Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2016
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.
Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2016
This bill amends the Public Health Service Act and the Social Security Act (SSAct) to expand the collection and analysis of data in programs of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The bill sets forth provisions regarding cultural competence in federal health care programs and services, including provisions establishing the Robert T. Matsui Center for Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Health Care.
HHS must engage in activities regarding health workforce diversity, including: (1) establishing a working group and a technical clearinghouse; (2) awarding grants to academic institutions; (3) establishing a health and health care disparities education program; and (4) providing for scholarships, student loan repayment and loan forgiveness, and research fellowships.
Health Empowerment Zone Act of 2016
HHS may designate areas as health empowerment zones in communities that experience disproportionate disparities in health status and health care.
HHS must engage in activities regarding the quality of and access to health care, including expanding access to health care and health care insurance for immigrants, designating centers of excellence at public hospitals and other health systems serving minority patients, increasing Medicaid payments to territories and to Native Hawaiian health centers, and providing for border health grants.
The bill establishes: (1) programs to reduce health disparities affecting minorities and rural residents, and (2) an Office of Minority Health in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to revise requirements for qualified health plans, including to require plans to provide information on the availability of care in languages other than English. (Qualified health plans are sold on health insurance exchanges, are the only plans eligible for premium subsidies, and fulfill an individual's requirement to maintain minimum essential coverage.)
The bill sets forth provisions regarding the health of women and children, including provisions to expand access to federal programs for immigrant women and children, eliminate disparities in maternal health outcomes, and establish programs to reduce teenage pregnancies.
The summary continues for 20 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on June 14, 2016. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 19, 2016: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 114th Congress (2015-16), 329 of the 10,233 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.2 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Robin Kelly (D-IL) introduced it on June 14, 2016, and 21 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 21 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 14, 2016, 3740 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3643 days ago, on September 19, 2016.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 114th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2017 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers