Minority Community Public Health Emergency Response Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7546 To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure that minority and medically underserved communities have meaningful and immediate access to public health interventions and medically necessary health care services during the COVID–19 pandemic, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 9, 2020 Mr. LEWIS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris- diction of the committee concerned A BILL To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure that minority and medically underserved commu- nities have meaningful and immediate access to public health interventions and medically necessary health care services during the COVID–19 pandemic, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7546.IH H7546 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7546 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2 ‘‘Minority Community Public Health Emergency Response 3 Act of 2020’’. 4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 5 this Act is as follows: 6 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—RAPID RESPONSE GRANT PROGRAM Sec. 101. Rapid response grant program. TITLE II—EQUALITY IN MEDICARE AND MEDICAID TREATMENT Sec. 201. Improving access to care for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. TITLE I—RAPID RESPONSE 7 GRANT PROGRAM 8 SEC. 101. RAPID RESPONSE GRANT PROGRAM. 9 Title XXVIII of the Public Health Service Act (42 10 U.S.C. 300hh et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 11 the following new subtitle: 12 ‘‘Subtitle D—Rapid Response 13 ‘‘SEC. 2831. RAPID RESPONSE GRANT PROGRAM. 14 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary 15 of Health and Human Services shall award grants to eligi- 16 ble entities described in subsection (b) for COVID–19 pre- 17 paredness and response efforts. 18 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive 19 a grant under this section, an entity shall be a qualified 20 government entity seeking a grant for a qualified commu- 21 nity within its jurisdiction that— 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7546.IH H7546 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7546 IH ‘‘(1) is, or contains, a medically underserved 1 community; and 2 ‘‘(2) has a percentage of COVID–19 cases, hos- 3 pitalizations, or deaths for any racial and ethnic mi- 4 nority group that is greater than the percentage of 5 such cases in the State or county in which the com- 6 munity is located. 7 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible for a grant under 8 this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary 9 an application at such time, in such form, and containing 10 such information as the Secretary determines appropriate, 11 including— 12 ‘‘(1) documentation that the entity is an eligible 13 entity; 14 ‘‘(2) a plan for carrying out the activities de- 15 scribed in subsection (f) with amounts received 16 under this section; 17 ‘‘(3) an oversight plan for tracking and security 18 of resources and supplies; and 19 ‘‘(4) a schedule for resource expenditure and re- 20 sponse readiness. 21 ‘‘(d) CERTIFICATION.—Prior to awarding a grant 22 under this section, the Secretary shall obtain a certifi- 23 cation from the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority 24 Health, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women’s 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7546.IH H7546 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7546 IH Health, and the Director of the Office of Rural Health 1 Policy that the application involved addresses health dis- 2 parities and social determinants of health as appropriate 3 for populations to be cared for through the grant. 4 ‘‘(e) PRIORITY.—In making grants under this sec- 5 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities 6 that are local governments and county health depart- 7 ments. 8 ‘‘(f) GRANT USES.—A recipient of a grant under this 9 section may use grant funds with respect to COVID–19 10 preparedness and rapid response efforts for any of the fol- 11 lowing: 12 ‘‘(1) Purchasing medical supplies. 13 ‘‘(2) Providing nutrition assistance. 14 ‘‘(3) Warehousing stockpiled supplies, including 15 rent and security costs. 16 ‘‘(4) Constructing and operating testing sites. 17 ‘‘(5) Providing quarantine housing. 18 ‘‘(6) Providing public education related to the 19 pandemic, including misinformation response. 20 ‘‘(7) Contact tracing. 21 ‘‘(8) Providing vaccinations. 22 ‘‘(9) Distributing, dispensing, and admin- 23 istering antiviral medications. 24 ‘‘(10) Providing community mitigation. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7546.IH H7546 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7546 IH ‘‘(11) Performing laboratory epidemiology. 