[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16895]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              HEALTH CARE EQUALITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

  (Ms. SOLIS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, this morning I would like to announce that 
the Democratic Tri-Caucus on Health Care is going to be convening a 
meeting in Chicago, Illinois. This is the Hispanic Caucus, the Black 
Caucus, and the Asian Caucus of the Democratic Party that will be 
meeting to talk about health care access.
  Principally, we will be discussing a piece of legislation that we are 
going to be reintroducing known as the Health Care Equality and 
Accountability Act. It will expand health care coverage through 
Medicaid and the State Health Insurance Children's Program. It will 
remove language and cultural barriers. It will improve workforce 
diversity by allowing for different community folks from our districts 
to be a part of the health care profession. It will also improve funded 
programs to help reduce health care disparities such as chronic 
illnesses, asthma, diabetes, and obesity.
  It will improve data collection in our respective communities with 
respect to race, ethnicity, and language and promote accountability 
through the Office of Civil Rights and the Office of Minority Health at 
the Department of Health and Human Services. Lastly, it would help to 
strengthen health care institutions that serve minority populations.
  We look forward to visiting our friends in Chicago, Illinois.

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