279 
racial and ethnic groups that comprise a significant 
proportion of the population of the State; 
‘‘(5) provide researchers with greater access to 
racial, ethnic, and primary language data, subject to 
privacy and confidentiality regulations; and 
‘‘(6) safeguard and prevent the misuse of data 
collected under subsection (a). 
‘‘(d) COMPLIANCE WITH STANDARDS.—Data col-
lected under subsection (a) shall be obtained, maintained, 
and presented (including for reporting purposes) in ac-
cordance with the 1997 Office of Management and Budget 
Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting 
Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (at a minimum). 
‘‘(e) LANGUAGE
COLLECTION
STANDARDS.—Not 
later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this title, 
the Director of the Office of Minority Health, in consulta-
tion with the Office for Civil Rights of the Department 
of Health and Human Services, shall develop and dissemi-
nate Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on 
Preferred Written and Spoken Language. 
‘‘(f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE COLLECTION 
AND REPORTING OF DATA.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, either 
directly or through grant or contract, provide tech-
nical assistance to enable a healthcare program or
280 
an entity operating under such program to comply 
with the requirements of this section. 
‘‘(2) TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance pro-
vided under this subsection may include assistance 
to— 
‘‘(A) enhance or upgrade computer tech-
nology that will facilitate racial, ethnic, and pri-
mary language data collection and analysis; 
‘‘(B) improve methods for health data col-
lection and analysis including additional popu-
lation groups beyond the Office of Management 
and Budget categories if such groups can be 
aggregated into the minimum race and ethnicity 
categories; 
‘‘(C) develop mechanisms for submitting 
collected data subject to existing privacy and 
confidentiality regulations; and 
‘‘(D) develop educational programs to in-
form health insurance issuers, health plans, 
health providers, health-related agencies, and 
the general public that data collection and re-
porting by race, ethnicity, and preferred lan-
guage are legal and essential for eliminating 
health and healthcare disparities.
281 
‘‘(g) ANALYSIS OF RACIAL AND ETHNIC DATA.—The 
Secretary, acting through the Director of the Agency for 
Healthcare Research and Quality and in coordination with 
the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Med-
icaid Services, shall provide technical assistance to agen-
cies of the Department of Health and Human Services in 
meeting Federal standards for race, ethnicity, and pri-
mary language data collection and analysis of racial and 
ethnic disparities in health and healthcare in public pro-
grams by— 
‘‘(1) identifying appropriate quality assurance 
mechanisms to monitor for health disparities; 
‘‘(2) specifying the clinical, diagnostic, or thera-
peutic measures which should be monitored; 
‘‘(3) developing new quality measures relating 
to racial and ethnic disparities in health and 
healthcare; 
‘‘(4) identifying the level at which data analysis 
should be conducted; and 
‘‘(5) sharing data with external organizations 
for research and quality improvement purposes. 
‘‘(h) NATIONAL CONFERENCE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall spon-
sor a biennial national conference on racial, ethnic, 
and primary language data collection to enhance co-
282 
ordination, build partnerships, and share best prac-
tices in racial, ethnic, and primary language data 
collection, analysis, and reporting. 
‘‘(2) REPORTS.—Not later than 6 months after 
the date on which a national conference has con-
vened under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall pub-
lish in the Federal Register and submit to the Com-
mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 
and the Committee on Finance of the Senate and 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the 
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 
Representatives a report concerning the proceedings 
and findings of the conference. 
‘‘(i) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 
of enactment of this title, and biennially thereafter, the 
Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of 
Congress a report on the effectiveness of data collection, 
analysis, and reporting on race, ethnicity, and primary 
language under the programs and activities of the Depart-
ment of Health and Human Services and under other Fed-
eral data collection systems with which the Department 
interacts to collect relevant data on race and ethnicity. 
The report shall evaluate the progress made in the De-
partment with respect to the national plan under sub-
section (c) or subsequent revisions thereto.
