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

E HIV/AIDS

F Diabetes

G Lung disease

H Tuberculosis

I Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases

J Sleep and circadian rhythm disorders

Sec. 7901. Sleep and circadian rhythm disorders research activities of the national institutes of health

(a) In general. The Director of the National Institutes of Health, acting through the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, shall—

(1) continue to expand research activities addressing sleep health disparities; and

(2) continue implementation of the NIH Sleep Disorders Research Plan across all institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health to improve treatment and prevention of sleep health disparities.

(b) Required research activities. In conducting or supporting research relating to sleep and circadian rhythm, the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute shall—

(1) advance epidemiology and clinical research to achieve a more complete understanding of disparities in domains of sleep health and across population subgroups for which cardiovascular and metabolic health disparities exist, including—

(A) prevalence and severity of sleep apnea;

(B) habitual sleep duration;

(C) sleep timing and regularity; and

(D) insomnia;

(2) develop study designs and analytical approaches to explain and predict multilevel and life-course determinants of sleep health and to elucidate the sleep-related causes of cardiovascular and metabolic health disparities across the age spectrum, including such determinants and causes that are—

(A) environmental;

(B) biological or genetic;

(C) psychosocial;

(D) societal;

(E) political; or

(F) economic;

(3) determine the contribution of sleep impairments such as sleep apnea, insufficient sleep duration, irregular sleep schedules, and insomnia to unexplained disparities in cardiovascular and metabolic risk and disease outcomes;

(4) develop study designs, data sampling and collection tools, and analytical approaches to optimize understanding of mediating and moderating factors, and feedback mechanisms coupling sleep to cardiovascular and metabolic health disparities;

(5) advance research to understand cultural and linguistic barriers (on the person, provider, or system level) to access to care, medical diagnosis, and treatment of sleep disorders in diverse population groups;

(6) develop and test multilevel interventions (including sleep health education in diverse communities) to reduce disparities in sleep health that will impact the ability to improve disparities in cardiovascular and metabolic risk or disease;

(7) create opportunities to integrate sleep and health disparity science by strategically utilizing resources (involving existing or anticipated cohorts) and exchanging scientific data and ideas (including through cross-over into scientific meetings); and

(8) enhance the diversity and foster career development of young investigators involved in sleep and health disparities science.

(c) Authorization of appropriations. To carry out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2027 and each subsequent fiscal year.

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