H.R. 10616 – Public Access to HHS Health Data Act of 2026

AI-Generated Summary

Updated October 2, 2026 at 5:22 AM UTC

The Public Access to HHS Health Data Act of 2026 directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to set up an online repository for all publicly available data sets the agency generates or maintains. The site must be free, machine‑readable, searchable and provide APIs for bulk and automated access. The law also requires regular reporting to Congress on the data made available and any obstacles to publishing more data.

Key Provisions

Within one year, HHS must launch a website (opendata.hhs.gov or its successor) that hosts every publicly available HHS data set.
Each data set must be in a machine‑readable format, include metadata, and be offered at no cost for unrestricted use, including bulk and automated retrieval.
The website must allow users to search, sort, download, and access data via standardized APIs for machine‑to‑machine queries.
The site must be kept up‑to‑date on a regular schedule.
HHS must submit a report to Congress by the end of the second year and annually thereafter, detailing the number and types of data sets, update frequency, and any legal, technical, privacy, security, or resource constraints affecting data publication.

Legislative Activity

Stay on top of the latest movement without scrolling through every action

1 earlier action

HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and Workforce, and Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Energy and Commerce Committee

September 28, 2026

View full timeline

HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

September 28, 2026

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and Workforce, and Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Energy and Commerce Committee

September 28, 2026

Bill Text

Latest available legislative text

Reading Mode

Raw Text PDF XML

Introduced in HouseIssued September 28, 2026

I

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 10616

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 28, 2026

Mr. Bentz introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and Workforce, and Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to create a repository of certain publicly available data sets.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Public Access to HHS Health Data Act of 2026.

2.

Requiring creation of repository of certain publicly available data sets

(a)

In general

Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall create on the internet website opendata.hhs.gov (or any successor website) a repository of all publicly available data sets generated or maintained by the Department of Health and Human Services.

(b)

Data set requirements

Each data set made available through the website described in subsection (a) shall—

(1)

be machine-readable (as defined in section 3502 of title 44, United States Code);

(2)

be published in a format accessible to the public;

(3)

be made available for unrestricted access, use, and reuse (including automated processing and bulk access) at no cost; and

(4)

include associated metadata.

(c)

Website requirements

The Secretary shall ensure that the website described in subsection (a)—

(1)

allows individuals to search, sort, and download the data sets made available through such website at no cost;

(2)

is accessible through standardized application programming interfaces that permit automated, machine-to-machine retrieval of such data sets, including bulk download and query-based access mechanisms; and

(3)

is updated on a regular and timely basis.

(d)

Report

Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit to Congress a report including—

(1)

the number and types of data sets made available through the website described in subsection (a);

(2)

the frequency of updates to such data sets; and

(3)

any legal, technical, operational, financial, or administrative constraints limiting or delaying the publication of additional data sets on the website described in subsection (a), including any constraints relating to privacy, confidentiality, security, data quality, interoperability, interagency data governance, or resource availability.