Home > 106th Congressional Bills > S. 1880 (is) To amend the Public Health Service Act to improve the health of minority individuals. [Introduced in Senate] ...S. 1880 (is) To amend the Public Health Service Act to improve the health of minority individuals. [Introduced in Senate] ...
106th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 1880
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend the Public Health Service Act to improve the health of
minority individuals.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Minority Health
and Health Disparities Research and Education Act of 2000''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
TITLE I--IMPROVING MINORITY HEALTH AND REDUCING HEALTH DISPARITIES
THROUGH NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH; ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL CENTER
Sec. 101. Establishment of National Center on Minority Health and
Health Disparities.
Sec. 102. Centers of excellence for research education and training.
Sec. 103. Extramural loan repayment program for minority health
disparities research.
Sec. 104. General provisions regarding the Center.
Sec. 105. Report regarding resources of National Institutes of Health
dedicated to minority and other health
disparities research.
TITLE II--HEALTH DISPARITIES RESEARCH BY AGENCY FOR HEALTHCARE RESEARCH
AND QUALITY
Sec. 201. Health disparities research by Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality.
TITLE III--DATA COLLECTION RELATING TO RACE OR ETHNICITY
Sec. 301. Study and report by National Academy of Sciences.
TITLE IV--HEALTH PROFESSIONS EDUCATION
Sec. 401. Health professions education in health disparities.
Sec. 402. National conference on health professions education and
health disparities.
Sec. 403. Advisory responsibilities in health professions education in
health disparities and cultural competency.
TITLE V--PUBLIC AWARENESS AND DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION ON HEALTH
DISPARITIES
Sec. 501. Public awareness and information dissemination.
TITLE VI--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Sec. 601. Departmental definition regarding minority individuals.
Sec. 602. Conforming provision regarding definitions.
Sec. 603. Effective date.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) Despite notable progress in the overall health of the
Nation, there are continuing disparities in the burden of
illness and death experienced by African Americans, Hispanics,
Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Asian Pacific Islanders,
compared to the United States population as a whole.
(2) The largest numbers of the medically underserved are
white individuals, and many of them have the same health care
access problems as do members of minority groups. Nearly
20,000,000 white individuals live below the poverty line with
many living in non-metropolitan, rural areas such as
Appalachia, where the high percentage of counties designated as
health professional shortage areas (47 percent) and the high
rate of poverty contribute to disparity outcomes. However,
there is a higher proportion of racial and ethnic minorities in
the United States represented among the medically underserved.
(3) There is a national need for minority scientists in the
fields of biomedical, clinical, behavioral, and health services
research. Ninety percent of minority physicians educated at
Historically Black Medical Colleges live and serve in minority
communities.
(4) Demographic trends inspire concern about the Nation's
ability to meet its future scientific, technological and
engineering workforce needs. Historically, non-Hispanic white
males have made up the majority of the United States
scientific, technological, and engineering workers.
(5) The Hispanic and Black population will increase
significantly in the next 50 years. The scientific,
technological, and engineering workforce may decrease if
participation by underepresented minorities remains the same.
(6) Increasing rates of Black and Hispanic workers can help
ensure strong scientific, technological, and engineering
workforce.
(7) Individuals such as underepresented minorities and
women in the scientific, technological, and engineering
workforce enable society to address its diverse needs.
(8) If there had not been a substantial increase in the
number of science and engineering degrees awarded to women and
underepresented minorities over the past few decades, the
United States would be facing even greater shortages in
scientific, technological, and engineering workers.
(9) In order to effectively promote a diverse and strong
21st Century scientific, technological, and engineering
workforce, Federal agencies should expand or add programs that
effectively overcome barriers such as educational transition
from one level to the next and student requirements for
financial resources.
(10) Federal agencies should work in concert with the
private nonprofit sector to emphasize the recruitment and
retention of qualified individuals from ethnic and gender
groups that are currently underrepresented in the scientific,
technological, and engineering workforce.
(11) Behavioral and social sciences research has increased
awareness and understanding of factors associated with health
care utilization and access, patient attitudes toward health
services, and risk and protective behaviors that affect health
and illness. These factors have the potential to then be
modified to help close the health disparities gap among ethnic
minority populations. In addition, there is a shortage of
minority behavioral science researchers and behavioral health
care professionals. According to the National Science
Foundation, only 15.5 percent of behavioral research-oriented
psychology doctorate degrees were awarded to minority students
in 1997. In addition, only 17.9 percent of practice-oriented
psychology doctorate degrees were awarded to ethnic minorities.
TITLE I--IMPROVING MINORITY HEALTH AND REDUCING HEALTH DISPARITIES
THROUGH NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH; ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL CENTER
SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL CENTER ON MINORITY HEALTH AND
HEALTH DISPARITIES.
(a) In General.--Part E of title IV of the Public Health Service
Act (42 U.S.C. 287 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following subpart:
``Subpart 6--National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities
``SEC. 485E. PURPOSE OF CENTER.
