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

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

Sec. 5216. Bibliographic database of systematic reviews for care of childbearing individuals and newborns

(a) In general. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, shall—

(1) make publicly available an online bibliographic database identifying systematic reviews, including an explanation of the level and quality of evidence, for care of childbearing individuals and newborns; and

(2) initiate regular updates that incorporate newly issued and updated systematic reviews.

(b) Sources. To aim for a comprehensive inventory of systematic reviews relevant to maternal and newborn care, the database shall identify reviews from diverse sources, including—

(1) scientific peer-reviewed journals;

(2) databases, including the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews; and

(3) internet websites of agencies and organizations throughout the world that produce such systematic reviews.

(c) Features. The database shall—

(1) provide bibliographic citations for each record within the database, and for each such citation include an explanation of the level and quality of evidence;

(2) include abstracts, as available;

(3) provide reference to companion documents as may exist for each review, such as evidence tables and guidelines or consumer educational materials developed from the review;

(4) provide links to the source of the full review and to any companion documents;

(5) provide links to the source of a previous version or update of the review;

(6) be searchable by intervention or other topic of the review, reported outcomes, author, title, and source; and

(7) offer to users periodic electronic notification of database updates relating to users’ topics of interest.

(d) Outreach. Not later than the first date the database is made publicly available and periodically thereafter, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall publicize the availability, features, and uses of the database under this section to the stakeholders described in subsection (e).

(e) Consultation. For purposes of developing the database under this section and maintaining and updating such database, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall convene and consult with an advisory committee composed of relevant stakeholders, including—

(1) Federal Medicaid administrators and State agencies administrating State plans under title XIX of the Social Security Act pursuant to section 1902(a)(5) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)(5));

(2) providers of maternity and newborn care from both academic and community-based settings, including obstetrician-gynecologists, family physicians, certified nurse midwives, certified midwives, certified professional midwives, physician assistants, perinatal nurses, pediatricians, and nurse practitioners;

(3) maternal-fetal medicine specialists;

(4) neonatologists;

(5) childbearing individuals and advocates for such individuals, including childbirth educators certified by a nationally accredited program, representing communities that are diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, indigenous status, and geographic area;

(6) employers and purchasers;

(7) health facility and system leaders, including both hospital and birth center facilities;

(8) journalists; and

(9) bibliographic informatics specialists.

(f) Authorization of appropriations. There is authorized to be appropriated $2,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2029 for the purpose of developing the database and such sums as may be necessary for each subsequent fiscal year for updating the database and providing outreach and notification to users, as described in this section.

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