Sponsors (8)
Official title: To establish a Green New Deal for Health to prepare and empower the health care sector to protect the health and well-being of our workers, our communities, and our planet in the face of the climate crisis, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 27, 2026 by Ro Khanna · Last progress July 27, 2026
The bill directs substantial federal resources and creates new agencies, planning, and protections to make the health sector and vulnerable communities more resilient to climate impacts and more equitable in service delivery — but it does so at large taxpayer cost, with wide implementation complexity, increased burdens on providers, and risks that promised benefits depend on future appropriations and may face legal or administrative challenges.
Low-income, Tribal/Indigenous, and communities of color will be explicitly identified and prioritized, making it easier for federal programs to target climate, health, and adaptation aid to the people most at risk.
Patients—especially those with chronic conditions, seniors, and people with disabilities—will get stronger federal protection through coordinated planning, an HHS Office for climate and health, national strategic planning, and requirements to improve health system resilience before, during, and after disasters.
Large new federal investments are authorized to modernize health facilities, preserve local services, and expand workforce capacity (including multibillion authorizations for community health, major construction funds, and workforce grants), increasing resources available for facility upgrades, mitigation, and program scale-up if appropriated.
U.S. taxpayers face substantial new federal spending authorizations (multiple multi‑billion and multi‑hundred‑million lines), which could increase deficits or require budget offsets if appropriated.
The bill imposes new administrative, reporting, and compliance burdens on federal, state, Tribal, and local agencies as well as hospitals and clinicians, which could divert staff time from care delivery and slow implementation.
Hospitals, manufacturers, and health systems may face substantial new costs to meet resilience, decarbonization, labor, and reporting requirements—costs that could be passed on to patients or strain small and rural providers.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Establishes HHS and CMS climate‑health offices, requires planning/regulation, creates large resilience grants for facilities and communities, and mandates hospital notice/mitigation rules tied to Medicare.
Creates new HHS offices, grant programs, and regulatory duties to prepare the health sector and communities for climate change, reduce health‑sector emissions, and direct major new funding to build resilient, climate‑safe health facilities and community mental health capacity. It sets definitions for environmental justice and individuals disproportionately affected by climate change, requires planning and reporting, directs money to facility upgrades and community programs, and imposes hospital notice, mitigation, and civil‑enforcement requirements tied to Medicare participation. Establishes an HHS Office of Climate Change and Health Equity and a CMS Office of Sustainability and Environmental Impact, funds large competitive grant programs for facility resilience, health workforce training, and community mental‑health resilience, and authorizes multi‑year appropriations and a one‑time large construction fund to support these goals. The bill also creates advisory structures, reporting requirements, and regulatory authorities to implement climate‑informed care and decarbonization in the health sector.