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

Sec. 3044. Expanding FQHC services

(a) Behavioral health professional and case manager services

(1) Medicare. Section 1861(aa) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(aa)) is amended—

(A) in paragraph (1)—

(i) in subparagraph (B), by inserting such services furnished on or after October 1, 2026, by a behavioral health consultant, peer support specialist, or other behavioral health professional (as such terms are defined by the Secretary), before and such services;

(ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking and at the end;

(iii) in subparagraph (D), by striking the comma at the end and inserting , and; and

(iv) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following new subparagraph:

Text this section adds to the law

(E) case management services furnished on or after October 1, 2026, by a case manager (as defined by the Secretary),

; and

(B) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking (D) and inserting (E).

(2) Medicaid. Section 1905(l)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d(l)(2)(A)) is amended by inserting and (E) before of section.

(b) Guidance on State Medicaid payments to FQHCs. Section 1902(bb) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(bb)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

Text this section adds to the law

(7) Study and guidance on payment adjustments. Not later than October 1, 2027, and not less frequently than annually thereafter, the Secretary shall—

(A) conduct a study on any differences in the methods by which State plans adjust the payment amount under paragraph (3) for services furnished during a fiscal year; and

(B) based on the results of the study conducted under subparagraph (A), issue guidance to State plans on best practices for adjusting the payment amount under paragraph (3) for services furnished during a fiscal year.

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

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