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. 10005. Environment and public health restoration

(a) Statement of policy. It is the policy of the Federal Government to work in conjunction with States, territories, Tribal governments, international organizations, and foreign governments as a steward of the environment for the benefit of public health, to maintain air quality and water quality, to sustain the diversity of plant and animal species, to combat global climate change, and to protect the environment for future generations.

(b) Study and report on public health or environmental impact of revised rules, regulations, laws, or other agency decisions

(1) Study. Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the President shall seek to enter into an arrangement under which the National Academy of Sciences shall conduct a study to determine the effects on public health, air quality, water quality, wildlife, and the environment of the following regulations, laws, and other agency decisions:

(A) Clean water

(i) The final rule of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Corps of Engineers entitled Final Revisions to the Clean Water Act Regulatory Definitions of Fill Material and Discharge of Fill Material and published in the Federal Register on May 9, 2002 (67 Fed. Reg. 31129).

(ii) The final rule of the Environmental Protection Agency entitled National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Regulation for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations: Removal of Vacated Elements in Response to 2011 Court Decision and published in the Federal Register on July 30, 2012 (77 Fed. Reg. 44494).

(iii) The final rule of the Environmental Protection Agency entitled Withdrawal of Revisions to the Water Quality Planning and Management Regulation and Revisions to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Program in Support of Revisions to the Water Quality Planning and Management Regulation and published in the Federal Register on March 19, 2003 (68 Fed. Reg. 13608).

(iv) The final rule of the Environmental Protection Agency entitled Consolidated Permit Regulations: RCRA Hazardous Waste; SDWA Underground Injection Control; CWA National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System; CWA Section 404 Dredge or Fill Programs; and CAA Prevention of Significant Deterioration and published in the Federal Register on May 19, 1980 (45 Fed. Reg. 33290), with respect to the definition of the waters of the United States.

(v) The final rule of the Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency entitled Definition of Waters of the United States—Recodification of Pre-Existing Rules and published in the Federal Register on October 22, 2019 (84 Fed. Reg. 56626).

(vi) The final rule of the Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency entitled The Navigable Waters Protection Rule: Definition of Waters of the United States and published in the Federal Register on April 21, 2020 (85 Fed. Reg. 22250).

(B) Forests and land management

(i) The Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.).

(ii) The application of section 553(e) of title 5, United States Code, such that a State may petition for a special rule for the inventoried roadless areas within National Forest System land within the State.

(iii) The final rules of the Forest Service entitled National Forest System Land Management Planning (77 Fed. Reg. 21162), National Forest System Land Management Planning; Correction (78 Fed. Reg. 23491), and National Forest System Land Management Planning (81 Fed. Reg. 90723), published on April 9, 2012, April 19, 2013, and December 15, 2016, respectively.

(iv) The final rule of the Bureau of Land Management entitled Oil Shale Management—General and published on November 18, 2008 (73 Fed. Reg. 69414).

(v) The record of decision described in the notice of availability of the Bureau of Land Management entitled Notice of Availability of Approved Land Use Plan Amendments/Record of Decision for Allocation of Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources on Lands Administered by the Bureau of Land Management in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement and published on April 1, 2013 (78 Fed. Reg. 19518).

(C) Scientific review. The final rule of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration entitled Interagency Cooperation Under the Endangered Species Act and published on December 16, 2008 (73 Fed. Reg. 76272), as amended by the final rule of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration entitled Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Regulations for Interagency Cooperation and published on August 27, 2019 (84 Fed. Reg. 44976).

(2) Method. In conducting the study under paragraph (1), the National Academy of Sciences may use and compare existing scientific studies regarding the regulations, laws, and other agency decisions described in paragraph (1).

(3) Report. Not later than 270 days after the date on which the President enters into the arrangement under paragraph (1), the National Academy of Sciences shall make publicly available and shall submit to Congress and to the head of each department and agency of the Federal Government that issued, implements, or would implement a regulation, law, or other agency decision described in paragraph (1), a report that includes—

(A) a description of the effects of each regulation, law, or other agency decision described in paragraph (1) on public health, air quality, water quality, wildlife, and the environment, compared to the impact of preexisting regulations, laws, or other agency decisions in effect, as applicable, including—

(i) any negative impacts to air quality or water quality;

(ii) any negative impacts to wildlife;

(iii) any delays in hazardous waste cleanup that are projected to be hazardous to public health; and

(iv) any other negative impact on public health or the environment; and

(B) any recommendations that the National Academy of Sciences considers appropriate to maintain, restore, or improve in whole or in part protections for public health, air quality, water quality, wildlife, and the environment for each of the regulations, laws, and other agency decisions described in paragraph (1), which may include recommendations for the adoption of any regulation or law in place or proposed prior to January 1, 2001.

(c) Department and agency revision of existing rules, regulations, or laws. Not later than 180 days after the date on which the report is submitted pursuant to subsection (b)(3), the head of each department or agency that has issued or implemented a regulation, law, or other agency decision described in subsection (b)(1) shall submit to Congress a plan describing the steps the department or agency will take, or has taken, to restore or improve protections for public health and the environment in whole or in part that were in existence prior to the issuance of the applicable regulation, law, or other agency decision.

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