``(a) In General.--The general purpose of the National Center on
Minority Health and Health Disparities (in this subpart referred to as
the `Center') is the conduct and support of research, training,
dissemination of information, and other programs with respect to
minority health conditions and other populations with health
disparities.
``(b) Priorities.--The Director of the Center shall in expending
amounts appropriated under this subpart give priority to conducting and
supporting minority health disparities research.
``(c) Minority Health Disparities Research.--For purposes of this
subpart:
``(1) The term `minority health disparities research' means
basic, clinical, and behavioral research on minority health
conditions (as defined in paragraph (2)), including research to
prevent, diagnose, and treat such conditions.
``(2) The term `minority health conditions', with respect
to individuals who are members of minority groups, means all
diseases, disorders, and conditions (including with respect to
mental health and substance abuse)--
``(A) unique to, more serious, or more prevalent in
such individuals;
``(B) for which the factors of medical risk or
types of medical intervention may be different for such
individuals, or for which it is unknown whether such
factors or types are different for such individuals; or
``(C) with respect to which there has been
insufficient research involving such individuals as
subjects or insufficient data on such individuals.
``(3) The term `minority group' has the meaning given the
term `racial and ethnic minority group' in section 1707.
``(4) The terms `minority' and `minorities' refer to
individuals from a minority group.
``(d) Health Disparity Populations.--For purposes of this subpart:
``(1) A population is a health disparity population if, as
determined by the Director of the Center after consultation
with the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality, there is a significant disparity in the overall rate
of disease incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality, or
survival rates in the population as compared to the health
status of the general population.
``(2) The Director shall give priority consideration to
determining whether minority groups qualify as health disparity
populations under paragraph (1).
``(3) The term `health disparities research' means basic,
clinical, and behavioral research on health disparity
populations (including individual members and communities of
such populations) that relates to health disparities as defined
under paragraph (1), including the causes of such disparities
and methods to prevent, diagnose, and treat such disparities.
``(e) Coordination of Activities.--The Director of the Center shall
act as the primary Federal official with responsibility for
coordinating all minority health disparities research and other health
disparities research conducted or supported by the National Institutes
of Health, and--
``(1) shall represent the health disparities research
program of the National Institutes of Health, including the
minority health disparities research program, at all relevant
Executive branch task forces, committees and planning
activities; and
``(2) shall maintain communications with all relevant
Public Health Service agencies, including the Indian Health
Service, and various other departments of the Federal
Government to ensure the timely transmission of information
concerning advances in minority health disparities research and
other health disparities research between these various
agencies for dissemination to affected communities and health
care providers.
``(f) Collaborative Comprehensive Plan and Budget.--
``(1) In general.--Subject to the provisions of this
section and other applicable law, the Director of NIH, the
Director of the Center, and the directors of the other agencies
of the National Institutes of Health in collaboration (and in
consultation with the advisory council for the Center) shall--
``(A) establish a comprehensive plan and budget for
the conduct and support of all minority health
disparities research and other health disparities
research activities of the agencies of the National
Institutes of Health (which plan and budget shall be
first established under this subsection not later than
12 months after the date of the enactment of this
subpart);
``(B) ensure that the plan and budget establish
priorities among the health disparities research
activities that such agencies are authorized to carry
out;
``(C) ensure that the plan and budget establish
objectives regarding such activities, describes the
means for achieving the objectives, and designates the
date by which the objectives are expected to be
achieved;
``(D) ensure that, with respect to amounts
appropriated for activities of the Center, the plan and
budget give priority in the expenditure of funds to
conducting and supporting minority health disparities
research;
``(E) ensure that all amounts appropriated for such
activities are expended in accordance with the plan and
budget;
``(F) review the plan and budget not less than
annually, and revise the plan and budget as
appropriate;
``(G) ensure that the plan and budget serve as a
broad, binding statement of policies regarding minority
health disparities research and other health
disparities research activities of the agencies, but do
not remove the responsibility of the heads of the
agencies for the approval of specific programs or
projects, or for other details of the daily
administration of such activities, in accordance with
the plan and budget; and
``(H) promote coordination and collaboration among
the agencies conducting or supporting minority health
or other health disparities research.
``(2) Certain components of plan and budget.--With respect
to health disparities research activities of the agencies of
the National Institutes of Health, the Director of the Center
shall ensure that the plan and budget under paragraph (1)
provide for--
``(A) basic research and applied research,
including research and development with respect to
products;
``(B) research that is conducted by the agencies;
``(C) research that is supported by the agencies;
``(D) proposals developed pursuant to solicitations
by the agencies and for proposals developed
independently of such solicitations; and
``(E) behavioral research and social sciences
research, which may include cultural and linguistic
research in each of the agencies.
``(3) Minority health disparities research.--The plan and
budget under paragraph (1) shall include a separate statement
of the plan and budget for minority health disparities
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