COVID–19 Health Disparities Action Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4262 To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop an action plan, make targeted grants, and develop public awareness campaigns with respect to COVID–19 and the disproportionate impact of the COVID–19 pandemic on racial and ethnic minorities and other vulnerable populations. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 22, 2020 Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, Ms. WARREN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. SMITH, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. SANDERS, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. ROSEN, Ms. HARRIS, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. WARNER, and Ms. KLOBUCHAR) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop an action plan, make targeted grants, and de- velop public awareness campaigns with respect to COVID–19 and the disproportionate impact of the COVID–19 pandemic on racial and ethnic minorities and other vulnerable populations. 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 04:39 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4262.IS S4262 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4262 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2 ‘‘COVID–19 Health Disparities Action Act of 2020’’. 3 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 4 this Act is as follows: 5 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Health disparity-informed contact tracing grants. Sec. 3. COVID–19 health disparities action plan. Sec. 4. Federal public awareness campaigns to address health disparities. Sec. 5. Grant program for public awareness campaigns to address health dis- parities. Sec. 6. Vaccine safety public awareness campaign. Sec. 7. Addendum to testing plans to address disparities. Sec. 8. Definitions. SEC. 2. HEALTH DISPARITY-INFORMED CONTACT TRACING 6 GRANTS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 8 Human Services (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sec- 9 retary’’), acting through the Director of the Centers for 10 Disease Control and Prevention and in coordination with 11 the Office of Minority Health of the Department of Health 12 and Human Services, and, as appropriate, in coordination 13 with the relevant Offices of Minority Health of the Depart- 14 ment of Health and Human Services, the National Insti- 15 tute of Minority Health and Health Disparities, and the 16 Indian Health Service, shall award grants to eligible enti- 17 ties to conduct contact tracing operations, using amounts 18 appropriated under the heading ‘‘Public Health and Social 19 Services Emergency Fund’’ under the heading ‘‘Office of 20 the Secretary’’ under the heading ‘‘Department of Health 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:39 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4262.IS S4262 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4262 IS and Human Services’’ of title I of division B of the Pay- 1 check Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement 2 Act (Public Law 116–139). 3 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a grant 5 under this section, an entity shall— 6 (A) be a State, local, Tribal, or territorial 7 health department, a nonprofit community- 8 based organization, a nonprofit faith-based or- 9 ganization, an urban Indian organization, a 10 Tribal organization, or a health care provider, 11 serving one or more of the grant regions de- 12 scribed in paragraph (2); and 13 (B) submit an application to the Secretary 14 at such time, in such manner, and containing 15 such information as the Secretary may require, 16 including demographic data on the entity’s em- 17 ployees or projected hires at the time of submis- 18 sion. 19 (2) GRANT REGIONS.—The Secretary may 20 award grants to eligible entities serving one or more 21 of the following: 22 (A) A State. 23 (B) A territory. 24 (C) An Indian Tribe. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:39 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4262.IS S4262 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4262 IS (D) A Tribal organization. 1 (E) An urban Indian organization. 2 (F) A county. 3 (G) A metropolitan statistical area. 4 (H) Any other city, town, or other public 5 body created by, or pursuant to, State law. 6 (3) PROHIBITION ON DISCRIMINATION.—Pro- 7 grams funded under this section shall not discrimi- 8 nate on the basis of actual or perceived sex, race, 9 color, ethnicity, national origin, disability, sexual ori- 10 entation, gender identity, or religion. Nothing in this 11 section shall be construed to invalidate or limit 12 rights, remedies, procedures, or legal standards 13 available under any other Federal law or any law of 14 a State or a political subdivision of a State, includ- 15 ing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a 16 et seq.), title IX of the Education Amendments of 17 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), section 504 of the 18 Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), the 19 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 20 12101 et seq.), and section 1557 of the Patient Pro- 21 tection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18116). 22 (c) PRIORITIZATION.—In awarding grants under sub- 23 section (a), the Secretary shall give special consideration 24 to eligible entities that have demonstrated a commitment 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:39 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4262.IS S4262 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4262 IS to recruiting and retaining employees who are racial and 1 ethnic minorities representative of the demographic 2 groups of a grant area served by the entity, which may 3 include entities that employ, or plan to employ, community 4 health workers, as defined in section 2113(f)(4) of the So- 5 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397mm(f)(4)). 6 (d) REPORTING.— 7 (1) BY ENTITIES.—An eligible entity receiving 8 a grant under this section shall report to the Sec- 9 retary demographic information of employees di- 10 rectly involved in contact tracing operations sup- 11 ported by such grant not later than 60 days after 12 receipt of such grant. 13 (2) BY THE SECRETARY.—Beginning not later 14 than 90 days after the date on which the first grant 15 is awarded under this section, the Secretary, in co- 16 ordination with the Deputy Assistant Secretary for 17 Minority Health, the Director of the Centers for 18 Disease Control and Prevention, and the Director of 19 the Office of Minority Health and Health Equity at 20 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 21 shall make public the data reported under paragraph 22 (1). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:39 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4262.IS S4262 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4262 IS SEC. 3. COVID–19 HEALTH DISPARITIES ACTION PLAN. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 2 Director of the Office of Minority Health of the Depart- 3 ment of Health and Human Services, shall develop an evi- 4 dence-based action plan (referred to in this section as the 5 ‘‘action plan’’) for addressing health disparities related to 6 COVID–19 testing, infections, hospitalizations, ICU ad- 7 missions, and deaths among racial and ethnic minority, 8 rural, and other vulnerable populations. 9 (b) COORDINATION.