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

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

Sec. 10004. Additional research on the relationship between the built environment and the health of community residents

(a) Definition of eligible institution. In this section, the term eligible institution means a public or private nonprofit institution that submits to the Secretary and the Administrator an application for a grant under the grant program authorized under subsection (b)(2) at such time, in such manner, and containing such agreements, assurances, and information as the Secretary and Administrator may require.

(b) Research grant program

(1) Definition of health. In this section, the term health includes—

(A) levels of physical activity;

(B) degree of mobility due to factors such as musculoskeletal diseases, arthritis, and obesity;

(C) consumption of nutritional foods;

(D) rates of crime;

(E) air, water, and soil quality;

(F) risk of injury;

(G) accessibility to health care services;

(H) levels of educational attainment; and

(I) other indicators as determined appropriate by the Secretary.

(2) Grants. The Secretary, in collaboration with the Administrator, shall provide grants to eligible institutions to conduct and coordinate research on the built environment and its influence on individual and population-based health.

(3) Research. The Secretary shall support research that—

(A) investigates and defines the causal links between all aspects of the built environment and the health of residents;

(B) examines—

(i) the extent of the impact of the built environment (including the various characteristics of the built environment) on the health of residents;

(ii) the variation in the health of residents by—

(I) location (such as inner cities, inner suburbs, outer suburbs, reservations, and rural areas); and

(II) population subgroup (including children, young adults, the elderly, the disadvantaged); or

(iii) the importance of the built environment to the total health of residents, which is the primary variable of interest from a public health perspective;

(C) is used to develop—

(i) measures to address health and the connection of health to the built environment; and

(ii) efforts to link the measures to travel and health databases;

(D) distinguishes carefully between personal attitudes and choices and external influences on observed behavior to determine how much an observed association between the built environment and the health of residents, versus the lifestyle preferences of the people that choose to live in the neighborhood, reflects the physical characteristics of the neighborhood; and

(E)

(i) identifies or develops effective intervention strategies to promote better health among residents with a focus on behavioral interventions and enhancements of the built environment that promote increased use by residents; and

(ii) in developing the intervention strategies under clause (i), ensures that the intervention strategies will reach out to high-risk populations, including racial and ethnic minorities, low-income urban and rural communities, and children.

(4) Priority. In providing assistance under the grant program authorized under paragraph (2), the Secretary and the Administrator shall give priority to research that incorporates—

(A) minority-serving institutions as grantees;

(B) interdisciplinary approaches; or

(C) the expertise of the public health, physical activity, nutrition and health care (including child health), urban planning, and transportation research communities in the United States and abroad.

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