42 U.S.C. § 247b–24 — Addressing factors related to improving health outcomes

(a) In general The Secretary may, as appropriate, award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to eligible entities for evidence-based or evidence-informed projects. These projects may include building networks to improve the entities' ability to address factors that contribute to negative health outcomes in communities. (b) Eligible entities To be eligible for an award, an entity must: (1) (A) be a State, local, or Tribal health department, a community-based organization, an Indian Tribe or Tribal organization, an urban Indian organization, or another public or private entity the Secretary approves; or (B) be a consortium of those entities or a public-private partnership, including a community partnership; (2) submit an application at the time, in the manner, and with the information the Secretary requires; (3) if it is not itself a community-based organization, show a history of successfully working with an established one; and (4) submit a plan for the activities in subsection (a), based on a community needs assessment that takes community input into account. (c) Use of funds An eligible entity must use its award money — in consultation with State, local, and Tribal health departments, community-based organizations, entities serving medically underserved communities, and other relevant entities — for one or more of these purposes: (1) Supporting the rollout, evaluation, and spread of strategies through evidence-informed or evidence-based programs, using public health and health care professionals, to address factors related to health outcomes. (2) Building, maintaining, or improving — with State, local, or Tribal health departments — technology platforms or networks, consistent with applicable federal and State privacy law, that support (A) coordination among appropriate entities, and activities to improve that coordination; (B) sharing information on health and related social services; and (C) technical assistance for entities using these platforms or networks. (3) Putting best practices into use to improve health outcomes and reduce disease among underserved populations. (4) Building consideration of these health factors into preparing for and responding to public health emergencies, through outreach, education, research, and other relevant activities. (d) Best practices and technical assistance Working with the Director of the Office of Minority Health, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, and the Administrator of the Administration for Community Living, the Secretary may award grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to public or nonprofit private entities, including minority-serving colleges, to: (1) find or help develop best practices for improving health outcomes for underserved populations; (2) give technical assistance, training, and evaluation help to the entities getting awards under subsection (a); (3) spread best practices, including to those award recipients; and (4) build, run, or use regional centers to develop, evaluate, and share effective strategies on these health factors, including by supporting related research and training. (e) Award periods Awards under this section last no more than 5 years. The Secretary may extend an award period by up to 3 additional years. (f) Report By September 30, 2026, the Secretary must send a report to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on activities funded under this section. The report must describe: (1) changes in public health entities' capacity to address these health factors, including any platforms or networks used to coordinate health and social services, and any workforce changes; (2) improvements in health outcomes and in reducing health disparities in medically underserved communities; (3) activities carried out to build these health factors into emergency preparedness and response, through outreach, education, and other relevant work; (4) the communities and populations served by award recipients under subsection (a); (5) activities supported through the award extensions under subsection (e); and (6) other relevant activities and outcomes the Secretary decides to include. (g) Authorization of appropriations Congress authorized $35,000,000 to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027. Of that money, 5 percent each year must be reserved for awards under subsection (a) to Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations, urban Indian organizations, and Tribal health departments.