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. 5217. Development of interprofessional maternity care educational models and tools

(a) In general. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting in conjunction with the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, shall convene, for a 1-year period, an Interprofessional Maternity Provider Education Commission (referred to in this section as the Commission) to discuss and make recommendations for—

(1) a consensus standard physiologic maternity care curriculum that takes into account the core competencies for basic midwifery practice such as those developed by the American College of Nurse-Midwives and the North American Registry of Midwives, and the educational objectives for physicians practicing in obstetrics and gynecology as determined by the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology;

(2) suggestions for multidisciplinary use of the consensus physiologic curriculum;

(3) strategies to integrate and coordinate education across maternity care disciplines, including recommendations to increase medical and midwifery student exposure to out-of-hospital birth;

(4) curriculum and strategies for continuing education of practicing perinatal professionals who have completed their undergraduate and graduate education; and

(5) pilot demonstrations of interprofessional educational models.

(b) Participants

(1) Professions. The Commission shall include maternity care educators, curriculum developers, service leaders, certification leaders, and accreditation leaders from the various professions that provide or support maternity care in the United States. Such professions shall include obstetrician gynecologists, certified nurse midwives or certified midwives, family practice physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, certified professional midwives, perinatal nurses, doulas, lactation personnel, and community health workers.

(2) Consumer advocates. The Commission shall also include representation from maternity care consumer advocates.

(c) Curriculum. The consensus standard physiologic maternity care curriculum described in subsection (a)(1) shall—

(1) have a public health focus with a foundation in health promotion and disease prevention;

(2) foster physiologic childbearing and person and family centered care;

(3) reflect the extensive, growing research evidence about—

(A) the innate abilities and processes of the birthing person and the fetus or newborn for labor, birth, postpartum transition, breastfeeding, and attachment, when promoted, supported, and protected; and

(B) the effects of factors that disturb and disrupt these processes;

(4) integrate strategies to reduce maternal and infant morbidity and mortality;

(5) incorporate recommendations to ensure respectful, safe, and seamless consultation, referral, transport, and transfer of care when necessary;

(6) include cultural sensitivity and strategies to decrease inequities in maternity outcomes; and

(7) include implicit bias training.

(d) Report. Not later than 180 days after the final meeting of the Commission, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall—

(1) submit to Congress a report containing the recommendations made by the Commission under this section; and

(2) make such report publicly available.

(e) Authorization of appropriations. There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section—

(1) $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 and 2028; and

(2) such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal years 2029 through 2031.

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