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

Sec. 4102. Extension of the Supplemental Security Income Program to Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa

(a) In general. Section 303 of the Social Security Amendments of 1972 (86 Stat. 1484) is amended by striking subsection (b).

(b) Conforming amendments

(1) Definition of state. Section 1101(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1301(a)(1)) is amended by striking the 5th sentence and inserting the following: Such term when used in title XVI includes Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa..

(2) Elimination of limit on total payments to the territories. Section 1108 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1308) is amended—

(A) in the section heading, by striking ; limitation on total payments;

(B) by striking subsection (a); and

(C) in subsection (c), by striking paragraphs (2) and (4) and redesignating paragraphs (3) and (5) as paragraphs (2) and (4), respectively.

(3) United States nationals treated the same as citizens. Section 1614(a)(1)(B) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382c(a)(1)(B)) is amended—

(A) in clause (i)(I), by inserting or national, after citizen;

(B) in clause (i)(II), by adding ; or at the end; and

(C) in clause (ii), by inserting or national after citizen.

(4) Territories included in geographic meaning of United States. Section 1614(e) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382c(e)) is amended by striking and the District of Columbia and inserting , the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa.

(c) Waiver authority. The Commissioner of Social Security may waive or modify any statutory requirement relating to the provision of benefits under the Supplemental Security Income Program under title XVI of the Social Security Act in Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, or American Samoa, to the extent that the Commissioner deems it necessary in order to adapt the program to the needs of the territory involved.

(d) Effective date. This section and the amendments made by this section shall take effect on the 1st day of the 1st Federal fiscal year that begins 1 year or more after the date of the enactment of this Act.

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