cost data.
H.R. 9970 — RESCUE Act of 2026 · Filed by August Pfluger (R-TX) · 11 cosponsors · Introduced Jul 27, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
Starting in 2028, Medicare will pay based on actual costs. Ground and air emergency transport companies must report their costs. From 2029 on, payments go up each year by a price index. Every three years starting in 2031, Medicare will review costs and set new rates.
Who it affects
People who use emergency transport through Medicare get pricing based on real costs. Ground and air emergency transport companies must report their data to Medicare. Rural emergency transport may get better rates if they account for remote areas.
One thing to notice
This is the first time air emergency transport companies must submit cost data to Medicare. Payment rates stay the same for two years between reviews.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
11 cosponsors: 6 Democrats, 5 Republicans.
- Jul 27, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jul 27, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means and House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- price index — A measure of how much prices for goods and services go up.
- air emergency transport — A helicopter or plane that moves sick or hurt people by air.
- Medicare — A government health plan for people age 65 and older and some younger people with disabilities.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (10,517 characters) on Aug 12, 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.
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