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

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

Sec. 7304. GAO report on structural and systemic factors that perpetuate cardiovascular disparities

(a) In general. Not later than September 30, 2027, the Comptroller General of the United States shall prepare and submit a report to Congress that contains the results of an investigation of—

(1) the structural and systemic factors that perpetuate disparities in access to screenings, care, and treatment of cardiovascular disease; and

(2) how care navigation, including community-based health workers, can improve cardiovascular disease management and improve health outcomes.

(b) Contents. The report shall—

(1) identify the challenges and barriers facing health care providers and patients, which contribute to postponed, delayed, or suboptimal treatments for cardiovascular disease;

(2) examine efforts by Federal agencies and Federal programs to improve screening and management of patients with cardiovascular disease;

(3) identify and examine existing quality measures from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services related to cholesterol management and whether these measures encourage providers and health systems to—

(A) perform appropriate and timely low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) testing on patients at risk of a cardiovascular event; and

(B) better manage patients’ elevated LDL-C levels in concordance with clinical guidelines prescribing directives to ensure patients are progressing towards guideline-recommended LDL-C levels;

(4) identify actions the Federal Government could take to promote collaboration with community-based organizations to ensure improvement in clinical outcomes for patients with cardiovascular disease, including by building on recommendations from the National Academy of Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control to include community health workers to improve health care delivery for underserved and high-risk communities; and

(5) assess whether racial and ethnic minority groups, as defined in section 1707(g) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300g–6(g)), have higher prior authorization rejection rates of prescription drugs to treat or prevent cardiovascular disease by health insurance providers and, if so, identify the resulting impacts on cardiovascular disease medication adherence, morbidity, and mortality, as well as resulting postponed, delayed, or suboptimal treatment prescribing for cardiovascular disease among racial and ethnic minorities.

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