283 
‘‘(j) GRANTS FOR DATA COLLECTION BY HEALTH 
PLANS, HEALTH CENTERS, AND HOSPITALS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta-
tion with the Administrator of the Centers for Medi-
care and Medicaid Services, is authorized to award 
grants for the conduct of 20 demonstration pro-
grams by health plans, health centers, or hospitals 
to enhance their ability to collect, analyze, and re-
port the data required under subsection (a). 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under paragraph (1), a health plan or hospital 
shall— 
‘‘(A) prepare and submit to the Secretary 
an application at such time, in such manner, 
and containing such information as the Sec-
retary may require, including a plan to elimi-
nate racial, ethnic, and primary language dis-
parities in health and healthcare through one or 
more of the activities described in paragraph 
(3); and 
‘‘(B) provide assurances that the health 
plan or hospital will use, at a minimum, the ra-
cial and ethnic categories and the standards for 
collection described in the 1997 Office of Man-
agement and Budget Standards for Maintain-
284 
ing, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on 
Race and Ethnicity and available standards for 
language. 
‘‘(3) ACTIVITIES.—A grantee shall use amounts 
received under a grant under paragraph (1) to— 
‘‘(A) collect, analyze, and report data by 
race, ethnicity, and primary language for pa-
tients served by the hospital (including emer-
gency room patients and patients served on an 
outpatient basis) or health center, or, in the 
case of a private health plan, such data for en-
rollees; 
‘‘(B) enhance or upgrade computer tech-
nology that will facilitate racial, ethnic, and pri-
mary language data collection and analysis; 
‘‘(C) provide analyses of racial and ethnic 
disparities in health and healthcare, including 
specific disease conditions, diagnostic and 
therapeutic procedures, or outcomes; 
‘‘(D) improve health data collection and 
analysis for additional population groups be-
yond the Office of Management and Budget 
categories if such groups can be aggregated into 
the minimum race and ethnicity categories;
285 
‘‘(E) develop mechanisms for sharing col-
lected data subject to privacy and confiden-
tiality regulations; 
‘‘(F) develop educational programs to in-
form health insurance issuers, health plans, 
health providers, health-related agencies, pa-
tients, enrollees, and the general public that 
data collection, analysis, and reporting by race, 
ethnicity, and preferred language are legal and 
essential for eliminating disparities in health 
and healthcare; and 
‘‘(G) develop quality assurance systems de-
signed to track disparities and quality improve-
ment systems designed to eliminate disparities. 
‘‘(k) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘health- 
related program’ mean a program— 
‘‘(1) under the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
301 et seq.) that pay for healthcare and services; 
and 
‘‘(2) under this Act that provide Federal finan-
cial assistance for healthcare, biomedical research, 
health services research, and programs designed to 
improve the public’s health. 
‘‘(l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section,
286 
such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 
2007 through 2012. 
‘‘SEC. 2932. PROVISIONS RELATING TO NATIVE AMERICANS. 
‘‘(a) EPIDEMIOLOGY CENTERS.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to those 
centers operating 1 day prior to the date of en-
actment of this title, (including those centers 
for which funding is currently being provided 
through funding agreements under the Indian 
Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
Act), the Secretary shall, not later than 180 
days after such date of enactment, establish 
and fund an epidemiology center in each service 
area which does not have such a center to carry 
out the functions described in subparagraph 
(B). Any centers established under the pre-
ceding sentence may be operated by Indian 
tribes or tribal organizations pursuant to fund-
ing agreements under the Indian Self-Deter-
mination and Education Assistance Act, but 
funding under such agreements may not be di-
visible. 
