Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 26, 2025
Promoting Access to Diabetic Shoes Act
This bill allows a nurse practitioner or physician assistant to fulfill documentation requirements for coverage, under Medicare, of special shoes for diabetic individuals. Under current law, such requirements may be satisfied only by a physician.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Bill text & related measures
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Oct 7, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Explore the bill from different angles
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Neutral evidence review
Objective
Analyze H.R.1616 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact
Progressive lens
Examine H.R.1616 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope
Conservative lens
Examine H.R.1616 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power
Liberty lens
Examine H.R.1616 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.
View full prompt & sources
PlainBill explanation
Read the proposal in plain language
AI-generated · Source-checked by AI · Nov 2, 2026
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-26 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
What it would do
The proposed Promoting Access to Diabetic Shoes Act would allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants, alongside physicians, to satisfy Medicare documentation requirements for coverage of certain shoes for people with diabetes. It would add those professionals to two provisions of the Social Security Act. The supplied text does not reproduce the underlying coverage rules.
Check the sources
This Act may be cited as the Promoting Access to Diabetic Shoes Act.
Permitting nurse practitioners and physician assistants to satisfy Medicare documentation requirement for coverage of certain shoes for individuals with diabetes
Section 1861(s)(12) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(s)(12)) is amended— (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting , nurse practitioner, or physician assistant after physician; and (2) in subparagraph (C), by inserting , nurse practitioner, or physician assistant after each occurrence of physician.
Section 2 would insert “nurse practitioner, or physician assistant” after “physician” in subparagraph (A) of the specified Medicare provision and after every occurrence of “physician” in subparagraph (C). The amendment would retain physicians while adding these two types of health professionals.
Check the source
Section 1861(s)(12) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(s)(12)) is amended— (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting , nurse practitioner, or physician assistant after physician; and (2) in subparagraph (C), by inserting , nurse practitioner, or physician assistant after each occurrence of physician.
The supplied October 7, 2026 source snapshot records introduction in the House on February 26, 2025, and referral that day to the Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means committees for consideration of provisions within their respective jurisdictions.
2025-02-26: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-26. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Other targeted benefits
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow carve-out, special exemption, or preferential treatment warranting a finding was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
What this analysis cannot establish
The existing statutory provisions being amended are not reproduced. The supplied text therefore does not establish the complete documentation duties, coverage requirements, or exceptions.
The introduced text specifies no effective date, termination condition, or separate implementation or enforcement provisions.
The supplied actions snapshot does not establish whether the bill subsequently advanced or became law. These claims describe the introduced proposal, not enacted law.
No member earmark disclosures, committee reports, conference materials, or other bill versions are supplied.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Oct 7, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI