86R8704 SRA-F
By: Johnson S.B. No. 1695
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the health literacy advisory committee and health
literacy in the state health plan.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 104.002, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subdivision (6) to read as follows:
(6) "Health literacy" means the degree to which
individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand
basic health information and health services needed to make
appropriate health decisions.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 104, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 104.0157 to read as follows:
Sec. 104.0157. HEALTH LITERACY ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a)
The statewide health coordinating council shall form an advisory
committee on health literacy. The advisory committee must include
representatives of interested groups, including the academic
community, consumer groups, health plans, pharmacies, and
associations of physicians, hospitals, and nurses.
(b) The advisory committee shall develop a long-range plan
for increasing health literacy in this state.
(c) In developing the long-range plan, the advisory
committee shall study the economic impact of low health literacy on
state health care programs and insurance coverage for residents of
this state. The advisory committee shall:
(1) identify key risk factors for low health literacy;
(2) examine methods for health care practitioners,
health care facilities, and others to address health literacy with
patients and the public;
(3) examine the effectiveness of using quality
measures in state health programs to improve health literacy;
(4) identify ways to expand the use of plain language
instructions for patients; and
(5) identify the ways that increasing health literacy
can improve patient safety, reduce preventable events, and increase
medication adherence to attain greater cost-effectiveness and
better patient outcomes in health care.
(d) The advisory committee shall elect a presiding officer.
(e) Members of the advisory committee serve without
compensation but are entitled to reimbursement for the members'
travel expenses as provided by Chapter 660, Government Code, and
the General Appropriations Act.
(f) Sections 2110.002, 2110.003, and 2110.008, Government
Code, do not apply to the advisory committee.
(g) Meetings of the advisory committee under this section
are subject to Chapter 551, Government Code.
SECTION 3. Sections 104.022(e) and (f), Health and Safety
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(e) The state health plan shall be developed and used in
accordance with applicable state and federal law. The plan must
identify:
(1) major statewide health concerns, including the
prevalence of low health literacy of health care consumers;
(2) the availability and use of current health
resources of the state, including resources associated with
information technology and state-supported institutions of higher
education; and
(3) future health service, information technology,
and facility needs of the state.
(f) The state health plan must:
(1) propose strategies for the correction of major
deficiencies in the service delivery system;
(2) propose strategies for increasing health literacy
to obtain greater cost-effectiveness and better patient outcomes in
health care;
(3) [(2)] propose strategies for incorporating
information technology in the service delivery system;
(4) [(3)] propose strategies for involving
state-supported institutions of higher education in providing
health services and for coordinating those efforts with health and
human services agencies in order to close gaps in services; and
(5) [(4)] provide direction for the state's
legislative and executive decision-making processes to implement
the strategies proposed by the plan.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.