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This section states congressional findings on persistent health care inequities, particularly for communities of color and Black communities, citing a 1966 quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; systemic causes including access to housing, nutrition, and economic opportunity; biases based on race, national origin, sex, disability, age, and religion; and the National Academy of Medicine's 2002 report "Unequal Treatment," which found racial and ethnic minorities receive lower-quality care than White individuals even when controlling for insurance, income, age, and condition severity.
This section directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), in consultation with the Director for Civil Rights and Health Equity, NIH Director, CMS Administrator, AHRQ Director, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health, and CDC Director, to issue regulations requiring health care providers and facilities that report health outcome data to HHS under other laws to disaggregate such data by demographic characteristics including race, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), disability, age, and other factors the Secretary deems useful for identifying patterns of inequitable health care provision. The Secretary must issue proposed regulations within 90 days of enactment and, within one year of enactment, establish a repository for the de-identified disaggregated data.
This section requires the Secretary, effective for payments beginning in FY2026, to adopt measures relating to equitable health care (defined as high-quality care provided without variation based on race, national origin, sex including sexual orientation and gender identity, disability, age, or other factors determined by the Secretary) furnished by hospitals in inpatient settings when expanding measures under the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program (HVBP). (As background, HVBP adjusts Medicare payments to acute care hospitals based on total performance across quality and efficiency measures.) It further requires inclusion of such measures in HVBP beginning in FY2026; solicitation of input from individuals and groups representing communities of color and protected classes; and accounting for social determinants of health (as defined in specified law) to avoid adversely affecting hospitals for inequitable outcomes not caused by their provision of care.
This section establishes inequitable provision of health care as a new basis for permissive exclusion from Medicare and other Federal health care programs for any health care provider that the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines, under specified procedures in the Equal Health Care for All Act, has engaged in a pattern of such provision (as defined in that Act) on the basis of an individual's race, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), disability, or age. The section prohibits such exclusion from Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) or Medicaid (title XIX) if it would result in increased difficulty in access to health care services for underserved or low-income communities.
This section renames the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services as the Office for Civil Rights and Health Equity and designates its head, appointed by the President, as the Director for Civil Rights and Health Equity. All references to the prior names in any law, regulation, map, document, record, or other paper of the United States are deemed to refer to the new names.
This section prohibits health care providers from subjecting individuals to the inequitable provision of health care, in whole or in part, based on race, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), disability, age, or religion. It directs the Secretary to provide each patient with notice of rights under this section. This section establishes an administrative complaint process administered by the Director. An aggrieved person may file a written complaint under oath within one year of the alleged violation; the Director must acknowledge receipt to the complainant, serve notice and a copy of the complaint on the respondent within 30 days, and allow the respondent 60 days to answer. The Director must investigate the complaint within 180 days (unless impracticable), may review other patients' records to identify patterns or practices, must account for social determinants of health in determinations, notify parties of any investigation delays, and report results to relevant state licensing authorities. This section requires the Director to engage in conciliation during the complaint process to the extent feasible, approve only agreements protecting the complainant's and similarly situated persons' rights, share agreements with state licensing authorities (absent agreement otherwise and without disclosing identifiable health information), refer suspected breaches to the Attorney General for enforcement, and protect conciliation communications from public disclosure or use in subsequent proceedings without party consent. If prompt judicial action is necessary following a complaint filing, the Director may...
This section establishes the Federal Health Equity Commission to monitor implementation of the Act, investigate progress toward health equity and the elimination of health disparities, and submit at least one annual report to the President and Congress describing relevant federal actions and providing recommendations. The Commission comprises 8 voting members with expertise in racial and ethnic health inequities, health needs of vulnerable populations, and health equity (not more than 4 from the same political party, appointed as follows: 4 by the President; 2 by the President pro tempore of the Senate upon recommendations of majority and minority leaders, from different parties; 2 by the Speaker of the House upon recommendations of majority and minority leaders, from different parties), plus 4 nonvoting ex officio members from the Department of Health and Human Services. Voting members serve 6-year terms; the President designates the Chairperson (with concurrence of a majority of voting members), and the Speaker designates the Vice Chairperson from the opposite party (with consultations and concurrence); a majority of voting members constitutes a quorum. The Commission may hold hearings approved by a majority of voting members, issue subpoenas signed by the Chairperson and enforceable by U.S. district courts (with contempt penalties for noncompliance), and apply witness fees and allowances under 28 U.S.C. §1821 (paid from Commission funds).
This section directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), not later than 180 days after enactment, to award grants to hospitals to promote equitable health care treatment and services and reduce disparities in care and outcomes, after consulting with the HHS Director for Civil Rights and Health Equity on grant criteria and applications. Grant funds may be used to establish or expand equitable health care programs, including (1) explicit and implicit bias training for providers and staff, (2) translation or interpretation services, (3) recruiting and training a diverse workforce, (4) tracking care and outcomes data, and (5) cultural sensitivity training; such grants must supplement, not supplant, other funds. The Secretary must prioritize hospitals that receive disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments under Medicare (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(r)) or Medicaid (42 U.S.C. 1396r-4) for FY2025. (Thus, DSH payments support hospitals serving disproportionate numbers of low-income patients.) "Equitable health care" has the meaning given in 42 U.S.C. 1395ww(b)(3)(B)(viii)(VIII)(cc), as added by section 4(a).