I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5742 
To prohibit discrimination in health care and require the provision of equitable 
health care, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 26, 2021 
Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. NORTON, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. 
SCANLON, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. LEE of California, Mrs. DEMINGS, Ms. SE-
WELL, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. BASS, Ms. BUSH, Mr. THOMPSON of Mis-
sissippi, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. COOPER, Ms. BLUNT 
ROCHESTER, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mrs. WATSON 
COLEMAN, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. SMITH of Wash-
ington, and Mr. CARSON) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to 
the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently de-
termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To prohibit discrimination in health care and require the 
provision of equitable health care, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Equitable Health Care 
for All Act’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:40 Nov 02, 2021
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5742.IH
H5742
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) In 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said 
‘‘Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health 
care is the most shocking and inhuman because it 
often results in physical death.’’. 
(2) Inequity in health care remains a persistent 
and devastating reality for many communities, but, 
in particular, communities of color. 
(3) The provision of inequitable health care has 
complex causes, many stemming from systemic in-
equality in access to health care, housing, nutrition, 
economic opportunity, education, and other factors. 
(4) Health care outcomes for Black commu-
nities in particular lag far behind those of the popu-
lation as a whole. 
(5) Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the Na-
tional Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, 
said on April 7, 2020, the coronavirus outbreak is 
‘‘shining a bright light’’ on ‘‘unacceptable’’ health 
disparities in the Black community. 
(6) A contributing factor in health disparities is 
explicit and implicit bias in the delivery of health 
care, resulting in inferior care and poorer outcomes 
for some patients on the basis of factors including 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:40 Nov 02, 2021
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5742.IH
H5742
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
race, national origin, sex (including sexual orienta-
tion or gender identity), disability, age, or religion. 
(7) The National Academy of Medicine (for-
merly known as the ‘‘Institute of Medicine’’) issued 
a report in 2002 titled ‘‘Unequal Treatment’’, find-
ing that racial and ethnic minorities receive lower- 
quality health care than Whites do, even when insur-
ance status, income, age, and severity of condition is 
comparable. 
(8) Just as Congress has sought to eliminate 
bias, both explicit and implicit, in employment, hous-
ing, and other parts of our society, the elimination 
of bias and the legacy of structural racism in health 
care is of paramount importance. 
SEC. 3. DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING. 
(a) REQUIRED REPORTING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, in consultation with the Director of 
Civil Rights and Health Equity, the Director of the 
National Institutes of Health, the Administrator of 
the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the 
Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and 
Quality, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority 
Health, and the Director of the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention, shall by regulation require 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:40 Nov 02, 2021
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5742.IH
H5742
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
all health care providers and facilities that are re-
quired under other provisions of law to report data 
on specific health outcomes to the Department of 
Health and Human Services in aggregate form, to 
disaggregate such data by demographic characteris-
tics, including by race, national origin, sex (including 
sexual orientation and gender identity), disability, 
and age, as well as any other factor that the Sec-
retary determines would be useful for determining a 
pattern of provision of inequitable health care. 
(2) PROPOSED REGULATIONS.—Not later than 
90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall issue 
proposed regulations to carry out paragraph (1). 
(b) REPOSITORY.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services shall— 
(1) not later than 1 year after the date of en-
actment of this Act, establish a repository of the 
disaggregated data reported pursuant to subsection 
(a); 
(2) subject to paragraph (3), make the data in 
such repository publicly available; and 
(3) ensure that such repository does not contain 
any data that is individually identifiable. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:40 Nov 02, 2021
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5742.IH
H5742
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
SEC. 4. REQUIRING EQUITABLE HEALTH CARE IN THE HOS-
PITAL 
VALUE-BASED 
PURCHASING 
PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) EQUITABLE HEALTH CARE AS VALUE MEASURE-
MENT.—Section 1886(b)(3)(B)(viii) of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(b)(3)(B)(viii)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subclause: 
‘‘(XIII)(aa) Effective for payments beginning with 
fiscal year 2024, in expanding the number of measures 
under subclause (III), the Secretary shall adopt measures 
that relate to equitable health care furnished by hospitals 
in inpatient settings. 
