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

L Diversity in clinical trials

M Additional provisions addressing high-impact minority diseases

N Health Equity and Rare Disease Act

Sec. 7901D–2. Collaborative comprehensive plan to address rare diseases and conditions in minority populations

Subpart 20 of part C of title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285t et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

Text this section adds to the law

464z–7. Collaborative comprehensive plan to address rare diseases and conditions in minority populations. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Director of NIH, the Director of the Institute, the Director of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the directors of the other agencies of the National Institutes of Health in collaboration (and in consultation with the advisory council for the Institute) shall—

(1) develop a comprehensive Federal plan to address rare diseases and conditions in minority populations (as those terms are defined in section 409K), including a strategy to increase diversity in genetic programs at the program for Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases at the National Institutes of Health;

(2) conduct or support through grants or cooperative agreements basic, clinical, and translational research on rare diseases and conditions in minority populations, including research on—

(A) early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of such diseases and conditions in such populations; and

(B) improving the quality of life for individuals with rare diseases or conditions and their families;

(3) conduct or support clinical training programs for physicians and other health care practitioners with respect to detecting, diagnosing, and treating such diseases and conditions in such populations; and

(4) develop guidance for increasing participation of health professionals who are members of minority groups (as defined in section 464z–3) in research conducted or supported by the National Institutes of Health on such diseases and conditions in such populations.

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