Requiring equitable health care in the hospital value-based purchasing program

(a) Equitable health care as value measurement Section 1886(b)(3)(B)(viii) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(b)(3)(B)(viii)) is amended by adding at the end the following new subclause: (XIII) (aa) Effective for payments beginning with fiscal year 2026, in expanding the number of measures under subclause (III), the Secretary shall adopt measures that relate to equitable health care furnished by hospitals in inpatient settings. (bb) In carrying out this subclause, the Secretary shall solicit input and recommendations from individuals and groups representing communities of color and other protected classes and ensure measures adopted pursuant to this subclause account for social determinants of health, as defined in section 7(e)(10) of the Equal Health Care for All Act, such that the social determinants of health do not adversely affect hospitals if any inequitable outcomes are not caused by that hospital’s provision of care. (cc) For purposes of this subclause, the term equitable health care refers to the principle that high-quality care should be provided to all individuals and health care treatment and services should not vary on account of the real or perceived race, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), disability, or age of an individual, as well as any other factor that the Secretary determines would be useful for determining a pattern of inequitable provision of health care.. (b) Inclusion of equitable health care measures Section 1886(o)(2)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(o)(2)(B)) is amended by adding at the end the following new clause: (iv) Inclusion of equitable health care measures Beginning in fiscal year 2026, measures selected under subparagraph (A) shall include the equitable health care measures described in subsection (b)(3)(B)(viii)(XIII)..