Senator Thad Cochran joined today with Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) in introducing the "Closing the Health Care Gap Act," to comprehensively address disparities in health care among minority, rural, and under-served populations.

"This legislation focuses attention and resources on people and areas of the country where the needs are the greatest. I am pleased to be a cosponsor of this bill," said Cochran.

The bill is likely the most comprehensive national initiative ever proposed to address disparities in health care. It would expand access to health care through an access grant program to strengthen state uninsured and Medicaid programs, and it formally authorizes and expands the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities at the Department of Health and Human Services. The legislation also develops a comprehensive system of health care data collection, focused on the under-served populations. It increases health care education programs, especially those at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and it increases funding for research at the NIH and other HHS agencies.

The bill has now been referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, where it is awaiting consideration.