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. 6606. Study and report on strategies on the AANHPI behavioral health workforce shortage

(a) Study

(1) In general. The Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use (referred to in this section as the Secretary), in coordination with the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Secretary of Labor, and the Director of the Office of Minority Health, shall conduct a study on strategies for increasing the behavioral health professional workforce that identify as AANHPI.

(2) Elements. Such study required under paragraph (1) shall consider—

(A) the total number of licensed behavioral health providers in the United States who identify as AANHPI;

(B) with respect to each such provider, information regarding the current type of license, geographic area of practice, and type of employer (such as hospital, Federally qualified health center, school, or private practice);

(C) information regarding the cultural and linguistic capabilities of such providers, including languages spoken proficiently; and

(D) the relevant barriers to enrollment in behavioral health professional education programs and entering the behavioral workforce for AANHPI individuals.

(b) Report. Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and make publicly available, a report on the findings of the study conducted under subsection (a), including—

(1) identification of AANHPI licensed behavioral health providers’ knowledge and awareness of the barriers to quality behavioral health care services faced by AANHPI individuals, including stigma, limited English proficiency, and lack of health insurance coverage;

(2) recommendations for actions to be taken by the Secretary to increase the number of AANHPI licensed behavioral health professionals;

(3) recommendations for legislative or administrative action to improve the enrollment of AANHPI individuals in behavioral health professional education programs; and

(4) such other recommendations as the Secretary determines appropriate.

(c) Data. Any data included in the study or report under this section shall be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, geographic region, disability status, and other relevant factors, in a manner that protects personal privacy and that is consistent with applicable Federal and State privacy law.

(d) Definition. In this section the term licensed behavioral health provider means any individual licensed to provide mental health or substance use disorder services, including in the professions of social work, psychology, psychiatry, marriage and family therapy, mental health counseling, and substance use disorder counseling.

(e) Authorization of appropriations. For purposes of carrying out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2027.

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