COVID–19 Health Disparities Action Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1400 To establish and support public awareness campaigns to address COVID– 19-related health disparities and promote vaccination. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 26, 2021 Mr. CA´RDENAS (for himself and Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To establish and support public awareness campaigns to address COVID–19-related health disparities and pro- mote vaccination. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘COVID–19 Health 4 Disparities Action Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FEDERAL PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS TO AD- 6 DRESS COVID–19-RELATED HEALTH DISPARI- 7 TIES AND PROMOTE VACCINATION. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 9 Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Preven- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:31 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1400.IH H1400 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1400 IH tion and in coordination with the White House COVID– 1 19 Health Equity Task Force, the Office of Minority 2 Health of the Department of Health and Human Services, 3 the Surgeon General, the National Vaccine Program Of- 4 fice, and, as appropriate, in coordination with the relevant 5 Offices of Minority Health in the Department of Health 6 and Human Services, the National Institute on Minority 7 Health and Health Disparities, the Indian Health Service, 8 and other relevant Federal offices and agencies, shall, sub- 9 ject to the availability of funding, develop and implement 10 public awareness campaigns about COVID–19 vaccination 11 and other relevant information about COVID–19 directed 12 at racial and ethnic minority, rural, and other vulnerable 13 populations that have experienced health disparities dur- 14 ing the COVID–19 public health emergency related to 15 rates of vaccination, testing, infection, hospitalization, and 16 death. 17 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The public awareness cam- 18 paigns under this section shall— 19 (1) prioritize communities where the greatest 20 health disparities have been identified with respect 21 to rates of vaccination, testing, infection, hospitaliza- 22 tion, and death related to COVID–19, with a focus 23 on disparities affecting racial and ethnic minority, 24 rural, and other vulnerable populations; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:31 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1400.IH H1400 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1400 IH (2) be accessible, culturally competent, and, as 1 appropriate, multilingual; 2 (3) use print, radio, or internet media, includ- 3 ing partnerships with social media influencers and 4 thought leaders, or other forms of public commu- 5 nication, including local, independent, or community- 6 based written news and electronic publications; and 7 (4) provide information based on scientific evi- 8 dence, dispel misinformation, and promote trans- 9 parency regarding— 10 (A) COVID–19 vaccination, which may in- 11 clude information regarding— 12 (i) the effects of COVID–19 vaccina- 13 tion on disease transmission and severity, 14 and the associated health impacts for indi- 15 viduals, communities, or the Nation; 16 (ii) the effects of COVID–19 vaccina- 17 tion on the economic health of communities 18 or the Nation; 19 (iii) the current or upcoming avail- 20 ability of COVID–19 vaccination with no 21 cost-sharing for most United States resi- 22 dents; 23 (iv) locations where COVID–19 vac- 24 cinations are or will be available; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:31 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1400.IH H1400 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1400 IH (v) any relevant information regarding 1 vaccination allocation or populations that 2 are prioritized for vaccination in the re- 3 gion; and 4 (vi) any other information regarding 5 COVID–19 vaccination, as the Secretary 6 determines appropriate; 7 (B) COVID–19 testing, which may include 8 information regarding— 9 (i) the effects of COVID–19 testing 10 on disease transmission; 11 (ii) the availability of COVID–19 test- 12 ing with no cost-sharing for most United 13 States residents; and 14 (iii) locations where COVID–19 test- 15 ing is available in the region; 16 (C) the actions that individuals may take 17 to protect themselves from COVID–19, which 18 may include masking and social distancing; or 19 (D) any other topics related to COVID–19, 20 as the Secretary determines appropriate. 21 (c) COORDINATION.—The public awareness cam- 22 paigns under this section shall be complementary to, and 23 coordinated with, any other Federal, State, Tribal, and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:31 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1400.IH H1400 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1400 IH local efforts, including the grant program described in sec- 1 tion 3, as appropriate. 2 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 45 days 3 after the date on which amounts are made available to 4 the Secretary under this section, the Secretary shall sub- 5 mit to Congress a report on how such funds have been 6 used during such 45-day period and a plan for using any 7 remaining funds within the next 45 days. 8 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 9 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 10 $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2021. 11 SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM FOR PUBLIC AWARENESS CAM- 12 PAIGNS TO ADDRESS COVID–19-RELATED 13 HEALTH DISPARITIES AND PROMOTE VAC- 14 CINATION. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 16 Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Preven- 17 tion and in coordination with the White House COVID– 18 19 Health Equity Task Force, the Office of Minority 19 Health of the Department of Health and Human Services, 20 the Surgeon General, the National Vaccine Program Of- 21 fice, and, as appropriate, in coordination with the relevant 22 Offices of Minority Health in the Department of Health 23 and Human Services, the National Institute on Minority 24 Health and Health Disparities, the Indian Health Service, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:31 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1400.IH H1400 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1400 IH and other relevant Federal offices and agencies, shall 1 award competitive grants to State, Tribal, and territorial 2 health departments to support public awareness cam- 3 paigns about COVID–19 directed at racial and ethnic mi- 4 nority, rural, and other vulnerable populations that have 5 experienced health disparities during the COVID–19 pub- 6 lic health emergency related to rates of vaccination, test- 7 ing, infection, hospitalization, and death. 