COVID–19 Health Disparities Action Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8203 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 11, 2020 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 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘COVID–19 Health Disparities Action Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8203.IH H8203 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8203 IH (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 1 this Act is as follows: 2 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 3 GRANTS. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 5 Human Services (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sec- 6 retary’’), acting through the Director of the Centers for 7 Disease Control and Prevention and in coordination with 8 the Office of Minority Health of the Department of Health 9 and Human Services, and, as appropriate, in coordination 10 with the relevant Offices of Minority Health of the Depart- 11 ment of Health and Human Services, the National Insti- 12 tute of Minority Health and Health Disparities, and the 13 Indian Health Service, shall award grants to eligible enti- 14 ties to conduct contact tracing operations, using amounts 15 appropriated under the heading ‘‘Public Health and Social 16 Services Emergency Fund’’ under the heading ‘‘Office of 17 the Secretary’’ under the heading ‘‘Department of Health 18 and Human Services’’ of title I of division B of the Pay- 19 check Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement 20 Act (Public Law 116–139). 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8203.IH H8203 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8203 IH (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a grant 2 under this section, an entity shall— 3 (A) be a State, local, Tribal, or territorial 4 health department, a nonprofit community- 5 based organization, a nonprofit faith-based or- 6 ganization, an urban Indian organization, a 7 Tribal organization, or a health care provider, 8 serving one or more of the grant regions de- 9 scribed in paragraph (2); and 10 (B) submit an application to the Secretary 11 at such time, in such manner, and containing 12 such information as the Secretary may require, 13 including demographic data on the entity’s em- 14 ployees or projected hires at the time of submis- 15 sion. 16 (2) GRANT REGIONS.—The Secretary may 17 award grants to eligible entities serving one or more 18 of the following: 19 (A) A State. 20 (B) A territory. 21 (C) An Indian Tribe. 22 (D) A Tribal organization. 23 (E) An urban Indian organization. 24 (F) A county. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8203.IH H8203 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8203 IH (G) A metropolitan statistical area. 1 (H) Any other city, town, or other public 2 body created by, or pursuant to, State law. 3 (3) PROHIBITION ON DISCRIMINATION.—Pro- 4 grams funded under this section shall not discrimi- 5 nate on the basis of actual or perceived sex, race, 6 color, ethnicity, national origin, disability, sexual ori- 7 entation, gender identity, or religion. Nothing in this 8 section shall be construed to invalidate or limit 9 rights, remedies, procedures, or legal standards 10 available under any other Federal law or any law of 11 a State or a political subdivision of a State, includ- 12 ing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a 13 et seq.), title IX of the Education Amendments of 14 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), section 504 of the 15 Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), the 16 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 17 12101 et seq.), and section 1557 of the Patient Pro- 18 tection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18116). 19 (c) PRIORITIZATION.—In awarding grants under sub- 20 section (a), the Secretary shall give special consideration 21 to eligible entities that have demonstrated a commitment 22 to recruiting and retaining employees who are racial and 23 ethnic minorities representative of the demographic 24 groups of a grant area served by the entity, which may 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8203.IH H8203 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8203 IH include entities that employ, or plan to employ, community 1 health workers, as defined in section 2113(f)(4) of the So- 2 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397mm(f)(4)). 3 (d) REPORTING.— 4 (1) BY ENTITIES.—An eligible entity receiving 5 a grant under this section shall report to the Sec- 6 retary demographic information of employees di- 7 rectly involved in contact tracing operations sup- 8 ported by such grant not later than 60 days after 9 receipt of such grant. 10 (2) BY THE SECRETARY.—Beginning not later 11 than 90 days after the date on which the first grant 12 is awarded under this section, the Secretary, in co- 13 ordination with the Deputy Assistant Secretary for 14 Minority Health, the Director of the Centers for 15 Disease Control and Prevention, and the Director of 16 the Office of Minority Health and Health Equity at 17 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 18 shall make public the data reported under paragraph 19 (1). 20 SEC. 3. COVID–19 HEALTH DISPARITIES ACTION PLAN. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 22 Director of the Office of Minority Health of the Depart- 23 ment of Health and Human Services, shall develop an evi- 24 dence-based action plan (referred to in this section as the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8203.IH H8203 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8203 IH ‘‘action plan’’) for addressing health disparities related to 1 COVID–19 testing, infections, hospitalizations, ICU ad- 2 missions, and deaths among racial and ethnic minority, 3 rural, and other vulnerable populations. 4 (b) COORDINATION.—In developing the action plan 5 described in subsection (a), the Director of the Office of 6 Minority Health shall coordinate with— 7 (1) the Director of the Office of Minority 8 Health and Health Equity of the Centers for Dis- 9 ease Control and Prevention; 10 (2) the Director of the Office of Extramural 11 Research, Education, and Priority Populations of 12 the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 13 (3) the Director of the Office of Minority 14 Health of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Serv- 15 ices; 16 (4) the Director of the Office of Minority 17 Health and Health Equity of the Food and Drug 18 Administration; 19 (5) the Director of the Office of Health Equity 20 of the Health Resources and Services Administra- 21 tion; 22 (6) the Director of the Office of Behavioral 23 Health Equity of the Substance Abuse and Mental 24 Health Services Administration; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8203.IH H8203 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8203 IH (7) the Director of the National Institute of Mi- 1 nority Health and Health Disparities; and 2 (8) the Director of the Indian Health Service. 