[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5762 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5762
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to research and
design a graphic symbol to indicate when linguistic access materials
and services are available for a health program, product, or service,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 27, 2023
Mrs. Kim of California (for herself and Ms. Meng) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to research and
design a graphic symbol to indicate when linguistic access materials
and services are available for a health program, product, or service,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Health Communication Access and
Resources for Everyone Act of 2023'' and the ``Health CARE Act of
2023''.
SEC. 2. CREATION OF A HEALTH LANGUAGE ACCESS SYMBOL.
(a) Initiating Process.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (in
this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall start a process to
establish a graphic symbol to indicate when linguistic access materials
and services are available to users or recipients of a health program,
product, or service.
(b) Design.--The graphic symbol under this section shall be
designed to--
(1) inform people about the availability of existing
interpretation services and translated materials;
(2) provide a simple and widely understood method for
health care providers, issuers, public health departments, and
other entities engaged in health care, including public health
and health care communications, to inform people about
available resources to assist them in effectively communicating
and receiving information about a health program, product, or
service;
(3) increase people's access to communication regarding
health programs, products, and services, thereby facilitating
better uptake of preventative care, diagnosis, and treatment
adherence;
(4) ensure the effectiveness of the symbol across different
modalities, including printed and electronic notices, websites,
insurance program applications, and consumer-facing outreach
and educational materials; and
(5) provide parameters for the integration of context-
specific information that accompanies the symbol, such as a
telephone number for available telephonic interpreter services,
a quick response code, or embedded links to websites with
translated materials.
(c) Research Process.--In conducting or supporting research for the
design of the graphic symbol under this section, the Secretary shall--
(1) review the effectiveness of existing linguistic access
symbols used in different settings or nations;
(2) oversee a consumer research and brand design process to
inform the creation, modification, or adoption of the graphic
symbol, including an evaluation of the symbol's comparative
potential to improve consumer access to interpretation and
translated materials and services, improve efficiency, and
reduce waste;
(3) consult throughout the process with stakeholders,
including health insurance plans, health care providers,
interpreters and translators, language services managers,
language service companies, organizations representing
different communities with limited English proficiency,
organizations representing persons with disabilities and older
adults, State and local governments, and Tribal organizations;
and
(4) conduct (directly or by entering into a contract)
testing among a diverse set of communities using potential
symbols to see whether and how those communities improve access
to interpretation services and translation materials.
(d) Finalization.--Not more than 18 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall--
(1) finalize the design of the graphic symbol under this
section; and
(2) issue a report to the appropriate congressional
committees detailing--
(A) the design of the symbol; and
(B) a plan for dissemination of the symbol under
section 3.
(e) Coordination With Other Federal Agencies.--
(1) In general.--To the extent determined appropriate by
the Secretary, and subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary
shall provide for coordination, in designing the graphic symbol
under this section, between--
(A) the Department of Health and Human Services;
and
(B) other Federal agencies that could potentially
adopt the graphic symbol under this section in
communicating information to people with limited
English proficiency.
(2) No delay.--The Secretary shall not allow coordination
under paragraph (1) to delay the design of the graphic symbol
under this section, the issuance of the final report under
subsection (d), or the dissemination of the symbol under
section 3.
SEC. 3. DISSEMINATION OF THE HEALTH CARE LANGUAGE ACCESS SYMBOL.
(a) In General.--Upon finalization of the design of the graphic
symbol under section 2, the Secretary shall--
(1) design an education program with the goal of increasing
awareness of interpretation and translated materials and
services among those who need linguistic access solutions with
respect to health programs, products, and services;
(2) work with entities likely to interact with populations
that have limited English proficiency or linguistic barriers to
health care access, such as public health departments,
interpreter and translator associations, health care providers,
health care assisters, Federally qualified health centers,
health insurance issuers, community-based organizations,
refugee resettlement organizations, and other entities
identified by the Secretary;
(3) work with health care providers, issuers, public health
departments, and other entities identified by the Secretary as
engaging in communication to consumers regarding health and
health care to inform such entities of the symbol and encourage
the use of the symbol in consumer communications; and
(4) conduct trainings and provide technical assistance to
State agencies responsible for the Medicaid program under title
XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) or the
State Children's Health Insurance Program under title XXI of
such Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.), managed care
organizations, health insurance marketplaces, insurers,
hospitals, Federally qualified health centers, and other
recipients of Federal funds to encourage widespread knowledge
and adoption of the symbol.
(b) Use of the Symbol in HHS Programs.--The Secretary shall develop
and implement a plan to use the graphic symbol under section 2 across
all consumer communications developed by the Department of Health and
Human Services, including applications for coverage, notices, websites,
and public health information.
(c) Option To Use Graphic Symbol To Comply With Existing HHS
Requirements.--
(1) In general.--If the testing under section 2(c)
indicates that requiring use of the graphic symbol under
section 2 would improve access to interpretation services and
translation materials relative to such access under existing
HHS requirements, the Secretary shall allow entities described
in subsection (a)(2) to use such symbol to give notice of the
availability of interpretation services and translation
materials in lieu of complying with existing HHS requirements.
(2) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``existing
HHS requirements'' means the requirements of the Department of
Health and Human Services relating to giving notice of the
availability of interpretation services and translation
materials that are in effect as of the date of enactment of
this Act.
(3) Updates to regulations.--The Secretary may update such
regulations and take such other actions as may be appropriate
to carry out this subsection.
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