Sec. 1001 Amendments to the Public Health Service Act
- Overview. The Secretary of Health and Human Services must consult with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to develop standards for use by group health plans and issuers as they create benefit and coverage summaries.332
- Standards. The standards must establish a uniform format, “ensure that the summary is presented in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner and utilizes terminology understandable by the average plan enrollee,” and identify specific coverage and benefits information that plans and issuers must include in the summaries (e,g. standard definitions, cost-sharing, coverage exceptions).333
Sec. 5307 Cultural Competency, Prevention, and Public Health and Individuals with Disabilities Trainings
The Secretary of Health and Human Services may, in collaboration with various entities, organizations, and experts, award grants for developing and conducting research, demonstration projects, and model curricula regarding “cultural competency, prevention, public health proficiency, reduc[tion] [of] health disparities” and the training of professionals to work with persons with disabilities. Curricula generated by these grants must be disseminated through an Internet Clearinghouse. The Secretary must conduct an evaluation of any entities that adopt and implement curricula created by these grants and must, if appropriate, “facilitate inclusion of these competency measures in quality measurement systems.”334
Sec. 10334 Minority Health
Office of Minority Health
The ACA transfers the Office of Minority Health from the Office of Public Health and Science to the Department of Health and Human Services and establishes the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Minority Health to lead the office and report directly to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The office will continue to work toward reducing health disparities while improving the quality of care received by minorities as well as their overall health status. The office will achieve these goals by executing contracts and agreements for minority health initiatives with other government agencies and public and private entities. Such initiatives must include the development of measures to evaluate “community outreach activities, language services, [and] work force cultural competence.”335
Individual Offices of Minority Health Within the Department
The head officials of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Health Resources and Services Administration, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Food and Drug Administration, and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must create an “Office of Minority Health” within their agencies and appoint a director of this office.336
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