—In developing the action plan 10 described in subsection (a), the Director of the Office of 11 Minority Health shall coordinate with— 12 (1) the Director of the Office of Minority 13 Health and Health Equity of the Centers for Dis- 14 ease Control and Prevention; 15 (2) the Director of the Office of Extramural 16 Research, Education, and Priority Populations of 17 the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 18 (3) the Director of the Office of Minority 19 Health of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Serv- 20 ices; 21 (4) the Director of the Office of Minority 22 Health and Health Equity of the Food and Drug 23 Administration; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:39 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4262.IS S4262 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4262 IS (5) the Director of the Office of Health Equity 1 of the Health Resources and Services Administra- 2 tion; 3 (6) the Director of the Office of Behavioral 4 Health Equity of the Substance Abuse and Mental 5 Health Services Administration; 6 (7) the Director of the National Institute of Mi- 7 nority Health and Health Disparities; and 8 (8) the Director of the Indian Health Service. 9 (c) LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONSULTATION.—In 10 developing the action plan described in subsection (a), the 11 Secretary shall— 12 (1) review peer-reviewed literature to identify 13 evidence-informed and evidence-based best practices 14 for addressing health disparities among racial and 15 ethnic minority, rural, and other vulnerable popu- 16 lations; and 17 (2) consult with— 18 (A) community-based organizations with 19 expertise in addressing health disparities that 20 affect racial and ethnic minority, rural, and 21 other vulnerable populations; and 22 (B) State, local, Tribal, and territorial 23 health officials that serve areas with high con- 24 centrations of racial and ethnic minority, rural, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:39 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4262.IS S4262 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4262 IS and other vulnerable populations that have been 1 disproportionately impacted by the COVID–19 2 pandemic. 3 (d) REQUIREMENTS.—The action plan shall in- 4 clude— 5 (1) a quantitative and qualitative analysis of 6 the current barriers to complete and accurate data 7 collection on health disparities related to COVID–19 8 testing, infections, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, 9 and deaths among racial and ethnic minority, rural, 10 and other vulnerable populations; 11 (2) a description of the health disparities that 12 have been identified with current data related to 13 COVID–19 testing, infections, hospitalizations, ICU 14 admissions, and deaths among racial and ethnic mi- 15 nority, rural, and other vulnerable populations, using 16 existing metrics where possible; 17 (3) a description of the actions that the Sec- 18 retary will take to address the barriers to complete 19 and accurate data collection on health disparities re- 20 lated to COVID–19 testing, infections, hospitaliza- 21 tions, ICU admissions, and deaths among racial and 22 ethnic minority, rural, and other vulnerable popu- 23 lations, including specific dates by when such actions 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:39 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4262.IS S4262 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4262 IS will be completed and the metrics that will be used 1 to evaluate the impact of such actions; 2 (4) the actions that the Secretary will take to 3 address the health disparities that have been identi- 4 fied with current data related to COVID–19 testing, 5 infections, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and 6 deaths among racial and ethnic minority, rural, and 7 other vulnerable populations, including specific dates 8 by when such actions will be taken and completed 9 and the metrics that will be used to evaluate the im- 10 pact of such actions; and 11 (5) a summary of any additional resources that 12 the Secretary requires in order to fully identify and 13 address health disparities related to COVID–19 test- 14 ing, infections, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and 15 deaths among racial and ethnic minority, rural, and 16 other vulnerable populations. 17 (e) SUBMISSION OF ACTION PLAN AND REPORTS ON 18 THE ACTION PLAN.— 19 (1) INITIAL ACTION PLAN.—Not later than 30 20 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 21 Secretary shall submit the action plan to the Com- 22 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 23 and the Committee on Finance of the Senate and 24 the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:39 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4262.IS S4262 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4262 IS Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 1 Representatives, and make such plan publicly avail- 2 able on the internet website of the Department of 3 Health and Human Services. 4 (2) UPDATES.—Not later than 30 days after 5 the date of publication of the initial action plan 6 under paragraph (1), and at least every 30 days 7 thereafter until the date that is 6 months after the 8 COVID–19 public health emergency has ended, the 9 Secretary shall submit updates to the action plan to 10 Congress. Each such update shall provide updates 11 on the Secretary’s actions and the relevant evalua- 12 tion metrics, and shall include any actions that the 13 Secretary has identified since issuance of the initial 14 action plan under paragraph (1) and any previous 15 updates under this paragraph, as necessary to ad- 16 dress health disparities related to COVID–19 test- 17 ing, infections, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and 18 deaths among racial and ethnic minority, rural, and 19 other vulnerable populations. The Secretary shall 20 make each update publicly available on the internet 21 website of the Department of Health and Human 22 Services. 23 (3) FINAL REPORT ON ACTION PLANS.—Not 24 later than 1 year after the end of the COVID–19 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:39 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4262.IS S4262 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4262 IS public health emergency, the Secretary shall submit 1 to Congress a final report analyzing the health dis- 2 parities related to COVID–19 testing, infections, 3 hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths among 4 racial and ethnic minority, rural, and other vulner- 5 able populations, including an analysis of the social 6 determinants of health and the underlying causes of 7 health disparities. The report shall include— 8 (A) the Secretary’s long-term plan for ad- 9 dressing racial and ethnic health disparities, in- 10 cluding an assessment of any additional re- 11 sources that may be required for the Office of 12 Minority Health of the Department of Health 13 and Human Services, or such department in 14 general, to sustain long-term initiatives to ad- 15 dress racial and ethnic health disparities; and 16 (B) recommendations for Congress to ad- 17 dress the underlying causes and prevent health 18 disparities among racial and ethnic minority, 19 rural, and other vulnerable populations during 20 future public health emergencies. 21 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 22 authorized to be appropriated to c [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]