REACH Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4410 To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for racial and ethnic approaches to community health. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES AUGUST 4, 2020 Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina (for himself and Mr. CARDIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for racial and ethnic approaches to community health. 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 ‘‘REACH Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. RACIAL AND ETHNIC APPROACHES TO COMMUNITY 5 HEALTH. 6 Title XVII of the Public Health Service Act (42 7 U.S.C. 300u et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 8 the following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Aug 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4410.IS S4410 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4410 IS ‘‘SEC. 1712. RACIAL AND ETHNIC APPROACHES TO COMMU- 1 NITY HEALTH. 2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 3 with the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health, 4 shall award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements 5 to eligible entities for the conduct of evidence-based and 6 evidence-informed projects to improve health, prevent and 7 manage chronic health conditions, and reduce health dis- 8 parities among racial and ethnic minority populations. 9 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive 10 an award under this section, an entity shall— 11 ‘‘(1) submit to the Secretary an application at 12 such time, in such manner, and containing such in- 13 formation as the Secretary shall require; 14 ‘‘(2) demonstrate a history of successfully work- 15 ing with an established community-based coalition to 16 address health disparities among racial and ethnic 17 minority populations; 18 ‘‘(3) conduct or identify a community health 19 needs assessment to inform locally tailored activities 20 conducted under subsection (a); and 21 ‘‘(4) demonstrate the capacity to effectively and 22 immediately implement evidence-based and evidence- 23 informed strategies to address health disparities 24 among racial and ethnic minority populations. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Aug 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4410.IS S4410 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4410 IS ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity shall use funds re- 1 ceived under subsection (a), in coordination with State, 2 local, and Tribal health departments, community-based or- 3 ganizations, and other entities with experience addressing 4 racial and ethnic health disparities, to— 5 ‘‘(1) increase the workforce of health care and 6 public health professionals from underrepresented 7 populations; 8 ‘‘(2) support the implementation, evaluation, 9 and dissemination of locally tailored strategies to 10 prevent and manage chronic health conditions, in- 11 cluding by reducing tobacco use, improving nutrition 12 and physical activity, and addressing social and 13 other determinants of health; and 14 ‘‘(3) enhance capacity, as appropriate, to pre- 15 vent and respond to infectious disease outbreaks 16 through outreach, education, and other relevant ac- 17 tivities. 18 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—Not later than September 30, 2024, 19 and every five years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit 20 to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen- 21 sions of the Senate, and the Committee on Energy and 22 Commerce of the House of Representatives, a report that 23 includes information on activities funded under this sec- 24 tion. Such report shall include a description of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Aug 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4410.IS S4410 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4410 IS ‘‘(1) efforts to increase the workforce of health 1 care and public health professionals from underrep- 2 resented populations; 3 ‘‘(2) the prevalence of chronic health conditions 4 among populations served under this section, includ- 5 ing a description of reductions in chronic health con- 6 ditions among such populations; and 7 ‘‘(3) activities conducted to enhance capacity to 8 prevent and respond to infectious disease outbreaks 9 among racial and ethnic minority populations. 10 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 11 carry out this section, there are authorized to be appro- 12 priated $70,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 13 2025.’’. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Aug 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4410.IS S4410 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS