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. 7007. Cancer prevention and treatment demonstration for ethnic and racial minorities

(a) Demonstration

(1) In general. The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this section referred to as the Secretary) shall, consistent with subsection (b), conduct demonstration projects for the purpose of developing models and evaluating methods that—

(A) improve the quality of items and services provided to target individuals in order to facilitate reduced disparities in early detection and treatment of cancer;

(B) improve clinical outcomes, satisfaction, quality of life, appropriate use of items and services covered under the Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.), and referral patterns with respect to target individuals with cancer;

(C) eliminate disparities in the rate of preventive cancer screening measures, such as Pap smears, prostate cancer screenings, colon and colorectal cancer screenings, breast cancer screenings, and computed tomography scans, for lung cancer among target individuals;

(D) promote collaboration with community-based organizations to ensure cultural competency of health care professionals and linguistic access for target individuals with limited English proficiency; and

(E) encourage the incorporation of community health workers to increase the efficiency and appropriateness of cancer screening programs.

(2) Community health worker defined. In this section, the term community health worker includes a community health advocate, a lay health worker, a community health representative, a peer health promoter, a community health outreach worker, and a promotore de salud, who promotes health or nutrition within the community in which the individual resides.

(3) Target individual defined. In this section, the term target individual means an individual of a racial and ethnic minority group, as defined in section 1707(g)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u–6(g)(1)), who is entitled to benefits under part A, and enrolled under part B, of title XVIII of the Social Security Act.

(b) Program design

(1) Initial design. Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall evaluate best practices in the private sector, community programs, and academic research of methods that reduce disparities among individuals of racial and ethnic minority groups in the prevention and treatment of cancer and shall design the demonstration projects based on such evaluation.

(2) Number and project areas. Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall implement at least 9 demonstration projects, including the following:

(A) Two projects, each of which shall target different ethnic subpopulations, for each racial and ethnic minority group described in clauses (i) through (vi) of section 1707(g)(1)(A) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u–6(g)(1)(A)).

(B) One project within the Pacific Islands or United States insular areas.

(C) At least 1 project in a rural area.

(D) At least 1 project in an inner-city area.

(3) Expansion of projects; implementation of demonstration project results. The Secretary shall continue the demonstration projects and may expand the number of demonstration projects if the initial report under subsection (c) contains an evaluation that the demonstration projects—

(A) reduce expenditures under the Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.); or

(B) do not increase expenditures under such Medicare program and reduce racial and ethnic health disparities in the quality of health care services provided to target individuals and increase satisfaction of Medicare beneficiaries and health care providers.

(c) Report to congress

(1) In general. Not later than 2 years after the date the Secretary implements the initial demonstration projects under this section, and biannually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report regarding the demonstration projects.

(2) Content of report. Each report under paragraph (1) shall include the following:

(A) A description of the demonstration projects.

(B) An evaluation of—

(i) the cost-effectiveness of the demonstration projects;

(ii) the quality of the health care services provided to target individuals under the demonstration projects; and

(iii) beneficiary and health care provider satisfaction under the demonstration projects.

(C) Any other information regarding the demonstration projects that the Secretary determines to be appropriate.

(d) Waiver authority. The Secretary shall waive compliance with the requirements of title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) to such extent and for such period as the Secretary determines is necessary to conduct the demonstration projects under this section.

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