[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7481 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7481
To authorize the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention to carry out a Social Determinants of Health Program, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 29, 2024
Ms. Barragan (for herself, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Ruiz, Mr. Cohen,
Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Morelle, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Cardenas, Ms. Castor of
Florida, Mr. Sablan, Ms. Norton, Ms. Jackson Lee, and Mr. Carson)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention to carry out a Social Determinants of Health Program, and
for other purposes.
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 ``Improving Social Determinants of
Health Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH PROGRAM.
(a) Program.--To the extent and in the amounts made available in
advance in appropriations Acts, the Director of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (in this Act referred to as the ``Director'')
shall carry out a program, to be known as the Social Determinants of
Health Program (in this Act referred to as the ``Program''), to achieve
the following goals:
(1) Improve health outcomes and reduce health inequities by
coordinating social determinants of health activities across
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(2) Improve the capacity of public health agencies and
community organizations to address social determinants of
health in communities.
(b) Activities.--To achieve the goals listed in subsection (a), the
Director shall carry out activities including the following:
(1) Coordinating across the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention to ensure that relevant programs consider and
incorporate social determinants of health in grant awards and
other activities.
(2) Awarding grants under section 3 to State, local,
territorial, and Tribal health agencies and organizations, and
to other eligible entities, to address social determinants of
health in target communities.
(3) Awarding grants under section 4 to nonprofit
organizations and public or other nonprofit institutions of
higher education--
(A) to conduct research on best practices to
improve social determinants of health;
(B) to provide technical assistance, training, and
evaluation assistance to grantees under section 3; and
(C) to disseminate best practices to grantees under
section 3.
(4) Coordinating, supporting, and aligning activities of
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention related to
social determinants of health with activities of other Federal
agencies related to social determinants of health, including
such activities of agencies in the Department of Health and
Human Services such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services.
(5) Collecting and analyzing data related to the social
determinants of health.
SEC. 3. GRANTS TO ADDRESS SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH.
(a) In General.--The Director, as part of the Program, shall award
grants to eligible entities to address social determinants of health in
their communities.
(b) Eligibility.--To be eligible to apply for a grant under this
section, an entity shall be--
(1) a State, local, territorial, or Tribal health agency or
organization;
(2) a qualified nongovernmental entity, as defined by the
Director; or
(3) a consortium of entities that includes a State, local,
territorial, or Tribal health agency or organization.
(c) Use of Funds.--
(1) In general.--A grant under this section shall be used
to address social determinants of health in a target community
by designing, implementing, and evaluating innovative,
evidence-based, cross-sector strategies.
(2) Target community.--For purposes of this section, a
target community shall be a State, county, city, or other
municipality.
(d) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the Director
shall prioritize applicants proposing to serve target communities with
significant unmet health and social needs, as defined by the Director.
(e) Application.--To seek a grant under this section, an eligible
entity shall--
(1) submit an application at such time, in such manner, and
containing such information as the Director may require;
(2) propose a set of activities to address social
determinants of health through evidence-based, cross-sector
strategies, which activities may include--
(A) collecting quantifiable data from health care,
social services, and other entities regarding the most
significant gaps in health-promoting social, economic,
and environmental needs;
(B) identifying evidence-based approaches to
meeting the nonmedical, social needs of populations
identified by data collection described in subparagraph
(A), such as unstable housing or food insecurity;
(C) developing scalable methods to meet patients'
social needs identified in clinical settings or other
sites;
(D) convening entities such as local and State
governmental and nongovernmental organizations, health
systems, payors, and community-based organizations to
review, plan, and implement community-wide
interventions and strategies to advance health-
promoting social conditions;
(E) monitoring and evaluating the impact of
activities funded through the grant on the health and
well-being of the residents of the target community and
on the cost of health care; and
(F) such other activities as may be specified by
the Director;
(3) demonstrate how the eligible entity will collaborate
with--
(A) health systems;
(B) payors, including, as appropriate, medicaid
managed care organizations (as defined in section
1903(m)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1396b(m)(1)(A))), Medicare Advantage plans under part C
of title XVIII of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-21 et
seq.), and health insurance issuers and group health
plans (as such terms are defined in section 2791 of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg-91));
(C) other relevant stakeholders and initiatives in
areas of need, such as the Accountable Health
Communities Model of the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services, health homes under the Medicaid
program under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), community-based organizations,
and human services organizations;
(D) other non-health care sector organizations,
including organizations focusing on transportation,
housing, or food access; and
(E) local employers; and
(4) identify key health inequities in the target community
and demonstrate how the proposed efforts of the eligible entity
would address such inequities.
(f) Monitoring and Evaluation.--As a condition of receipt of a
grant under this section, a grantee shall agree to submit an annual
report to the Director describing the activities carried out through
the grant and the outcomes of such activities.
(g) Independent National Evaluation.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 5 years after the first
grants are awarded under this section, the Director shall
provide for the commencement of an independent national
evaluation of the program under this section.
(2) Report to congress.--Not later than 60 days after
receiving the results of such independent national evaluation,
the Director shall report such results to the Congress.
SEC. 4. RESEARCH AND TRAINING.
The Director, as part of the Program--
(1) shall award grants to nonprofit organizations and
public or other nonprofit institutions of higher education--
(A) to conduct research on best practices to
improve social determinants of health;
(B) to provide technical assistance, training, and
evaluation assistance to grantees under section 3; and
(C) to disseminate best practices to grantees under
section 3; and
(2) may require a grantee under paragraph (1) to provide
technical assistance and capacity building to entities that are
eligible entities under section 3 but not receiving funds
through such section.
SEC. 5. FUNDING.
(a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this Act, $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.
(b) Allocation.--Of the amount made available to carry out this Act
for a fiscal year, not less than 75 percent shall be used for grants
under sections 3 and 4.
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