1 ‘‘(12) Performing surveillance. 2 ‘‘(g) REPORTING.— 3 ‘‘(1) GRANT RECIPIENTS.—Not later than 1 4 month after the date of enactment of this subtitle, 5 6 months after such date of enactment, and 1 year 6 after such date of enactment, and annually there- 7 after, the recipient of a grant under this section 8 shall report to the Secretary on the program funded 9 through the grant, with respect to— 10 ‘‘(A) program oversight as described in 11 subsection (c)(3); 12 ‘‘(B) delays in funding expenditures; and 13 ‘‘(C) resource distribution. 14 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY.—Not later than 6 months 15 after the date of enactment of this subtitle and 1 16 year after such date of enactment, and annually 17 thereafter, the Secretary shall report to the Con- 18 gress on the programs funded by grants under this 19 section, with respect to— 20 ‘‘(A) program oversight as described in 21 subsection (c)(3); and 22 ‘‘(B) unmet needs in grant recipient pan- 23 demic response infrastructure. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7546.IH H7546 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7546 IH ‘‘SEC. 2832. PLANNING GRANT PROGRAM. 1 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award a 2 planning grant to any entity that certifies that— 3 ‘‘(1) it is an eligible entity under section 4 2831(b); and 5 ‘‘(2) it intends to submit to the Secretary an 6 application for a grant under section 2831. 7 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Any grant awarded under this 8 section, for purposes of developing an application for a 9 grant under section 2831, shall be used to— 10 ‘‘(1) identify community needs to rapidly and 11 effectively respond to the COVID–19 pandemic; 12 ‘‘(2) estimate the cost of such a response and 13 maintaining a state of readiness; and 14 ‘‘(3) hire staff to carry out paragraphs (1) and 15 (2). 16 ‘‘(c) TIMING.—Not later than 30 days after receipt 17 of an application for an award under this section, the Sec- 18 retary shall determine whether to award the grant. 19 ‘‘(d) FUNDING CONDITION.—As a condition on re- 20 ceipt of a planning grant under this section, an applicant 21 shall agree to submit to the Secretary an application for 22 a grant under section 2831 no later than 90 days after 23 receiving the planning grant. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7546.IH H7546 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7546 IH ‘‘SEC. 2833. COMMUNITY INFECTIOUS DISEASE HEALTH 1 SERVICES PLANNING COUNCIL. 2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—To be eligible for assistance 3 under this subtitle, the chief elected official of the qualified 4 government entity applying for such assistance shall es- 5 tablish or designate a COVID–19/infectious disease health 6 services planning council (in this section referred to as a 7 ‘COVID–19/infectious disease health services planning 8 council’) that shall reflect in its composition the demo- 9 graphics of the populations of individuals with COVID– 10 19 and other infectious diseases in the qualified commu- 11 nity involved, with particular consideration given to dis- 12 proportionately affected and historically underserved 13 groups and subpopulations. 14 ‘‘(b) SELECTION CRITERIA.—Nominations for mem- 15 bership on a COVID–19/infectious disease health services 16 planning council shall be identified through an open proc- 17 ess and candidates shall be selected based on locally delin- 18 eated and publicized criteria. Such criteria shall include 19 a conflict-of-interest standard that is in accordance with 20 subsection (f). 21 ‘‘(c) REPRESENTATION.—A COVID–19/infectious 22 disease health services planning council— 23 ‘‘(1) shall include representatives of— 24 ‘‘(A) health care providers, including feder- 25 ally qualified health centers; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7546.IH H7546 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7546 IH ‘‘(B) community-based organizations serv- 1 ing affected populations and AIDS service orga- 2 nizations; 3 ‘‘(C) social service providers, including pro- 4 viders of housing and homeless services; 5 ‘‘(D) mental health and substance abuse 6 providers; 7 ‘‘(E) local public health agencies; 8 ‘‘(F) hospital planning agencies or health 9 care planning agencies; 10 ‘‘(G) affected communities, including— 11 ‘‘(i) individuals with COVID–19 or 12 another infectious disease designated by 13 the council as having a disproportionate ef- 14 fect on a racial and ethnic minority group; 15 ‘‘(ii) members of a federally recog- 16 nized Indian Tribe as represented in the 17 affected communities; and 18 ‘‘(iii) historically underserved groups 19 