Senate Bill Aims to Expand Access to Surgical Care

Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) and a bipartisan group of Senators recently introduced the Ensuring Access to General Surgery Act of 2026, legislation that would help identify general surgery workforce shortage areas and improve data collection on access to surgical care nationwide. 

The ACS-supported bill would direct the Health Resources and Services Administration to study and define general surgery workforce shortage areas and collect data on the adequacy of access to surgical services. It also would authorize the Secretary of the Health and Human Services to establish a formal general surgery shortage area designation. The legislation is the Senate companion to the House bill (HR 7198) introduced earlier this year.

Unlike many other healthcare providers, general surgeons currently do not have a formal workforce shortage area designation. Identifying communities with limited access to surgical services and establishing a formal shortage designation would provide policymakers with a valuable tool for improving access to high-quality surgical care. 

The legislation also could help support efforts to recruit and retain general surgeons in underserved communities, helping ensure that patients have timely access to essential surgical services regardless of where they live. 

Although the bill has received media coverage in Sen. Schatz’s home state of Hawaii, the challenges it seeks to address affect patients and communities across the country.

The ACS thanks Sen. Schatz and his Senate colleagues for their leadership on this critical issue and encourages ASC Fellows to urge your representatives to support the Ensuring Access to General Surgery Act by visiting SurgeonsVoice today.