‘‘(B) FUNCTIONS.—In consultation with 
and upon the request of Indian tribes, tribal or-
287 
ganizations and urban Indian organizations, 
each area epidemiology center established under 
this subsection shall, with respect to such area 
shall— 
‘‘(i) collect data related to the health 
status objective described in section 3(b) of 
the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, 
and monitor the progress that the Service, 
Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and 
urban Indian organizations have made in 
meeting such health status objective; 
‘‘(ii) evaluate existing delivery sys-
tems, data systems, and other systems that 
impact the improvement of Indian health; 
‘‘(iii) assist Indian tribes, tribal orga-
nizations, and urban Indian organizations 
in identifying their highest priority health 
status objectives and the services needed to 
achieve such objectives, based on epidemio-
logical data; 
‘‘(iv) make recommendations for the 
targeting of services needed by tribal, 
urban, and other Indian communities;
288 
‘‘(v) make recommendations to im-
prove healthcare delivery systems for Indi-
ans and urban Indians; 
‘‘(vi) provide requested technical as-
sistance to Indian tribes and urban Indian 
organizations in the development of local 
health service priorities and incidence and 
prevalence rates of disease and other ill-
ness in the community; and 
‘‘(vii) provide disease surveillance and 
assist Indian tribes, tribal organizations, 
and urban Indian organizations to promote 
public health. 
‘‘(C) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The direc-
tor of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention shall provide technical assistance to the 
centers in carrying out the requirements of this 
subsection. 
‘‘(2) FUNDING.—The Secretary may make 
funding available to Indian tribes, tribal organiza-
tions, and eligible intertribal consortia or urban In-
dian organizations to conduct epidemiological studies 
of Indian communities.
289 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 
definitions contained in section 4 of the Indian Health 
Care Improvement Act shall apply.’’. 
SEC. 502. COLLECTION OF RACE AND ETHNICITY DATA BY 
THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION. 
Part A of title XI of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘SEC. 1150A. COLLECTION OF RACE AND ETHNICITY DATA 
BY THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION. 
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—The Commissioner of the So-
cial Security Administration in consultation with the Ad-
ministrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
Services shall— 
‘‘(1) require the collection of data on the race, 
ethnicity, and primary language of all applicants for 
social security numbers, social security income, so-
cial security disability, and medicare— 
‘‘(A) using, at a minimum, the categories 
for race and ethnicity described in the 1997 Of-
fice of Management and Budget Standards for 
Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal 
Data on Race and Ethnicity and available lan-
guage standards; and
290 
‘‘(B) where practicable, collecting data for 
additional population groups if such groups can 
be aggregated into the minimum race and eth-
nicity categories; 
‘‘(2) with respect to the collection of the data 
described in paragraph (1) for applicants who are 
under 18 years of age or otherwise legally incapaci-
tated, require that— 
‘‘(A) such data be collected from the par-
ent or legal guardian of such an applicant; and 
‘‘(B) the primary language of the parent 
or legal guardian of such an applicant or recipi-
ent be used; 
‘‘(3) require that such data be uniformly ana-
lyzed and reported at least annually to the Commis-
sioner of Social Security; 
‘‘(4) be responsible for storing the data re-
ported under paragraph (3); 
‘‘(5) ensure transmission to the Centers for 
Medicare and Medicaid Services and other Federal 
health agencies; 
‘‘(6) provide such data to the Secretary on at 
least an annual basis; and 
‘‘(7) ensure that the provision of assistance to 
an applicant is not denied or otherwise adversely af-
291 
fected because of the failure of the applicant to pro-
vide race, ethnicity, and primary language data. 
‘‘(b) PROTECTION OF DATA.—The Commissioner of 
Social Security shall ensure (through the promulgation of 
regulations or otherwise) that all data collected pursuant 
subsection (a) is protected— 
‘‘(1) under the same privacy protections as the 
Secretary applies to other health data under the reg-
ulations promulgated under section 264(c) of the 
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act 
of 1996 (Public Law 104–191; 110 Stat. 2033) re-
lating to the privacy of individually identifiable 
health information and other protections; and 
‘‘(2) from all inappropriate internal use by any 
entity that collects, stores, or receives the data, in-
cluding use of such data in determinations of eligi-
bility (or continued eligibility) in health plans, and 
from other inappropriate uses, as defined by the 
Secretary. 
