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

Sec. 4007. Study on the uninsured

(a) In general. The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this section referred to as the Secretary) shall—

(1) conduct a study, in accordance with the standards under section 3101 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300kk), on the demographic characteristics of the population of individuals who do not have health insurance or oral health coverage; and

(2) predict, based on such study, the demographic characteristics of the population of individuals who would remain without health insurance after the end of any annual open enrollment or any special enrollment period or upon enactment and implementation of any legislative changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111–148) that affect the number of persons eligible for health insurance.

(b) Reporting requirements

(1) In general. Not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress the results of the study under subsection (a)(1) and the prediction made under subsection (a)(2).

(2) Reporting of demographic characteristics. The Secretary shall—

(A) report the demographic characteristics under paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) on the basis of racial and ethnic minority group (as defined in section 1707(g)(1) of the Public Health Service Act), and stratify the reporting on each racial and ethnic minority group by other demographic characteristics that can impact access to health insurance, such as sexual orientation, gender identity, primary language, disability status, sex, socioeconomic status, age group, citizenship, and immigration status, in a manner consistent with title I of this Act, including the amendments made by such title; and

(B) not use such report, or any information gathered in preparing such report—

(i) to share information on any individual with the Department of Homeland Security or any other agency that engages in immigration enforcement actions; or

(ii) for the exploitation of, or discrimination against, communities of color or the LGBTQ+ population.

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