and subpopulations; 20 ‘‘(H) nonelected community leaders; 21 ‘‘(I) State government (including the State 22 Medicaid agency); 23 ‘‘(J) grantees under this subtitle, or, if 24 none are operating in the area, representatives 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7546.IH H7546 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7546 IH of organizations with a history of serving chil- 1 dren, youth, women, and families living with 2 COVID–19 or other infectious diseases and op- 3 erating in the area; 4 ‘‘(K) grantees who receive funding from 5 other Federal COVID–19 or other infectious 6 disease programs; and 7 ‘‘(L) representatives of individuals who for- 8 merly were Federal, State, or local prisoners, 9 were released from the custody of the penal sys- 10 tem during the preceding 3 years, and had 11 COVID–19 or another infectious disease as of 12 the date on which the individuals were so re- 13 leased; and 14 ‘‘(2) to the extent possible, shall include individ- 15 uals who have had COVID–19. 16 ‘‘(d) METHOD OF PROVIDING FOR COUNCIL.— 17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In providing for a council 18 for purposes of subsection (a), a chief elected official 19 of a qualified government entity receiving a grant 20 under this subtitle may establish the council directly 21 or designate an existing entity to serve as the coun- 22 cil, subject to paragraph (2). 23 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATION REGARDING DESIGNATION 24 OF COUNCIL.—In making a determination of wheth- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7546.IH H7546 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7546 IH er to establish or designate a council under para- 1 graph (1), a chief elected official of a qualified gov- 2 ernment entity receiving a grant under this subtitle 3 shall give priority to the designation of an existing 4 entity that has demonstrated experience in planning 5 for the COVID–19 and other infectious diseases 6 health care service needs within the qualified com- 7 munity and in the implementation of such plans in 8 addressing those needs. Any existing entity so des- 9 ignated shall be expanded to include a broad rep- 10 resentation of the full range of entities that provide 11 such services within the geographic area to be 12 served. 13 ‘‘(e) DUTIES.—A COVID–19/infectious disease 14 health services planning council shall— 15 ‘‘(1) determine the size and demographics of 16 the population of individuals who have or had 17 COVID–19 or other infectious disease, as well as the 18 size and demographics of the estimated population 19 of individuals with COVID–19 or other infectious 20 disease who are unaware of their COVID–19 or 21 other infectious disease status; 22 ‘‘(2) determine the needs of such population, 23 with particular attention to— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7546.IH H7546 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7546 IH ‘‘(A) individuals who have or had COVID– 1 19 or other infectious disease and are not re- 2 ceiving health care with respect to COVID–19 3 or such disease; 4 ‘‘(B) disparities in access and services 5 among affected subpopulations and historically 6 underserved communities; and 7 ‘‘(C) individuals who are unaware that 8 such individual has or had COVID–19 or other 9 infectious disease; 10 ‘‘(3) establish priorities for the allocation of 11 funds within the qualified community, including how 12 best to meet each such priority and additional fac- 13 tors that a grantee should consider in allocating 14 funds under a grant based on the— 15 ‘‘(A) size and demographics of the popu- 16 lation of individuals who have or had COVID– 17 19 (as determined under paragraph (1)) or 18 other infectious disease and the needs of such 19 population (as determined under paragraph 20 (2)); 21 ‘‘(B) demonstrated (or probable) cost ef- 22 fectiveness and outcome effectiveness of pro- 23 posed strategies and interventions, to the extent 24 that data are reasonably available; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7546.IH H7546 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7546 IH ‘‘(C) priorities of the communities of indi- 1 viduals who have or had COVID–19 or other 2 infectious disease for whom the services are in- 3 tended; 4 ‘‘(D) availability of other governmental 5 and nongovernmental resources, including the 6 State Medicaid plan under title XIX of the So- 7 cial Security Act and the State Children’s 8 Health Insurance Program under title XXI of 9 such Act to cover health care costs of eligible 10 individuals and families with respect to 11 COVID–19 or other infectious disease; and 12 ‘‘(E) capacity develo [Text truncated for display. 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