2012 Health Disparities Legislation

State

• ACR 142  Would designate April 15-21 as “National Multicultural Cancer Awareness Week” to encourage promotion of policies and programs aimed at reducing cancer disparities. To Senate Rules Committee.

• AB 2134 Concerns community mental health services - outpatient treatment. Would provide staff that have the cultural background and linguistic skills necessary to remove barriers to mental health services as a result of cultural differences and limited English-speaking ability. In Assembly. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Committee on Health.

Florida

• HB 459 and SB 564 Provides duties of the Office of Minority Health. House version: 3/9/12 Died in Committee on Health and Human Services;  Senate version: 3/9/12 Died in Committee on Budget.

Georgia

• HR 758 Urges health care professionals to complete training in cultural competency at least every two years. Failed - Adjourned.

Hawaii

•  HB 1983 and SB 2174 Recognizes the diverse health experiences and needs among Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. Would require Hawaii’s state agencies to use separate data collection categories for Native Hawaiians, each major Asian group, and other major Pacific Islander groups to facilitate the proper collection and reporting of data. House version: to House Committee on Finance; Senate version: To Senate Committee on Ways and Means.   

• HB 2050 Requires training programs and the recertification process for nurse aides to include a multicultural health awareness education program. Committee on Health amendment adopted- to House Committee on Finance.

• HB 1335 Requires the Medical Education Board to establish an education program for first year medical students that addresses health disparities and the disproportional access to health care services affecting racial and ethnic minority groups in Indiana. Failed - Adjourned.

• HB 439 and SB 234 Creates the Maryland Health Improvement and Disparities Reduction Act of 2012. Requires the Secretary of Mental Health and Hygiene to designate certain areas as Health Enterprise Zones, and to adopt an evaluation and reporting system for racial and ethnic health disparities. House Version: To Committee on Budget and Taxation; Senate Version: To Senate Committee on Finance Amended, Amendment adopted on Senate floor.        

• HB 641 Requires the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to coordinate with the Maryland Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities to develop a plan to address Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C viruses that disproportionately affect minority populations in the state.  Also requires the Maryland Health Care Commission to examine research findings surrounding health disparities and the most effective treatment for African Americans with Hepatitis C. Passed House; Passed Senate – Eligible for Governor’s Desk .

• HB 679 Requires the Maryland Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities to work collaboratively with universities, public health and social work programs, and allied health to create courses focusing on cultural competency and sensitivity. Alters the term “health care provider” to “health care professional” to include pharmacists and health educators. Passed House; Passed Senate – Eligible for Governor’s Desk. 

•  HB 780 Requires the Maryland Health Care Commission to create a Work Group on multicultural health care equity certification and accreditation. The Work Group also must provide recommendations to improve cultural competency and health literacy training and assessments.  Also requires the work group develop criteria, standards and program and create a report for the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee and the House Health and Government Operations Committee. Failed.

Massachusetts

• HB 1496 Creates an eye and vision care center in the Department of Public Health to improve access to eye and vision care health care services for rural and underserved communities. From Joint Committee on Public Health: Ought to pass.

• HB 1498  Establishes a fund to be known as the prevention and cost control trust fund. One provision would require a report to be filed with the Commissioner of the Department of Public Health that includes information related to the most prevalent preventable health conditions in the commonwealth, including health disparities experienced by populations based on race, ethnicity, gender, disability status, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status. To Joint Committee on Health Care Financing.

• HB 1517 and SB 1091 Creates the Office of Health Equity within the Department of Health and Human Services. House version: In Joint Committee on Public Health: Heard, Eligible for Executive Session; Senate version: To Joint Committee on Health Care Financing.

• HB 1518 and SB 1092 Creates a community-based agency disparities reduction grant program to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities among predominantly underserved populations. House version: To Joint Committee on Health Care Financing; Senate version: From Joint Committee on Public Health: Accompanied by Bill H 1518.

• HB 3865 Creates a special commission for the purpose of devising a statewide strategy to modernize HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in the Commonwealth. To Joint Committee on Health Care Financing.

• HB 65 Establishes a program to “close the gap” in health status for gender and racial groups for certain health priority areas. Promotes partnerships between the State Health Officer and community-based organizations specializing in health disparities for the purpose of establishing measureable outcomes and creating a comprehensive plan to reduce health disparities in the state. 3/6/12 Died in Committee.

• HB 500 Creates the Health Disparities Council, which will make recommendations to reduce and eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities in Mississippi. Establishes rules for the governance of the Council. 3/6/12 Died in Committee.

New Jersey

• SB 116 Establishes the Disparity in Treatment of Persons with Disabilities in Underrepresented Communities Commission. The commission is tasked with studying and reporting the disparate treatment of racial or ethnic minorities who are disabled. Studies would focus on the effect that racial or minority status has on exacerbating the impact of a disability. To Senate Committee on Community and Urban Affairs.       

• SB 1787 Would create the New Jersey Center for Oral Health at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Dental School. One of the primary tasks of the New Jersey Center for Oral Health would be advocating for the implementation of measures to reduce and eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities regarding “access to high-quality oral health care, utilization of oral health care services, and oral health status.” To Senate Committee on Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens.  

New Mexico

• SJM 29; HM 59; SM 33 Encourages agencies to adopt a policy to address institutional racism, as it results in racial disparities with respect to health, education, criminal justice, employment and housing. SJM - Died; HM - Died; SM Passed Senate – adopted .

New York

• NY AB 453 and SB 2745  Directs the New York state department of health to conduct a study on the high incidence of asthma in the borough of the Bronx in the city of New York and to prepare a remedial plan. Assembly version: To Committee on Health; Senate version: To Committee on Health.

• NY AB 1434  Would require cultural awareness and competence training for all medical professionals. To Assembly Committee on Higher Education.

• NY AB 5761  Would require cultural awareness and competence training for all medical professionals. To Assembly Committee on Higher Education.

• NY AB 6241 Directs the office of minority health to establish a program of data collection for the assessment of disparities in health and the delivery of health care to minorities in New York state. To Senate Committee on Health.

• NY AB 7003 and SB 4550 Establishes a Minority Coordinating Council on Asthmatic Affairs within the department of health to assess the asthma risk factors for the minority citizens of the state. Assembly Version: Amended in Assembly Committee on Health; Senate Version: Withdrawn from Senate Committee on Health, To Senate Committee on Rules.

• NY AB 8278 Establishes a health care disparities data collection system. To Assembly Committee on Health.

• NY SB 118  Requires cultural awareness and competence training for all medical professionals. Amended in Senate Committee on Health.

• NY SB 1650  Would require cultural awareness and competence training for all medical professionals. To Senate Committee on Higher Education.

• NY SB 4077  Directs the office of minority health to establish a program of data collection for the assessment of disparities in health and the delivery of health care to minorities in New York state. To Senate Committee on Health.

• NY SB 6065 Expands the duties of the special advisory review panel on Medicaid managed care to include other public health insurance programs and evaluation and reporting on health care access and quality by race, ethnicity, language, disability and the availability of services and programs that address disparities in access to care and outcomes of care. To Senate Committee on Health.

Ohio

• SB 60 Requires certain health care professionals to complete instruction in cultural competency. To Committee on Health, Human Services and Aging.