I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2468 
To improve minority inclusion in clinical trials. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 20, 2015 
Mr. RUSH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To improve minority inclusion in clinical trials. 
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 ‘‘Minority Inclusion in 
Clinical Trials Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON INCENTIVIZING INCLU-
SION 
OF 
UNDERREPRESENTED 
COMMU-
NITIES IN CLINICAL TRIALS. 
It is the sense of Congress that the National Institute 
on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) 
shall include within its strategic plan ways to increase rep-
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resentation of underrepresented communities in clinical 
trials. 
SEC. 3. CAREER DEVELOPMENT FOR SCIENTISTS AND RE-
SEARCHERS. 
The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this 
section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’), acting through the 
Director of the National Institutes of Health, the Director 
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 
Commissioner of Food and Drugs, the Director of the 
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Ad-
ministrator of the Health Resources and Services Admin-
istration, shall award grants for— 
(1) expanding existing opportunities for sci-
entists and researchers; and 
(2) promoting the inclusion of underrepresented 
minorities in the health professions. 
SEC. 4. SUPPORT FOR INSTITUTIONS COMMITTED TO 
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IN UNDERREP-
RESENTED COMMUNITIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’), acting through the Administrator of the Health 
Resources and Services Administration and the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention, shall award grants 
to eligible entities that demonstrate a commitment to 
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health workforce development in underrepresented com-
munities. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under subsection (a), an entity shall— 
(1) be an educational institution or entity that 
historically produces or trains meaningful numbers 
of underrepresented minority health professionals, 
including— 
(A) historically Black colleges and univer-
sities; 
(B) Hispanic-serving health professions 
schools; 
(C) Hispanic-serving institutions; 
(D) tribal colleges and universities; 
(E) Asian-American, Native American, and 
Pacific Islander-serving institutions; 
(F) institutions that have programs to re-
cruit and retain underrepresented minority 
health professionals, in which a significant 
number of the enrolled participants are under-
represented minorities; 
(G) health professional associations, which 
may include underrepresented minority health 
professional associations; and 
(H) institutions— 
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(i) located in communities with pre-
dominantly underrepresented minority pop-
ulations; 
(ii) with whom partnerships have been 
formed for the purpose of increasing work-
force diversity; and 
(iii) in which at least 20 percent of 
the enrolled participants are underrep-
resented minorities; and 
(2) submit to the Secretary an application at 
such time, in such manner, and containing such in-
formation as the Secretary may require. 
(c) USE
OF FUNDS.—Amounts received under a 
grant under subsection (a) shall be used to expand existing 
workforce diversity programs, implement new workforce 
diversity programs, or evaluate existing or new workforce 
diversity programs, including with respect to mental 
health care professions. Such programs shall enhance di-
versity by considering minority status as part of an indi-
vidualized consideration of qualifications. Possible activi-
ties may include— 
(1) educational outreach programs relating to 
opportunities in the health professions; 
(2) scholarship, fellowship, grant, loan repay-
ment, and loan cancellation programs; 
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(3) postbaccalaureate programs; 
(4) academic enrichment programs, particularly 
targeting those who would not be competitive for 
health professions schools; 
(5) kindergarten through 12th grade and other 
health pipeline programs; 
(6) mentoring programs; 
(7) internship or rotation programs involving 
hospitals, health systems, health plans, and other 
health entities; 
(8) community partnership development for 
purposes relating to workforce diversity; or 
(9) leadership training. 
(d) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after receiving 
a grant under this section, and annually for the term of 
the grant, a grantee shall submit to the Secretary a report 
that summarizes and evaluates all activities conducted 
under the grant. 
(e) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘Asian- 
American, Native American, and Pacific Islander-serving 
institutions’’ has the same meaning as the term ‘‘Asian 
American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving 
institution’’ as defined in section 371(c) of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(c)). 
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(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 
2015 through 2020. 
SEC. 5. ELIMINATING DISPARITIES IN MATERNITY HEALTH 
OUTCOMES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) (in consultation with the Deputy Assistant Sec-
retary for Minority Health, the Director of the National 
Institutes of Health, the Director of the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention, the Administrator of the 
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the Admin-
istrator of the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, 
and in consultation with relevant national stakeholder or-
ganizations such as national medical specialty organiza-
tions, national maternal child health organizations, na-
tional groups that represent minority populations, and na-
tional health disparity organizations) shall carry out the 
following activities to eliminate disparities in maternal 
health outcomes: 
(1) Conduct research into the determinants and 
the distribution of disparities in maternal care, 
health risks, and health outcomes, and improve the 
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capacity of the performance measurement infrastruc-
ture to measure such disparities. 
