Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2022
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.
Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2022
This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and others to undertake efforts to reduce health disparities.
For example, the bill (1) requires more detailed reporting of demographic and health disparities data, including related to public health emergencies; (2) directs certain components of HHS to support health workforce diversity; and (3) increases access to culturally and linguistically appropriate health care.
The bill also modifies eligibility and other requirements for Medicare, Medicaid, private health insurance, nutrition assistance, and other programs to reduce health disparities among vulnerable populations. The bill includes specific provisions with respect to
noncitizens;
maternal, infant, and child health;
mental and behavioral health;
specified conditions that disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minority groups, such as certain cancers, HIV/AIDS, kidney disease, and diabetes;
investments in communities facing health and other inequities; and
nondiscrimination in the provision of services in federally supported health programs.
Additionally, the bill (1) revises health information technology programs to address health disparities, and (2) supports health impact assessments and other efforts pertaining to environmental justice and social determinants of health (i.e., nonmedical factors that influence health outcomes, such as income and educational attainment).
The bill also requires various studies and reports on issues related to health care and health disparities, including a report by the Government Accountability Office on health workforce diversity.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on April 26, 2022. 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 June 29, 2022: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- 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 117th Congress (2021-22), 362 of the 15,242 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 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 April 26, 2022, and 83 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 83 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 April 26, 2022, 1598 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1534 days ago, on June 29, 2022.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 117th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2023 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