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

K Kidney disease research, surveillance, prevention, and treatment

Sec. 7901A–1. Kidney disease action plan

(a) In general. The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shall conduct, support, and expand public health strategies, prevention, diagnosis, surveillance, and public and professional awareness activities regarding kidney disease.

(b) National action plan

(1) Development. Pursuant to section 426 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285c), not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, in consultation with the Director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall develop a national action plan to address kidney disease in the United States with participation from patients, caregivers, health professionals, patient advocacy organizations, researchers, providers, public health professionals, and other stakeholders.

(2) Contents. At a minimum, such plan shall include recommendations for—

(A) public health interventions for the purpose of implementation of the national plan;

(B) biomedical, health services, and public health research on kidney disease; and

(C) inclusion of kidney disease in the health data collections of all Federal agencies.

(c) Kidney disease prevention programs. The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, through the Chronic Kidney Disease Initiative, shall carry out the following:

(1) Conduct public education and awareness activities with patient and professional organizations to stimulate earlier diagnosis and improve patient outcomes from treatment of kidney disease. To the extent known and relevant, such public education and awareness activities shall reflect differences in kidney disease by cause (such as hypertension, diabetes, lupus nephritis, COVID–19, and polycystic kidney disease) and include a focus on outreach to undiagnosed and, as appropriate, minority populations.

(2) Supplement and expand upon the activities of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by making grants to nonprofit organizations, State and local jurisdictions, and Indian Tribes for the purpose of reducing the burden of kidney disease, especially in disproportionately impacted communities, through public health interventions and related activities.

(3) Coordinate with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the Indian Health Service, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop pilot programs to demonstrate best practices for the diagnosis and management of kidney disease.

(4) Develop improved techniques and identify best practices, in coordination with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, for assisting kidney disease patients.

(d) Data collection. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, acting jointly, shall assess the depth and quality of information on kidney disease that is collected in surveys and population studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including whether there are additional opportunities for information to be collected in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the National Health Interview Survey, and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys. The Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases shall include the results of such assessment in the national action plan under subsection (b).

(e) Authorization of appropriations. There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2027, $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2028, $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2029, $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2030, and $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2031.

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