‘‘(c) NATIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAM.—Not later 
than 18 months after the date of enactment of this sec-
tion, the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Of-
fice of Minority Health and in collaboration with the Com-
missioner of the Social Security Administration, shall de-
velop and implement a program to educate all populations
292 
about the purpose and uses of racial, ethnic, and primary 
language health data collection. 
‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to permit the use of information 
collected under this section in a manner that would ad-
versely affect any individual providing any such informa-
tion. 
‘‘(e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may, 
either directly or by grant or contract, provide technical 
assistance to enable any health entity to comply with the 
requirements of this section. 
‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 
such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 
2007 through 2012.’’. 
SEC. 503. REVISION OF HIPAA CLAIMS STANDARDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services shall revise the regulations promulgated 
under part C of title XI of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1320d et seq.), as added by the Health Insurance 
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (Public Law 
104–191), relating to the collection of data on race, eth-
nicity, and primary language in a health-related trans-
action to require—
293 
(1) the use, at a minimum, of the categories for 
race and ethnicity described in the 1997 Office of 
Management and Budget Standards for Maintain-
ing, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on 
Race and Ethnicity; 
(2) the establishment of a new data code set for 
primary language; and 
(3) the designation of the racial, ethnic, and 
primary language code sets as ‘‘required’’ for claims 
and enrollment data. 
(b) DISSEMINATION.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services shall disseminate the new standards de-
veloped under subsection (a) to all health entities that are 
subject to the regulations described in such subsection and 
provide technical assistance with respect to the collection 
of the data involved. 
(c) COMPLIANCE.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services shall require that health entities comply 
with the new standards developed under subsection (a) not 
later than 2 years after the final promulgation of such 
standards. 
SEC. 504. NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS. 
Section 306(n) of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 242k(n)) is amended—
294 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2005’’ and 
inserting ‘‘2012’’; 
(2) in paragraph (2), in the first sentence, by 
striking ‘‘2005’’ and inserting ‘‘2012’’; and 
(3) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘2002’’ and 
inserting ‘‘2012’’. 
SEC. 505. GEO-ACCESS STUDY. 
The Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Men-
tal Health Services Administration shall— 
(1) conduct a study to— 
(A) determine which geographic areas of 
the United States have shortages of specialty 
mental health providers; and 
(B) assess the preparedness of speciality 
mental health providers to deliver culturally and 
linguistically appropriate services; and 
(2) submit a report to the Congress on the re-
sults of such study. 
TITLE VI—ACCOUNTABILITY 
Subtitle A—General Provisions 
SEC. 601. REPORT ON WORKFORCE DIVERSITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than July 1, 2007, and 
annually thereafter, the Secretary, acting through the di-
rector of each entity within the Department of Health and 
Human Services, shall prepare and submit to the Com-
295 
mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 
Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 
the House of Representatives a report on healthcare work-
force diversity. 
(b) REQUIREMENT.—The report under subsection (a) 
shall contain the following information: 
(1) The response of the entity involved to the 
2004 Institute of Medicine report entitled ‘‘In the 
Nation’s Compelling Interest: Ensuring Diversity in 
the Health Care Workforce’’, the 2002 Institute of 
Medicine report entitled ‘‘The Future of the Public 
Health in the 21st Century’’, and the Healthy Peo-
ple 2010 initiative. 
(2) A description of the personnel in each such 
entity who are responsible for overseeing workforce 
diversity initiatives. 
(3) The level of workforce diversity achieved 
within each such entity, including absolute numbers 
and percentages of minority employees as well as the 
rank of such employees. 
(4) A description of any grant support that is 
provided by each entity for workforce diversity ini-
tiatives, including the amount of the grants and the 
percentage of grant funds as compared to overall en-
tity funding.
296 
(c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The report under sub-
section (a) shall be made available for public review and 
comment. 
SEC. 602. FEDERAL AGENCY PLAN TO ELIMINATE DISPARI-
TIES AND IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF MINOR-
ITY POPULATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 1, 
2007, each Federal health agency shall develop and imple-
ment a national strategic action plan to eliminate dispari-
ties on the basis of race, ethnicity, and primary language 
and improve the health and healthcare of minority popu-
lations, through programs relevant to the mission of the 
agency. 
