“The Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2018 (HEAA) is vitally important and badly needed legislation that will build on the gains brought by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in helping eliminate the appalling racial and ethnic disparities that pervade our health care system today. We applaud Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) for introducing this bill, as well as the Congressional Tri-Caucus – made up of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus – for helping develop it. We look forward to Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) introducing the same legislation in the U.S. Senate.

“Communities of color continue to face barriers to obtaining quality health care and, as a
result, experience poorer health statuses than their counterparts. Inadequate resources have slowed the improvements we need. This bill would help solve that problem. It provides essential tools that can address and eliminate the health and health care disparities experienced by minority and underserved communities, making coverage more affordable, promoting investments in innovative health delivery methods and technologies, and advancing the research and data collection that has the promise of improving health outcomes for diverse
communities.  

“HEAA also promotes culturally and linguistically appropriate care, creates a pipeline and
new training opportunities for minority-serving professional and allied health care workers, and incorporates strategies to address a range of disease-specific, mental and behavioral health issues facing minority communities. These are all important to eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities and creating a sustainable health care system that will help us finally realize the promise of health equity.

“We urge both chambers of Congress to make passage of the Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2018 a high priority.”