US SB2836

Summary of S. 2836 - Patients Over Profit Act (POP Act)

• Prohibits any person from simultaneously owning or controlling both a health insurance issuer and a health care provider that receives Medicare payments (excluding hospitals, critical access hospitals, rural emergency hospitals, DME suppliers, and pharmacies)

• Requires divestment within 2 years for existing ownership arrangements and within 1 year for future acquisitions, with all divestitures subject to FTC review regardless of transaction size

• Authorizes the HHS Inspector General, DOJ Antitrust Division, FTC, and State Attorneys General to bring civil actions requiring violators to cease operations and disgorge all revenue received during the violation period

• Bars Medicare Advantage organizations from receiving federal contracts or payments beginning January 1, 2026 if they violate the common ownership prohibition, with violations constituting false claims under federal law

• Disgorged revenue must be deposited into an FTC-administered fund and distributed to serve the health care needs of affected communities