3 (c) LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONSULTATION.—In 4 developing the action plan described in subsection (a), the 5 Secretary shall— 6 (1) review peer-reviewed literature to identify 7 evidence-informed and evidence-based best practices 8 for addressing health disparities among racial and 9 ethnic minority, rural, and other vulnerable popu- 10 lations; and 11 (2) consult with— 12 (A) community-based organizations with 13 expertise in addressing health disparities that 14 affect racial and ethnic minority, rural, and 15 other vulnerable populations; and 16 (B) State, local, Tribal, and territorial 17 health officials that serve areas with high con- 18 centrations of racial and ethnic minority, rural, 19 and other vulnerable populations that have been 20 disproportionately impacted by the COVID–19 21 pandemic. 22 (d) REQUIREMENTS.—The action plan shall in- 23 clude— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8203.IH H8203 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8203 IH (1) a quantitative and qualitative analysis of 1 the current barriers to complete and accurate data 2 collection on health disparities related to COVID–19 3 testing, infections, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, 4 and deaths among racial and ethnic minority, rural, 5 and other vulnerable populations; 6 (2) a description of the health disparities that 7 have been identified with current data related to 8 COVID–19 testing, infections, hospitalizations, ICU 9 admissions, and deaths among racial and ethnic mi- 10 nority, rural, and other vulnerable populations, using 11 existing metrics where possible; 12 (3) a description of the actions that the Sec- 13 retary will take to address the barriers to complete 14 and accurate data collection on health disparities re- 15 lated to COVID–19 testing, infections, hospitaliza- 16 tions, ICU admissions, and deaths among racial and 17 ethnic minority, rural, and other vulnerable popu- 18 lations, including specific dates by when such actions 19 will be completed and the metrics that will be used 20 to evaluate the impact of such actions; 21 (4) the actions that the Secretary will take to 22 address the health disparities that have been identi- 23 fied with current data related to COVID–19 testing, 24 infections, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8203.IH H8203 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8203 IH deaths among racial and ethnic minority, rural, and 1 other vulnerable populations, including specific dates 2 by when such actions will be taken and completed 3 and the metrics that will be used to evaluate the im- 4 pact of such actions; and 5 (5) a summary of any additional resources that 6 the Secretary requires in order to fully identify and 7 address health disparities related to COVID–19 test- 8 ing, infections, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and 9 deaths among racial and ethnic minority, rural, and 10 other vulnerable populations. 11 (e) SUBMISSION OF ACTION PLAN AND REPORTS ON 12 THE ACTION PLAN.— 13 (1) INITIAL ACTION PLAN.—Not later than 30 14 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 15 Secretary shall submit the action plan to the Com- 16 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 17 and the Committee on Finance of the Senate and 18 the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the 19 Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 20 Representatives, and make such plan publicly avail- 21 able on the internet website of the Department of 22 Health and Human Services. 23 (2) UPDATES.—Not later than 30 days after 24 the date of publication of the initial action plan 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8203.IH H8203 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8203 IH under paragraph (1), and at least every 30 days 1 thereafter until the date that is 6 months after the 2 COVID–19 public health emergency has ended, the 3 Secretary shall submit updates to the action plan to 4 Congress. Each such update shall provide updates 5 on the Secretary’s actions and the relevant evalua- 6 tion metrics, and shall include any actions that the 7 Secretary has identified since issuance of the initial 8 action plan under paragraph (1) and any previous 9 updates under this paragraph, as necessary to ad- 10 dress health disparities related to COVID–19 test- 11 ing, infections, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and 12 deaths among racial and ethnic minority, rural, and 13 other vulnerable populations. The Secretary shall 14 make each update publicly available on the internet 15 website of the Department of Health and Human 16 Services. 17 (3) FINAL REPORT ON ACTION PLANS.—Not 18 later than 1 year after the end of the COVID–19 19 public health emergency, the Secretary shall submit 20 to Congress a final report analyzing the health dis- 21 parities related to COVID–19 testing, infections, 22 hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths among 23 racial and ethnic minority, rural, and other vulner- 24 able populations, including an analysis of the social 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8203.IH H8203 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8203 IH determinants of health and the underlying causes of 1 health disparities. The report shall include— 2 (A) the Secretary’s long-term plan for ad- 3 dressing racial and ethnic health disparities, in- 4 cluding an assessment of any additional re- 5 sources that may be required for the Office of 6 Minority Health of the Department of Health 7 and Human Services, or such department in 8 general, to sustain long-term initiatives to ad- 9 dress racial and ethnic health disparities; and 10 (B) recommendations for Congress to ad- 11 dress the underlying causes and prevent health 12 disparities among racial and ethnic minority, 13 rural, and other vulnerable populations during 14 future public health emergencies. 15 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 16 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 17 $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2020. 18 SEC. 4. FEDERAL PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS TO AD- 19 DRESS HEALTH DISPARITIES. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 21 Director of the [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]