YourVoice.Now Summary
Your MoneyWorkers & JobsMedicare would fully cover community health workers in 2027 — screenings, rides, and help finding food or housing
Your Money
Medicare Part B would pay for help from community health workers starting January 1, 2027. They can do screenings, coach you on a health problem, set up rides, and link you to food or housing help.
Starting in 2027, each state could choose to add this help to its Medicaid plan. A state that does would get extra federal money for it. It could also offer the help in only part of the state.
Medicare would pay 100% of the approved amount for these services. The yearly Part B deductible would not apply to them either.
Workers & Jobs
Medicare could set rules for the groups that hire these workers. The rules may call for market pay, training, and safe work. They may also ask groups to cut school demands for new hires.
More about this bill
If you have Medicare, a community health worker could help you stay healthy. Starting January 1, 2027, Medicare Part B would cover this help. You would pay no deductible or coinsurance for it. These workers are trusted members of your community. They can do health screenings and help you manage problems like diabetes or asthma. They can also set up rides to care or connect you to food, housing, or job help. A doctor, nurse practitioner, or similar provider would oversee a check of what you need first. States could also choose to cover this help in Medicaid starting in 2027. A state that does would get 6 percentage points more federal money to pay for it. It could offer the help in only part of the state. Medicare could also set rules for the groups that hire these workers. Those rules could require market wages and fewer schooling requirements for new hires.
Congressional Summary
Community Health Worker Access Act This bill provides for coverage of community health services under Medicare. Community health services are services provided by a community health agency in accordance with an individual needs assessment, including preventive services (e.g., screenings) and services to address social determinants of health (e.g., educational home visits). Community health agencies include nonprofits, federally qualified health centers, and other organizations that employ health workers (in accordance with certain labor standards) who have lived experience in the communities served. The bill also allows state Medicaid programs to cover these services and provides for an increased Medicaid federal matching rate, also known as the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), for these services.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2026-09-17
- Date Added
- 2026-10-08
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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