H.R. 9877

Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026

Sponsor: Raul Ruiz

26 cosponsors
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I Data collection and reporting

II Culturally and linguistically appropriate health and health care

III Health workforce diversity

A Diversifying the health care workplace

B Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Behavioral and Mental Health Workforce

C ACCESS in Mental Health Act

D Developing the Community Health Workforce Act

IV Improving Health Care Access and Quality

A Reducing Barriers to Accessing Care

B Improvement of Coverage

C Expansion of Access

1 General Provisions

2 Rural

3 Indian Communities

4 Providers

Sec. 4243. Provider network adequacy in communities of color

(a) In general. Section 1311(c)(1)(B) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18031(c)(1)(B)), as amended by section 4241(a), is further amended—

(1) by inserting (i) after (B); and

(2) by adding at the end the following new clauses:

Text this section adds to the law

(ii) meet such network adequacy standards as the Secretary may establish with regard to—

(I) appointment wait time;

(II) travel time and distance to health care provider facilities and providers by public and private transit;

(III) hours of operation to accommodate individuals who cannot come to provider appointments during standard business hours;

(IV) availability of health care options for patients; and

(V) other network adequacy standards to ensure that care through these plans is accessible to diverse communities, including individuals with limited English proficiency as defined in section 3400 of such Act; and

(iii) provide coverage for services for enrollees through out-of-network providers at no additional cost to the enrollees in cases where in-network providers are unable to comply with the standards established under subclause (III) or (IV) of clause (ii) for such services and the out-of-network providers can deliver such services in compliance with such standards;

(b) Effective date. The amendments made by subsection (a) shall not apply to plans beginning on or prior to the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of the Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026.

5 Dental

D Advancing Health Equity Through Payment and Delivery Reform

E Health Empowerment Zones

F Equitable Health Care for All

G Investing in Equity

H Miscellaneous

I Territories Health Equity

1 Medicare

A Part A

B Part B

C Medicare Advantage (Part C)

D Part D

2 Miscellaneous

V Improving health outcomes for women, gender-diverse people, children, and families

A Underserved communities

B Pregnancy screening

C Pregnancy-Related care

D Federal agency coordination on maternal health

E Reproductive and Sexual Health

F Children’s Health

G Elder Care

H Miscellaneous provisions

VI Mental health and substance use disorders

A Access to care and funding streams

B Interprofessional care

C Workforce development

D Children’s mental health

E Community-Based care

F Reports

G Miscellaneous provisions

VII Addressing high-impact minority diseases

A Cancer

B Viral hepatitis and liver cancer control and prevention

C Acquired bone marrow failure diseases

D Cardiovascular disease, chronic disease, obesity, and other disease issues

E HIV/AIDS

F Diabetes

G Lung disease

H Tuberculosis

I Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases

J Sleep and circadian rhythm disorders

K Kidney disease research, surveillance, prevention, and treatment

L Diversity in clinical trials

M Additional provisions addressing high-impact minority diseases

N Health Equity and Rare Disease Act

O Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention

P New Era of Preventing End-Stage Kidney Disease

VIII Health Information Technology

A Reducing Health Disparities Through Health IT

B Modifications To Achieve Parity in Existing Programs

C Additional Research and Studies

D Closing Gaps in Funding To Adopt Certified EHRs

E Expanding Access to Telehealth Services

IX Accountability and Evaluation

X Addressing Social Determinants and Improving Environmental Justice

A In General

B Gun Violence

C Nutrition for women, children, families

1 Senior hunger prevention

2 Closing the meal gap

D Universal school meals

1 School breakfast program

2 School lunch program

3 Elementary and secondary education data

4 Amendments to other programs and laws

XI Protections to combat regulatory harm to health equity