2012 Health Disparities Legislation

State

Florida

• HB 459 and SB 564 Provides duties of the Office of Minority Health. House version: Referred to House Committee on Health and Human Services; Senate version: Senate Committee on Budget.

Georgia

• HR 758 Urges health care professionals to complete training in cultural competency at least every two years. To House Committee on Health and Human Services.

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: House Culture and Arts Committee, Measure Deferred – Bill scheduled for decision making; Senate version: To Senate Committee on Public Safety, Government Operations and Military Affairs, public hearing scheduled.   

• HB 2050 Requires training programs and the recertification process for nurse aides to include a multicultural health awareness education program. In House Committee on Human Services, voted do pass with amendment; Committee on Health – voted do pass with amendment

• 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. To Committee on Public Health.

•   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 Health and Government Operations; Senate Version: To Senate Committee on Finance.     

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. In Joint Committee on Public Health: Heard, Eligible for Executive Session.

• 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.

New Jersey

• AB 1761  Would make numerous changes in the Primary Care Physician and Dentist Loan Redemption Program, including providing for the redemption of a portion of the eligible student loan expenses of participants for each year of service in a designated underserved area or a health professional shortage area (HPSAs). Would also add requirements for program participants. To Committee on Health and Senior Services.

• SB 1251 Would establish the Disparity in Treatment of Persons with Disabilities in Underrepresented Communities Commission. To Committee on Community and Urban Affairs. 

• 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.       

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. Recalled from Senate. Returned to Assembly.

• 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: Amended in Senate Committee on Health.

• 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.