Title: Health Equity for People with Disabilities Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Health Equity for People with Disabilities Act
This bill modifies certain grants available to health centers that offer primary health services to medically underserved populations to ensure that members of such populations with disabilities receive accessible health services.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4544 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4544

  To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide health equity for 
                       people with disabilities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 18, 2022

  Mr. Casey (for himself, Mr. Kaine, Ms. Duckworth, and Mr. Merkley) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
          Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide health equity for 
                       people with disabilities.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Health Equity for People with 
Disabilities Act''.

SEC. 2. HEALTH EQUITY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 254b) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by 
                inserting ``including people with disabilities within 
                these populations;'' after ``public housing,''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``including 
                accessible healthcare services'' before the semicolon;
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(A)--
                            (i) in clause (i), in the matter preceding 
                        subclause (I), by inserting ``, including 
                        accessible healthcare services'' after ``health 
                        services'';
                            (ii) in clause (iv), by inserting ``, 
                        including people with disabilities,'' after 
                        ``enable individuals''; and
                            (iii) in clause (v), by inserting ``, 
                        including people with disabilities,'' after 
                        ``health center''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Disability.--The term `disability' has the meaning 
        given such term in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 
        1990.'';
            (3) in subsection (c)(1)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) by inserting ``, including people with 
                        disabilities within these medically underserved 
                        populations'' before the first period; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``accessible'' after 
                        ``lease of''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (E), by inserting ``non-profit 
                health and wellness agencies,'' after ``local 
                hospitals,'';
            (4) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ``or with 
                disabilities'' before the semicolon; and
                    (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``or for 
                addressing barriers to care affecting people with 
                disabilities in their communities'' before the period;
            (5) in subsection (e)(6)(A)(ii), insert ``, or will serve a 
        significant population of people with disabilities'' after 
        ``other applicants'';
            (6) in subsection (f)(1)(B), by inserting ``, including 
        people with disabilities,'' after ``women and children'';
            (7) in subsection (g)(1)(A), by inserting ``, including 
        people with disabilities'' before the semicolon;
            (8) in subsection (h)(1), by striking ``and veterans at 
        risk of homelessness'' and inserting ``veterans at risk of 
        homelessness, and people with disabilities who are homeless or 
        at risk of homelessness'';
            (9) in subsection (i)(1), by inserting ``, inclusive of 
        people with disabilities in these communities'' before the 
        period; and
            (10) in subsection (j)(4)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period and 
                inserting ``; or''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) provide communication devices, aids, or 
                services to meet disability accessibility 
                requirements.''.
    (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in the amendments made by 
subsection (a) shall be construed to modify the manner in which funding 
is provided to targeted populations on the date of enactment of this 
Act or to otherwise shift the focus of programming for such 
populations. Such amendments are intended to ensure that members of 
targeted populations with disabilities are included in such 
programming, have access to care, and are served under programs under 
section 330 of the Public Health Service Act (as amended by this 
section).
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