Sponsors (7)
The bill formalizes and funds community health workers to expand culturally competent care, lower some health costs, and professionalize the workforce—but it requires public funding, new administrative expectations, and risks sidelining informal local caregivers.
Low-income individuals and racial/ethnic minority community members gain improved access to culturally competent care because trusted community health workers (CHWs) will be supported to link people to health and social services.
Patients with chronic conditions and taxpayers can see lower overall healthcare costs because CHW programs with documented return on investment can reduce costly utilization while improving outcomes (e.g., maternal health, chronic disease management).
Healthcare workers benefit from clearer workforce development pathways, which could improve CHW recruitment, retention, and prospects for fairer wages as CHW roles are defined and supported.
Taxpayers and state governments may face increased public spending or reallocation of health dollars to sustain CHW programs and ensure fair wages.
Community health workers and local nonprofits risk exclusion if federal standardization of CHW titles, networks, or leadership requirements (e.g., minimum CHW leadership thresholds) disqualify informal or locally tailored caregivers.
State governments and community organizations could face new administrative burdens from federal encouragement of CHW networks, including additional certification or reporting expectations.
Based on analysis of 1 section of legislative text.
States congressional findings that define CHWs and CHW networks, recognize CHW roles, certification, evidence of effectiveness, and the need for sustainable funding and workforce support.
States official findings that define and describe community health workers (CHWs) and CHW networks, recognizing CHWs as frontline, trusted public health workers who link communities to health and social services. It documents CHWs' roles, wide variety of job titles, state certification status, research evidence of effectiveness and return on investment, cross-sector work to reduce care barriers, and the importance of sustainable funding for fair wages and workforce stability. Also defines CHW networks as community-based organizations with at least 50% CHW leadership or membership that focus on workforce development, mentoring, mobilization, and advocacy. The measure is declarative: it establishes definitions and findings but does not create new programs, funding streams, or regulatory requirements.
Official title: Supporting the designation of the week of August 24 through August 28, 2026, as the fourth annual "National Community Health Worker Awareness Week".
Introduced April 16, 2026 by Raul Ruiz · Last progress April 16, 2026