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.