8 (b) ELIGIBLE LOCAL ENTITIES.—Recipients of 9 grants under this section may disseminate the grant fund- 10 ing to eligible local entities, which may include local health 11 departments, nonprofit community-based organizations, 12 Tribal organizations, urban Indian organizations, health 13 care providers, institutions of higher education, and non- 14 profit faith-based organizations, to develop and implement 15 the public awareness campaigns described in subsection 16 (a). 17 (c) PROTOTYPES.—The Secretary shall develop pro- 18 totype campaign materials and make such materials avail- 19 able on the internet website of the Department of Health 20 and Human Services for grant recipients and eligible local 21 entities to adapt as needed to meet the needs of local com- 22 munities. 23 (d) REQUIREMENTS.—The public awareness cam- 24 paigns under this section shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:31 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1400.IH H1400 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1400 IH (1) prioritize communities where the greatest 1 health disparities have been identified with respect 2 to rates of vaccination, testing, infection, hospitaliza- 3 tion, and death related to COVID–19, with a focus 4 on disparities affecting racial and ethnic minority, 5 rural, and other vulnerable populations; 6 (2) be accessible, culturally competent, and, as 7 appropriate, multilingual; 8 (3) use print, radio, or internet media, includ- 9 ing partnerships with social media influencers and 10 thought leaders, or other forms of public commu- 11 nication, including local, independent, or community- 12 based written news and electronic publications; and 13 (4) provide information based on scientific evi- 14 dence, dispel misinformation, and promote trans- 15 parency regarding— 16 (A) COVID–19 vaccination, which may in- 17 clude information regarding— 18 (i) the effects of COVID–19 vaccina- 19 tion on disease transmission and severity, 20 and the associated health impacts for indi- 21 viduals, communities, or the Nation; 22 (ii) the effects of COVID–19 vaccina- 23 tion on the economic health of communities 24 or the Nation; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:31 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1400.IH H1400 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1400 IH (iii) the current or upcoming avail- 1 ability of COVID–19 vaccination with no 2 cost-sharing for most United States resi- 3 dents; 4 (iv) locations where COVID–19 vac- 5 cinations are or will be available; 6 (v) any relevant information regarding 7 vaccination allocation or populations that 8 are prioritized for vaccination in the re- 9 gion; and 10 (vi) any other information regarding 11 COVID–19 vaccination, as the Secretary 12 determines appropriate; 13 (B) COVID–19 testing, which may include 14 information regarding— 15 (i) the effects of COVID–19 testing 16 on disease transmission; 17 (ii) the availability of COVID–19 test- 18 ing with no cost-sharing for most United 19 States residents; and 20 (iii) locations where COVID–19 test- 21 ing is available in the region; 22 (C) the actions that individuals may take 23 to protect themselves from COVID–19, which 24 may include masking and social distancing; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:31 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1400.IH H1400 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1400 IH (D) any other topics related to COVID–19, 1 as the Secretary determines appropriate. 2 (e) COORDINATION.—The public health campaigns 3 supported by grants awarded under this section shall be 4 complementary to, and coordinated with, any other Fed- 5 eral, State, or local efforts, including the public awareness 6 campaigns described in section 2, as appropriate. 7 (f) TIMING.—The Secretary shall award the grants 8 under this section not later than 60 days after the date 9 of enactment of this Act. 10 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 11 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 12 $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2021 and $25,000,000 for fis- 13 cal year 2022. 14 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 15 In this Act— 16 (1) the term ‘‘COVID–19 public health emer- 17 gency’’ means the public health emergency first de- 18 clared by the Secretary of Health and Human Serv- 19 ices under section 319 of the Public Health Service 20 Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 2020, with re- 21 spect to COVID–19; 22 (2) the term ‘‘racial and ethnic minority’’ has 23 the meaning given the term ‘‘racial and ethnic mi- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:31 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1400.IH H1400 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1400 IH nority group’’ in section 1707(g) of the Public 1 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u–6(g)); 2 (3) the term ‘‘relevant Offices of Minority 3 Health in the Department of Health and Human 4 Services’’ may include— 5 (A) the Office of Extramural Research, 6 Education, and Priority Populations of the 7 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 8 (B) the Office of Minority Health and 9 Health Equity of the Centers for Disease Con- 10 trol and Prevention; 11 (C) the Office of Minority Health of the 12 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; 13 (D) the Office of Minority Health and 14 Health Equity of the Food and Drug Adminis- 15 tration; 16 (E) the Office of Health Equity of the 17 Health Resources and Services Administration; 18 and 19 (F) the Office of Behavioral Health Equity 20 of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 21 Services Administration; 22 (4) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 23 of Health and Human Services; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:31 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1400.IH H1400 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1400 IH (5) the term ‘‘Tribal organization’’ has the 1 meanings given the term ‘‘tribal organization’’ in 2 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- 3 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304); and 4 (6) the term ‘‘urban Indian organization’’ has 5 the meaning given the term in section 4 of the In- 6 dian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 7 1603). 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:31 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1400.IH H1400 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS