“The Health Equity and Accountability Act (HEAA) would help eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities that keep people of color from living their healthiest lives. We commend Senator Mazie Hirono (D–Hawaii) and Representative Barbara Lee (D–Calif.), as well as the Congressional Tri-Caucus, for reintroducing this much-needed legislation in Congress today.

This comprehensive bill uses multiple strategies to eliminate harmful, persistent health and health care disparities, including expanding access to affordable health insurance coverage, promoting investments in innovative health delivery methods and technologies, advancing research and data collection about the health needs and outcomes of diverse communities and reducing disparities in maternal health and access to reproductive health care, among others. It would allocate badly needed resources to fund, staff and manage initiatives to improve health outcomes for people of color.

If we are serious about achieving fairness, justice and equal opportunity in this nation, we need policies like HEAA that intentionally and holistically address punishing health inequities. We urge both the House and Senate to prioritize passage of this bill and move us toward a health care system that delivers equitable health outcomes.”