(b) PUBLICATION.—Each action plan described in 
paragraph (1) shall— 
(1) be publicly reported in draft form for public 
review and comment; 
(2) include a response to the review and com-
ment described in paragraph (1) in the final plan; 
(3) include the agency response to the 2002 In-
stitute of Medicine report, Unequal Treatment— 
Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in 
Healthcare; 
(4) demonstrate progress in meeting the 
Healthy People 2010 objectives; and
297 
(5) be updated, including progress reports, for 
inclusion in an annual report to Congress. 
SEC. 603. ACCOUNTABILITY WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF 
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES. 
Title XXIX of the Public Health Service Act, as 
amended by titles II, III, and V of this Act, is further 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘Subtitle D—Strengthening 
Accountability 
‘‘SEC. 2941. ELEVATION OF THE OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 
within the Office for Civil Rights an Office of Health Dis-
parities, which shall be headed by a director to be ap-
pointed by the Secretary. 
‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The Office of Health Disparities 
shall ensure that the health programs, activities, and oper-
ations of health entities which receive Federal financial as-
sistance are in compliance with title VI of the Civil Rights 
Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, 
color, or national origin. The activities of the Office shall 
include the following: 
‘‘(1) The development and implementation of 
an action plan to address racial and ethnic 
healthcare disparities, which shall address concerns 
relating to the Office for Civil Rights as released by
298 
the United States Commission on Civil Rights in the 
report entitled ‘Health Care Challenge: Acknowl-
edging Disparity, Confronting Discrimination, and 
Ensuring Equity’ (September, 1999). This plan shall 
be publicly disclosed for review and comment and 
the final plan shall address any comments or con-
cerns that are received by the Office. 
‘‘(2) Investigative and enforcement actions 
against intentional discrimination and policies and 
practices that have a disparate impact on minorities. 
‘‘(3) The review of racial, ethnic, and primary 
language health data collected by Federal health 
agencies to assess healthcare disparities related to 
intentional discrimination and policies and practices 
that have a disparate impact on minorities. 
‘‘(4) Outreach and education activities relating 
to compliance with title VI of the Civil Rights Act. 
‘‘(5) The provision of technical assistance for 
health entities to facilitate compliance with title VI 
of the Civil Rights Act. 
‘‘(6) Coordination and oversight of activities of 
the civil rights compliance offices established under 
section 2942. 
‘‘(7) Ensuring compliance with the 1997 Office 
of Management and Budget Standards for Maintain-
299 
ing, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on 
Race, Ethnicity and the available language stand-
ards. 
‘‘(c) FUNDING AND STAFF.—The Secretary shall en-
sure the effectiveness of the Office of Health Disparities 
by ensuring that the Office is provided with— 
‘‘(1) adequate funding to enable the Office to 
carry out its duties under this section; and 
‘‘(2) staff with expertise in— 
‘‘(A) epidemiology; 
‘‘(B) statistics; 
‘‘(C) health quality assurance; 
‘‘(D) minority health and health dispari-
ties; and 
‘‘(E) civil rights. 
‘‘(d) REPORT.—Not later than December 31, 2007, 
and annually thereafter, the Secretary, in collaboration 
with the Director of the Office for Civil Rights, shall sub-
mit a report to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 
that includes— 
‘‘(1) the number of cases filed, broken down by 
category;
300 
‘‘(2) the number of cases investigated and 
closed by the office; 
‘‘(3) the outcomes of cases investigated; and 
‘‘(4) the staffing levels of the office including 
staff credentials. 
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 
such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 
2007 through 2012. 
‘‘SEC. 2942. ESTABLISHMENT OF HEALTH PROGRAM OF-
FICES FOR CIVIL RIGHTS WITHIN FEDERAL 
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AGENCIES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 
civil rights compliance offices in each agency within the 
Department of Health and Human Services that admin-
isters health programs. 