‘‘(bb) In carrying out this subclause, the Secretary 
shall solicit input and recommendations from individuals 
and groups representing communities of color and other 
protected classes and ensure measures adopted pursuant 
to this subclause account for social determinants of health, 
as defined in section 7(e)(10) of the Equitable Health 
Care for All Act. 
‘‘(cc) For purposes of this subclause, the term ‘equi-
table health care’ refers to the principle that high-quality 
care should be provided to all individuals and health care 
treatment and services should not vary on account of the 
real or perceived race, national origin, sex (including sex-
ual orientation and gender identity), disability, or age of 
an individual, as well as any other factor that the Sec-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:40 Nov 02, 2021
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5742.IH
H5742
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
retary determines would be useful for determining a pat-
tern of provision of inequitable health care.’’. 
(b) INCLUSION OF EQUITABLE HEALTH CARE MEAS-
URES.—Section 1886(o)(2)(B) of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1395ww(o)(2)(B)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new clause: 
‘‘(iv) 
INCLUSION
OF
EQUITABLE 
HEALTH CARE MEASURES.—Beginning in 
fiscal year 2024, measures selected under 
subparagraph (A) shall include the equi-
table health care measures described in 
subsection (b)(3)(B)(viii)(XIII).’’. 
SEC. 5. PROVISION OF INEQUITABLE HEALTH CARE AS A 
BASIS FOR PERMISSIVE EXCLUSION FROM 
MEDICARE AND STATE HEALTH CARE PRO-
GRAMS. 
Section 1128(b) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1320a–7(b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(18) PROVISION
OF
INEQUITABLE
HEALTH 
CARE.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), any health care provider that the 
Secretary determines has engaged in a pattern 
of providing inequitable health care (as defined 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:40 Nov 02, 2021
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5742.IH
H5742
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
in section 7(e)(7) of the Equitable Health Care 
for All Act) on the basis of race, national ori-
gin, sex (including sexual orientation and gen-
der identity), disability, or age of an individual. 
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—For purposes of car-
rying out subparagaph (A), the Secretary shall 
not exclude any health care provider from par-
ticipation in the Medicare program under title 
XVIII of the Social Security Act or the Med-
icaid program under title XIX of such Act if 
the exclusion of such health care provider would 
result in increased difficulty in access to health 
care services for underserved or low-income 
communities.’’. 
SEC. 6. OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS AND HEALTH EQUITY OF 
THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN 
SERVICES. 
(a) NAME OF OFFICE.—Beginning on the date of en-
actment of this Act, the Office for Civil Rights of the De-
partment of Health and Human Services shall be known 
as the ‘‘Office for Civil Rights and Health Equity’’ of the 
Department of Health and Human Services. Any ref-
erence to the Office for Civil Rights of the Department 
of Health and Human Services in any law, regulation, 
map, document, record, or other paper of the United 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:40 Nov 02, 2021
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5742.IH
H5742
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
States shall be deemed to be a reference to the Office for 
Civil Rights and Health Equity. 
(b) HEAD OF OFFICE.—The head of the Office for 
Civil Rights and Health Equity shall be the Director for 
Civil Rights and Health Equity, to be appointed by the 
President. Any reference to the Director of the Office for 
Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human 
Services in any law, regulation, map, document, record, 
or other paper of the United States shall be deemed to 
be a reference to the Director for Civil Rights and Health 
Equity. 
SEC. 7. PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION IN HEALTH CARE. 
(a) PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—No health care provider 
may, on the basis, in whole or in part, of race, sex 
(including sexual orientation and gender identity), 
disability, age, or religion, subject an individual to 
the provision of inequitable health care. 
(2) NOTICE
OF
PATIENT
RIGHTS.—The Sec-
retary shall provide to each patient a notice of a pa-
tient’s rights under this section. 
(b) ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT AND CONCILIATION 
PROCESS.— 
(1) COMPLAINTS AND ANSWERS.— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:40 Nov 02, 2021
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5742.IH
H5742
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS