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

E Community-Based care

F Reports

Sec. 6604. Co-occurring conditions

(a) GAO report. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a report on barriers to care for persons with co-occurring conditions and access to care in the United States. Such report shall include the information and recommendations described in subsection (b).

(b) Content of report. The report under subsection (a) shall include—

(1) an assessment of current barriers to behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment for low-income, uninsured, and Medicaid-enrolled adults, and recommendations for addressing such barriers, particularly for women and diverse racial and ethnic groups;

(2) an assessment of—

(A) how many adults have a behavioral health condition and options for adults to receive behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment in nonexpansion States;

(B) Medicaid expansion States who provide behavioral health coverage for newly eligible enrollees;

(C) how enrollment in coverage affects treatment availability; and

(D) the impacts of COVID–19 to receiving and accessing treatment for behavioral health, substance use disorders, and diverse racial and ethnic groups, and recommendations for addressing such barriers;

(3) an assessment of current barriers, inclusive of social determinants of health and cultural barriers, that prevent adults from receiving behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment, and recommendations for addressing such barriers, particularly for low-income women and adults from racial and ethnic groups;

(4) an assessment of disparities in access to addiction counselors and mental or behavioral health care providers acting in accordance with State law, stratified by race, ethnicity, gender identity, geographic location, and insurance type, and recommendations to promote greater access equity; and

(5) recommendations to promote greater equity in access to care for behavioral services and substance use disorders, particularly for low-income women and adults from diverse racial and ethnic groups.

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