Sec. 3. COVID–19 health disparities action plan

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The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office of Minority Health of the Department of Health and Human Services, shall develop an evidence-based action plan (referred to in this section as the action plan ) for addressing health disparities related to COVID–19 testing, infections, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths among racial and ethnic minority, rural, and other vulnerable populations. In developing the action plan described in subsection (a), the Director of the Office of Minority Health shall coordinate with— the Director of the Office of Minority Health and Health Equity of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the Director of the Office of Extramural Research, Education, and Priority Populations of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; the Director of the Office of Minority Health of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; the Director of the Office of Minority Health and Health Equity of the Food and Drug Administration; the Director of the Office of Health Equity of the Health Resources and Services Administration; the Director of the Office of Behavioral Health Equity of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; the Director of the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities; and the Director of the Indian Health Service.

In developing the action plan described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall— review peer-reviewed literature to identify evidence-informed and evidence-based best practices for addressing health disparities among racial and ethnic minority, rural, and other vulnerable populations; and consult with— community-based organizations with expertise in addressing health disparities that affect racial and ethnic minority, rural, and other vulnerable populations; and State, local, Tribal, and territorial health officials that serve areas with high concentrations of racial and ethnic minority, rural, and other vulnerable populations that have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID–19 pandemic.

The action plan shall include— a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the current barriers to complete and accurate data collection on health disparities related to COVID–19 testing, infections, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths among racial and ethnic minority, rural, and other vulnerable populations; a description of the health disparities that have been identified with current data related to COVID–19 testing, infections, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths among racial and ethnic minority, rural, and other vulnerable populations, using existing metrics where possible; a description of the actions that the Secretary will take to address the barriers to complete and accurate data collection on health disparities related to COVID–19 testing, infections, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths among racial and ethnic minority, rural, and other vulnerable populations, including specific dates by when such actions will be completed and the metrics that will be used to evaluate the impact of such actions; the actions that the Secretary will take to address the health disparities that have been identified with current data related to COVID–19 testing, infections, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths among racial and ethnic minority, rural, and other vulnerable populations, including specific dates by when such actions will be taken and completed and the metrics that will be used to evaluate the impact of such actions; and a summary of any additional resources that the Secretary requires in order to fully identify and address health disparities related to COVID–19 testing, infections, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths among racial and ethnic minority, rural, and other vulnerable populations.

Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit the action plan to the Committee 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, and make such plan publicly available on the internet website of the Department of Health and Human Services. Not later than 30 days after the date of publication of the initial action plan under paragraph (1), and at least every 30 days thereafter until the date that is 6 months after the COVID–19 public health emergency has ended, the Secretary shall submit updates to the action plan to Congress.

Each such update shall provide updates on the Secretary’s actions and the relevant evaluation metrics, and shall include any actions that the Secretary has identified since issuance of the initial action plan under paragraph

(1)and any previous updates under this paragraph, as necessary to address health disparities related to COVID–19 testing, infections, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths among racial and ethnic minority, rural, and other vulnerable populations. The Secretary shall make each update publicly available on the internet website of the Department of Health and Human Services. Not later than 1 year after the end of the COVID–19 public health emergency, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a final report analyzing the health disparities related to COVID–19 testing, infections, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths among racial and ethnic minority, rural, and other vulnerable populations, including an analysis of the social determinants of health and the underlying causes of health disparities. The report shall include— the Secretary’s long-term plan for addressing racial and ethnic health disparities, including an assessment of any additional resources that may be required for the Office of Minority Health of the Department of Health and Human Services, or such department in general, to sustain long-term initiatives to address racial and ethnic health disparities; and recommendations for Congress to address the underlying causes and prevent health disparities among racial and ethnic minority, rural, and other vulnerable populations during future public health emergencies. There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2020.