‘‘(b) PURPOSE OF OFFICES.—Each office established 
under subsection (a) shall ensure that recipients of Fed-
eral financial assistance under Federal health programs 
administer their programs, services, and activities in a 
manner that— 
‘‘(1) does not discriminate, either intentionally 
or in effect, on the basis of race, national origin, lan-
guage, ethnicity, sex, age, or disability; and
301 
‘‘(2) promotes the reduction and elimination of 
disparities in health and healthcare based on race, 
national origin, language, ethnicity, sex, age, and 
disability. 
‘‘(c) POWERS AND DUTIES.—The offices established 
in subsection (a) shall have the following powers and du-
ties: 
‘‘(1) The establishment of compliance and pro-
gram participation standards for recipients of Fed-
eral financial assistance under each program admin-
istered by an agency within the Department of 
Health and Human Services including the establish-
ment of disparity reduction standards to encompass 
disparities in health and healthcare related to race, 
national origin, language, ethnicity, sex, age, and 
disability. 
‘‘(2) The development and implementation of 
program-specific guidelines that interpret and apply 
Department of Health and Human Services guid-
ance under title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 
to each Federal health program administered by the 
agency. 
‘‘(3) The development of a disparity-reduction 
impact analysis methodology that shall be applied to 
every rule issued by the agency and published as
302 
part of the formal rulemaking process under sections 
555, 556, and 557 of title 5, United States Code. 
‘‘(4) Oversight of data collection, analysis, and 
publication requirements for all recipients of Federal 
financial assistance under each Federal health pro-
gram administered by the agency, and compliance 
with the 1997 Office of Management and Budget 
Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Pre-
senting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity and the 
available language standards. 
‘‘(5) The conduct of publicly available studies 
regarding discrimination within Federal health pro-
grams administered by the agency as well as dis-
parity reduction initiatives by recipients of Federal 
financial assistance under Federal health programs. 
‘‘(6) Annual reports to the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the 
Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee 
on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives 
on the progress in reducing disparities in health and 
healthcare through the Federal programs adminis-
tered by the agency. 
‘‘(d) RELATIONSHIP TO OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS 
IN THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.—
303 
‘‘(1) DEPARTMENT
OF
HEALTH
AND
HUMAN 
SERVICES.—The Office for Civil Rights in the De-
partment of Health and Human Services shall pro-
vide standard-setting and compliance review inves-
tigation support services to the Civil Rights Compli-
ance Office for each agency. 
‘‘(2) DEPARTMENT
OF
JUSTICE.—The Office 
for Civil Rights in the Department of Justice shall 
continue to maintain the power to institute formal 
proceedings when an agency Office for Civil Rights 
determines that a recipient of Federal financial as-
sistance is not in compliance with the disparity re-
duction standards of the agency. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘Federal 
health programs’ mean programs— 
‘‘(1) under the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
301 et seq.) that pay for healthcare and services; 
and 
‘‘(2) under this Act that provide Federal finan-
cial assistance for healthcare, biomedical research, 
health services research, and programs designed to 
improve the public’s health.’’. 
SEC. 604. OFFICE OF MINORITY HEALTH. 
Section 1707 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 300u–6) is amended—
304 
(1) by striking the section heading and insert-
ing 
the 
following: 
‘‘OFFICE
OF
MINORITY 
HEALTH AND RACIAL, ETHNIC, AND PRIMARY 
LANGUAGE HEALTH DISPARITY ELIMINATION’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘Office of Minority Health’’ 
each place such term appears and inserting ‘‘Office 
of Minority Health and Racial, Ethnic, and Primary 
Language Health Disparities Elimination’’; 
(3) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(b) DUTIES.—With respect to improving the health 
of racial and ethnic minority groups, the Secretary, acting 
through the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority 
Health and Racial, Ethnic, and Primary Language Health 
Disparities Elimination (in this section referred to as the 
‘Deputy Assistant Secretary’), shall carry out the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(1) Establish, implement, monitor, and evalu-
ate short-range and long-range goals and objectives 
and oversee all other activities within the Public 
Health Service that relate to disease prevention, 
health promotion, service delivery, and research con-
cerning minority groups. The heads of each of the 
agencies of the Service shall consult with the Deputy
305 
Assistant Secretary to ensure the coordination of 
such activities. 
