,,ii #aahth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #bhii ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,september #ba1 #bjbc,mr4 ,padilla introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,public ,health ,service ,act to include ,middle ,easterners and ,north ,africans in the statutory definition of a racial and ethnic minority group1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,health ,equity and ,middle ,eastern and ,north ,african ,community ,inclusion ,act of #bjbc or the ,health ,equity and ,,mena ,community ,inclusion ,act of #bjbc4 #b4 ,definition ,in this ,act1 the terms ,middle ,eastern and ,north ,african or ,,mena1 with respect to individuals or populations1 includes individuals and populations who identify with or belong to one or more nationalities or ethnic groups originating in a country 7or portion thereof7 in the ,middle ,eastern and ,north ,african region 7such as ,lebanese1 ,iranians1 ,egyptians1 ,moroccans1 ,yemenis1 ,chaldeans1 ,imazighen1 ,kurds1 ,palestinians1 and ,yazidis74 #c4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,through the establishment of the ,office of ,minority ,health 7referred to in this section as the ,,omh7 in #aihf1 the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services has developed health policies and programs that eliminate health disparities and improve the health of racial and ethnic minority populations4 7#b7 ,congress has funded the ,,omh to assure improved health status of racial and ethnic minorities1 and to develop measures to evaluate the effectiveness of activities aimed at reducing health disparities and supporting the local community4 ,the activities of the ,,omh have addressed health disparities1 including with respect to physical activity and nutrition1 clinical conditions1 individual social needs1 and the social determinants of health for racial and ethnic minority groups4 7#c7 ,before the amendments made by this ,act1 section #agjg7;g77#a7 of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #cjju-#f7;g77#a77 defined the term racial and ethnic minority group 7for whom the ,,omh works to improve health outcomes and eliminate health disparities7 to exclude ,middle ,easterners and ,north ,africans1 and thereby prevented ,,mena populations from accessing critical resources intended to assist historically marginalized communities4 7#d7 ,independent researchers and private sector research initiatives have found significant health disparities between ,,mena individuals and the non-,hispanic ,white population1 as well as significant overlap between the health outcomes and health conditions of ,,mena individuals and those of other racial and ethnic minority groups4 7#e7 ,poor health outcomes are often connected to impoverishment in other aspects of life and are exacerbated by additional barriers to access high-quality health coverage1 whether in terms of language1 eligibility1 health literacy1 or discrimination at the point-of-service4 7#f7 ,a recent study published in the journal1 ,proceedings of the ,national ,academy of ,sciences1 suggested that ,,mena individuals are not perceived as ,white and do not perceive themselves as ,white4 7#g7 ,research on the health outcomes and health conditions of ,,mena individuals is troubling and suggests that efforts must be made on the ,federal level to disaggregate the demographic data of ,,mena individuals from the demographic data of individuals in the non-,hispanic ,white category and fully understand the social determinants of health for health disparities and outcomes experienced by ,,mena individuals4 7#h7 ,under the current ,federal standards for data on race and ethnicity1 demographic data on ,,mena individuals is aggregated into the same category as demographic data on individuals of ,european ancestry1 which limits the ability of the ,federal ,government to understand the factors that contribute to health outcomes for ,,mena individuals4 7#i7 ,the ,federal standards for data on race and ethnicity effectively obscure the reality of minority health and health disparities by aggregating demographic health data on ,,mena individuals with that of ,europeans4 7#aj7 ,,mena individuals are not included among the groups for whom the ,,omh works to improve health outcomes and eliminate health disparities1 which further limits the opportunity of ,,mena individuals to access programs designed to address their experiences and health conditions4 7#aa7 ,the ,,omh could better assess and eliminate health disparities by conducting a comprehensive study of the health of ,,mena individuals and recognizing ,,mena individuals as a racial and ethnic minority group4 #d4 ,inclusion of ,middle ,easterners and ,north ,africans in definition of racial and ethnic minority groups 7a7 ,in general ,section #agjg7;g77#a7 of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #cjju-#f7;g77#a77 is amended by striking ,blacks2 and ,hispanics and inserting ,blacks or ,african ,americans2 ,hispanics2 and ,middle ,easterners and ,north ,africans4 7b7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that subsection 7a7 should be implemented so as to ensure that-- 7#a7 the definition of a racial and ethnic minority group in section #agjg7;g77#a7 of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #cjju-#f7;g77#a771 as amended by subsection 7a71 is applied in the implementation and execution of ,federal programs and activities that reference such definition2 and 7#b7 no racial and ethnic minority group served by such programs and activities is negatively impacted by the amendment made by subsection 7a74 7c7 ,undefined references ,not later than #b years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services shall-- 7#a7 identify all regulations1 guidance1 orders1 and documents of the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services for establishment or implementation of a health care or public health program1 activity1 or survey that-- 7,a7 use the term racial and ethnic minority group or similar terminology2 and 7,b7 do not define such term or terminology2 and 7#b7 take such actions as may be necessary to clarify whether the definition of racial and ethnic minority group in section #agjg7;g77#a7 of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #cjju-#f7;g77#a771 as amended by subsection 7a71 applies to such term or terminology4 7d7 ,report to ,congress ,not later than #b years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services shall submit a report to ,congress on the implementation of this section4 #e4 ,report on the health of the ,middle ,eastern and ,north ,african population 7a7 ,study required ,the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services 7referred to in this section as the ,secretary7 shall conduct or support a comprehensive study regarding the unique health patterns and outcomes of ,,mena populations4 7b7 ,requirements for study ,the comprehensive study under subsection 7a7 shall include an enumeration of ,,mena populations across the ,united ,states1 disaggregated by subpopulation1 and with respect to each such population and subpopulation-- 7#a7 the rates of-- 7,a7 obesity1 diabetes1 sickle cell anemia1 stroke1 asthma1 pneumonia1 lung cancer1 ,,hiv_/,,aids1 ,,hpv1 high cholesterol1 high blood pressure1 chronic heart1 lung1 and kidney disease2 7,b7 morbidity and mortality1 including the rates of morbidity and mortality associated with the health conditions listed in subparagraph 7,a72 7,c7 mental health and substance use disorders2 and 7,d7 domestic violence1 dating violence1 sexual assault1 sexual harassment1 and stalking2 7#b7 analysis of-- 7,a7 the rates described in paragraph 7#a72 7,b7 the leading causes of pregnancy-associated morbidity and mortality2 and 7,c7 access to health care facilities and the associated outcomes of care2 7#c7 analysis1 enumeration1 or quantification of any other health or health-related parameters the ,secretary may deem necessary2 and 7#d7 analysis of the relationship between the health factors1 outcomes1 and conditions described in paragraphs 7#a7 through 7#c7 and the implementation of ,federal health programs4 7c7 ,consultation ,the ,secretary shall-- 7#a7 carry out this section in consultation1 as appropriate1 with the ,director of the ,census ,bureau1 the ,director of the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention1 the ,director of the ,national ,institutes of ,health1 the ,assistant ,secretary for ,mental ,health and ,substance ,use1 and other stakeholders 7including community-based organizations72 and 7#b7 determine through such consultation the subpopulations to be used for purposes of disaggregation of data pursuant to subsection 7b74 7d7 ,online portal ,upon conclusion of the comprehensive study under this section1 the ,secretary shall establish a public online portal to catalogue the results of the study1 its underlying data1 and information in the report submitted pursuant to subsection 7f74 7e7 ,reporting 7#a7 ,interim report ,not later than #b years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress a report outlining the challenges associated with1 and progress towards implementing health data collection for ,,mena populations as a distinct category and the plan for completing a comprehensive study regarding the unique health patterns and outcomes of ,,mena populations4 7#b7 ,final report ,not later than #cj days after the conclusion of the comprehensive study under this section1 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress a report describing-- 7,a7 the results of the study conducted under this section2 and 7,b7 the rulemakings and other actions the agencies described in subsection 7c77#a7 can undertake to more equitably include ,,mena individuals in their programs4 7f7 ,privacy ,the ,secretary shall not include any personally identifiable information on the online portal under subsection 7e7 or in the report under subsection 7f74