(2) Expand access to services that have been 
demonstrated to improve the quality and outcomes 
of maternity care for vulnerable populations. 
(3) Establish a demonstration project to com-
pare the effectiveness of interventions to reduce dis-
parities in maternity services and outcomes, and im-
plement and assess effective interventions. 
(b) SCOPE AND SELECTION OF STATES FOR DEM-
ONSTRATION
PROJECT.—The 
demonstration 
project 
under subsection (a)(3) shall be conducted in no more 
than 8 States, which shall be selected by the Secretary 
based on— 
(1) applications submitted by States, which 
specify which regions and populations the State in-
volved will serve under the demonstration project; 
(2) criteria designed by the Secretary to ensure 
that, as a whole, the demonstration project is, to the 
greatest extent possible, representative of the demo-
graphic and geographic composition of communities 
most affected by disparities; 
(3) criteria designed by the Secretary to ensure 
that a variety of types of models are tested through 
the demonstration project and that such models in-
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clude interventions that have an existing evidence 
base for effectiveness; and 
(4) criteria designed by the Secretary to assure 
that the demonstration projects and models will be 
carried out in consultation with local and regional 
provider organizations, such as community health 
centers, hospital systems, and medical societies rep-
resenting providers of maternity services. 
(c) DURATION OF DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.—The 
demonstration project under subsection (a)(3) shall begin 
on January 1, 2015, and end on December 31, 2019. 
(d) GRANTS FOR EVALUATION AND MONITORING.— 
The Secretary may make grants to States and health care 
providers participating in the demonstration project under 
subsection (a)(3) for the purpose of collecting data nec-
essary for the evaluation and monitoring of such project. 
(e) REPORTS.— 
(1) STATE REPORTS.—Each State that partici-
pates in the demonstration project under subsection 
(a)(3) shall report to the Secretary, in a time, form, 
and manner specified by the Secretary, the data nec-
essary to— 
(A) monitor the— 
(i) outcomes of the project; 
(ii) costs of the project; and 
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(iii) quality of maternity care provided 
under the project; and 
(B) evaluate the rationale for the selection 
of the items and services included in any bun-
dled payment made by the State under the 
project. 
(2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than December 
31, 2020, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
report on the results of the demonstration project 
under subsection (a)(3). 
SEC. 6. HEALTH DISPARITIES EDUCATION PROGRAM. 
(a) 
ESTABLISHMENT.—The 
Secretary, 
acting 
through the National Institute on Minority Health and 
Health Disparities and in collaboration with the Office of 
Minority Health, the Office for Civil Rights, the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medi-
care & Medicaid Services, the Health Resources and Serv-
ices Administration, and other appropriate public and pri-
vate entities, shall establish and coordinate a health and 
health care disparities education program to support, de-
velop, and implement educational initiatives and outreach 
strategies that inform health care professionals and the 
public about the existence of and methods to reduce racial 
and ethnic disparities in health and health care. 
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(b) ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary, through the edu-
cation program established under subsection (a), shall, 
through the use of public awareness and outreach cam-
paigns targeting the general public and the medical com-
munity at large— 
(1) disseminate scientific evidence for the exist-
ence and extent of racial and ethnic disparities in 
health care, including disparities that are not other-
wise attributable to known factors such as access to 
care, patient preferences, or appropriateness of 
intervention, as described in the 2002 Institute of 
Medicine Report entitled ‘‘Unequal Treatment: Con-
fronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health 
Care’’, as well as the impact of disparities related to 
age, disability status, socioeconomic status, sex, gen-
der identity, and sexual orientation on racial and 
ethnic minorities; 
(2) disseminate new research findings to health 
care providers and patients to assist them in under-
standing, reducing, and eliminating health and 
health care disparities; 
(3) disseminate information about the impact of 
linguistic and cultural barriers on health care quality 
and the obligation of health providers who receive 
Federal financial assistance to ensure that people 
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with limited-English proficiency have access to lan-
guage access services; 
(4) disseminate information about the impor-
tance and legality of racial, ethnic, disability status, 
socioeconomic status, sex, gender identity, and sex-
ual orientation, and primary language data collec-
tion, analysis, and reporting; 
(5) design and implement specific educational 
initiatives to health care providers relating to health 
and health care disparities; and 
(6) assess the impact of the programs estab-
lished under this section in raising awareness of 
health and health care disparities and providing in-
formation on available resources. 
(c) 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 
2015 through 2020. 
Æ 
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