‘‘(2) Oversee all activities within the Depart-
ment of Health and Human Services that relate to 
reducing or eliminating disparities in health and 
healthcare in racial and ethnic minority populations, 
including coordinating— 
‘‘(A) the design of programs, support for 
programs, and the evaluation of programs; 
‘‘(B) the monitoring of trends in health 
and healthcare; 
‘‘(C) research efforts; 
‘‘(D) the training of health providers; and 
‘‘(E) information and education programs 
and campaigns. 
‘‘(3) Enter into interagency and intra-agency 
agreements with other agencies of the Public Health 
Service. 
‘‘(4) Ensure that the Federal health agencies 
and the National Center for Health Statistics collect 
data on the health status and healthcare of each mi-
nority group, using at a minimum the categories 
specified in the 1997 OMB Standards for Maintain-
ing, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on
306 
Race and Ethnicity as required under subtitle B and 
available language standards. 
‘‘(5) Provide technical assistance to States, 
local agencies, territories, Indian tribes, and entities 
for activities relating to the elimination of racial and 
ethnic disparities in health and healthcare. 
‘‘(6) Support a national minority health re-
source center to carry out the following: 
‘‘(A) Facilitate the exchange of informa-
tion regarding matters relating to health infor-
mation, health promotion and wellness, preven-
tive health services, and education in the appro-
priate use of health services. 
‘‘(B) Facilitate timely access to culturally 
and linguistically appropriate information. 
‘‘(C) Assist in the analysis of such infor-
mation. 
‘‘(D) Provide technical assistance with re-
spect to the exchange of such information (in-
cluding facilitating the development of materials 
for such technical assistance). 
‘‘(7) Carry out programs to improve access to 
healthcare services for individuals with limited 
English proficiency, including developing and car-
rying out programs to provide bilingual or interpre-
307 
tive services through the development and support of 
the Robert T. Matsui Center for Cultural and Lin-
guistic Competence in Healthcare as provided for in 
section 2903. 
‘‘(8) Carry out programs to improve access to 
healthcare services and to improve the quality of 
healthcare services for individuals with low func-
tional health literacy. As used in the preceding sen-
tence, the term ‘functional health literacy’ means the 
ability to obtain, process, and understand basic 
health information and services needed to make ap-
propriate health decisions. 
‘‘(9) Advise in matters related to the develop-
ment, implementation, and evaluation of health pro-
fessions education on decreasing disparities in 
healthcare outcomes, with focus on cultural com-
petency as a method of eliminating disparities in 
health and healthcare in racial and ethnic minority 
populations. 
‘‘(10) Assist healthcare professionals, commu-
nity and advocacy organizations, academic centers 
and public health departments in the design and im-
plementation of programs that will improve the qual-
ity of health outcomes by strengthening the pro-
vider-patient relationship.’’.
308 
(4) by redesignating subsections (c) through (f) 
and subsections (g) and (h) as subsections (d) 
through (g) and subsections (j) and (k), respectively; 
(5) by inserting after subsection (b), the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(c) NATIONAL PLAN TO ELIMINATE RACIAL AND 
ETHNIC HEALTH AND HEALTHCARE DISPARITIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 
through the Deputy Assistant Secretary, shall— 
‘‘(A) not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of the Healthcare Equality and 
Accountability Act, establish and implement a 
comprehensive plan to achieve the goal of 
Healthy People 2010 to eliminate health dis-
parities in the United States; 
‘‘(B) establish the plan referred to in sub-
paragraph (A) in consultation with— 
‘‘(i) the Director of the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention; 
‘‘(ii) the Director of the National In-
stitutes of Health; 
‘‘(iii) the Director of the National 
Center on Minority Health and Health 
Disparities;