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

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

Sec. 6407. Youth and young adult mental health promotion, prevention, intervention, and treatment

Part Q of title III of the Public Health Service Act (as amended by section 5001) is amended by adding at the end the following:

Text this section adds to the law

399Z–4. Youth and young adult mental health promotion, prevention, intervention, and treatment

(a) Grants. The Secretary shall—

(1) award grants to eligible entities to develop, maintain, or enhance youth and young adult mental health promotion, prevention, intervention, and treatment programs, including—

(A) programs for youth and young adults who may be likely to develop, are showing early signs of, or have been diagnosed with a mental health condition, including a serious emotional disturbance; and

(B) infrastructure and organization change at a State, tribal, or territorial level to improve cross-system collaboration, service capacity, and expertise related to youth and young adults; and

(2) ensure that programs funded through grants under this section use community-driven, evidence-informed, or evidence-based models, practices, and methods that are, as appropriate, culturally and linguistically appropriate, and can be replicated in other appropriate settings.

(b) Eligible transition age youth and entities. In this section:

(1) Eligible entity. The term eligible entity means—

(A) a local educational agency;

(B) a State educational agency;

(C) an institution of higher education (or consortium of such institutions), which may include a recovery program at an institution of higher education;

(D) a local board, or a one-stop operator, as defined in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act;

(E) a nonprofit organization with appropriate expertise in providing services or programs for children, adolescents, or young adults, excluding a school;

(F) a State, political subdivision of a State, Indian tribe, or tribal organization; or

(G) a high school or dormitory serving high school students that receives funding from the Bureau of Indian Education.

(2) Eligible transition age youth. The term eligible transition age youth means a youth or young adult from age 16 to not more than 25 years of age who is—

(A) an out-of-school youth as defined in section 129(a)(1)(B) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act;

(B) a homeless individual (as defined in section 41403(6) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994), a homeless child or youth (as defined in section 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act) a runaway, in foster care or has aged out of the foster care system, a child eligible for assistance under section 477 of the Social Security Act, or in an out-of-home placement;

(C) an individual who is pregnant or parenting, as referred to in section 129(a)(1)(B) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act;

(D) a youth who is an individual with a disability, as referred to in section 129(a)(1)(B) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act;

(E) a low-income individual who requires additional assistance to enter or complete an educational program or to secure or hold employment, as referred to in section 129(a)(1)(B) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; or

(F) living in a community that has faced acute or long-term exposure to substantial discrimination, historical oppression, intergenerational poverty, civil unrest, a high rate of violence, or drug overdose deaths.

(c) Application. An eligible entity seeking a grant under subsection (a) shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.

(d) Use of funds for mental health promotion, prevention, intervention and treatment programs. An eligible entity may use amounts awarded under a grant under subsection (a)(1) to carry out the following:

(1) Creation, implementation, and expansion of services and supports that are culturally and linguistically appropriate and youth guided, involve and include family and community members (including business leaders and faith-based organizations), and provide for continuity of care between child- and adult-serving systems to ensure seamless transition.

(2) Infrastructure and organization change at a State, Tribal, or territorial level to improve cross-system collaboration, service capacity, and expertise related to youth and young adults with, or at risk of, mental health conditions and substance use disorders as they transition into adult roles and responsibilities.

(3) Public awareness and cross-system provider training for individuals employed at institutions of higher education and community colleges, behavioral health providers, individuals working in the criminal justice system, primary care providers, vocational service providers, and child welfare workers.

(e) Matching funds. The Secretary may not award a grant under this section to an eligible entity unless the eligible entity agrees, with respect to the costs to be incurred by the eligible entity in carrying out the activities described in subsection (d), to make available non-Federal contributions (in cash or in kind) toward such costs in an amount that is not less than 10 percent of the total amount of Federal funds provided in the grant.

(f) Authorization of appropriations. To carry out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2036.

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