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

D Federal agency coordination on maternal health

Sec. 5301. Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Promotion of Optimal Maternity Outcomes

(a) In general. Part A of title II of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 202 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

Text this section adds to the law

229A. Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Promotion of Optimal Maternity Outcomes

(a) In general. The Secretary, acting through the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women’s Health under section 229 and in collaboration with the Federal officials specified in subsection (b), shall establish the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Promotion of Optimal Maternity Outcomes (referred to in this section as the ICCPOM).

(b) Other agencies. The officials specified in this subsection are the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Surgeon General, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Director of the Indian Health Service, the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, the Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, and such other Federal officials as the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines to be appropriate.

(c) Chair. The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women’s Health shall serve as the chair of the ICCPOM.

(d) Duties. The ICCPOM shall guide policy and program development across the Federal Government with respect to promotion of optimal maternity care. Nothing in this section shall be construed as transferring regulatory or program authority from an agency to the ICCPOM.

(e) Consultations. The ICCPOM shall actively seek the input of, and shall consult with, all appropriate and interested stakeholders, including State health departments, public health research and interest groups, foundations, childbearing individuals and their advocates, and maternity care professional associations and organizations, reflecting racially, ethnically, demographically, and geographically diverse communities.

(f) Annual report

(1) In general. The Secretary, on behalf of the ICCPOM, shall annually submit to Congress a report that summarizes—

(A) all programs and policies of Federal agencies (including the Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act and the Medicaid program under title XIX of such Act) designed to promote optimal maternity care, focusing particularly on programs and policies that support the adoption of evidence-based maternity care, as defined by timely, scientifically sound systematic reviews;

(B) all programs and policies of Federal agencies (including the Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act and the Medicaid program under title XIX of such Act) designed to address the problems of maternal mortality and morbidity, infant mortality, prematurity, and low birth weight, including such programs and policies designed to address racial and ethnic inequities with respect to each of such problems;

(C) the extent of progress in reducing maternal mortality and infant mortality, low birth weight, and prematurity at State and national levels; and

(D) such other information regarding optimal maternity care (such as quality and performance measures) as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.

(2) Reducing inequities with respect to indigenous status. The information specified in paragraph (1)(C) shall be included in each such report in a manner that disaggregates such information by race, ethnicity, and indigenous status in order to determine the extent of progress in reducing racial and ethnic inequities and inequities related to indigenous status.

(3) Certain information. Each report under paragraph (1) shall include information (disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and indigenous status, as applicable) on the following rates, trends, and costs by State:

(A) The rate and trend of primary cesarean deliveries and repeat cesarean deliveries.

(B) The rate and trend of vaginal births after cesarean.

(C) The rate and trend of vaginal breech births.

(D) The rate and trend of induction of labor.

(E) The rate and trend of freestanding birth center births.

(F) The rate and trend of planned and unplanned home birth.

(G) The rate and trends of attended births by different types of maternity care providers, including by an obstetrician-gynecologist, family practice physician, obstetrician-gynecologist, physician assistant, certified nurse-midwife, certified midwife, and certified professional midwife.

(H) The rate and trend of severe maternal morbidity.

(I) The rates and trends of prenatal and postpartum anxiety and depression.

(J) The rate and trend of preterm birth.

(K) The rate and trend of low birth weight.

(L) The cost of maternity care disaggregated by place of birth and provider of care, including—

(i) uncomplicated vaginal birth;

(ii) complicated vaginal birth;

(iii) uncomplicated cesarean birth; and

(iv) complicated cesarean birth.

(g) Authorization of appropriations. There is authorized to be appropriated, in addition to amounts authorized to be appropriated under section 229(e), to carry out this section $1,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

(b) Conforming amendments

(1) Inclusion as duty of HHS office on women’s health. Section 229(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 237a(b)) (as amended by section 5215) is amended by adding at the end the following:

Text this section adds to the law

(9) establish the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Promotion of Optimal Maternity Outcomes in accordance with section 229A; and

(2) Treatment of biennial reports. Section 229(d) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 237a(d)) is amended by inserting (other than under subsection (b)(9)) after under this section.

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