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

G Miscellaneous provisions

VII Addressing high-impact minority diseases

A Cancer

Sec. 7003. Prostate research, imaging, and men’s education

(a) Research and development of prostate cancer imaging technologies

(1) Expansion of research. The Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this section as the Secretary), acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health and the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, and in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall carry out a program to expand and intensify research to develop innovative advanced imaging technologies for prostate cancer detection, diagnosis, and treatment comparable to state-of-the-art mammography technologies.

(2) Early stage research. In implementing the program under paragraph (1), the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, shall carry out a grant program to encourage the early stages of research in prostate imaging to develop and implement new ideas, proof of concepts, and pilot studies for high-risk technologic innovation in prostate cancer imaging that would have a high potential impact for improving patient care, including individualized care, quality of life, and cost-effectiveness.

(3) Large scale later stage research. In implementing the program under paragraph (1), the Secretary, acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health, shall utilize the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering and the National Cancer Institute for advanced stages of research in prostate imaging, including technology development and clinical trials for projects determined by the Secretary to have demonstrated promising preliminary results and proof of concept.

(4) Interdisciplinary private-public partnerships. In developing the program under paragraph (1), the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, shall establish interdisciplinary private-public partnerships to develop and implement research strategies for expedited innovation in imaging and image-guided treatment and to conduct such research.

(5) Racial disparities. In developing the program under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall recognize and address—

(A) the racial disparities in the incidences of prostate cancer and mortality rates with respect to such disease; and

(B) any barriers in access to care and participation in clinical trials that are specific to racial minorities.

(6) Authorization of appropriations

(A) In general. Subject to subparagraph (B), there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection, $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

(B) Specific allocations. Of the amount authorized to be appropriated under subparagraph (A) for each of the fiscal years described in such subparagraph—

(i) no less than 10 percent may be used to carry out the grant program under paragraph (2); and

(ii) no more than 1 percent may be used to carry out paragraph (4).

(b) Public awareness and education campaign

(1) National campaign. The Secretary shall carry out a national campaign to increase the awareness and knowledge of individuals in the United States with respect to the need for prostate cancer screening and for improved detection technologies.

(2) Requirements. The national campaign conducted under this subsection shall include—

(A) roles for the Health Resources Services Administration, the Office of Minority Health of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Office of Minority Health and Health Equity of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and

(B) the development and distribution of written educational materials, and the development and placing of public service announcements, that are intended to encourage men to seek prostate cancer screening and to create awareness of the need for improved imaging technologies for prostate cancer screening and diagnosis, including in-vitro blood testing and imaging technologies.

(3) Racial disparities. In developing the national campaign under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall recognize and address—

(A) the racial disparities in the incidences of prostate cancer and mortality rates with respect to such disease; and

(B) any barriers in access to care and participation in clinical trials that are specific to racial minorities.

(4) Grants. The Secretary shall establish a program to award grants to nonprofit private entities to enable such entities to test alternative outreach and education strategies to increase the awareness and knowledge of individuals in the United States with respect to the need for prostate cancer screening and improved imaging technologies.

(5) Authorization of appropriations. There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

(c) Improving prostate cancer screening blood tests

(1) In general. The Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, shall support research to develop an improved prostate cancer screening blood test using in-vitro detection.

(2) Authorization of appropriations. There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection, $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

(d) Reporting and compliance

(1) Report and strategy. Not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that details the strategy of the Secretary for implementing the requirements of this section and the status of such efforts.

(2) Full compliance. Not later than 36 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that—

(A) describes the research and development and public awareness and education campaigns funded under this section;

(B) provides evidence that projects involving high-risk, high-impact technologic innovation, proof of concept, and pilot studies are prioritized;

(C) provides evidence that the Secretary recognizes and addresses any barriers in access to care and participation in clinical trials that are specific to racial minorities in the implementation of this section;

(D) contains assurances that all the other provisions of this section are fully implemented; and

(E) certifies compliance with the provisions of this section, or in the case of a Federal agency that has not complied with any of such provisions, an explanation as to such failure to comply.

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