[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 470 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 470
Expressing support for the designation of October 1, 2019, as
``National Health Literacy Day'' to recognize the value of health
literacy in transforming and improving health and healthcare for all
people in the United States.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 27, 2019
Mr. Levin of California (for himself, Mr. Gianforte, Mr. Rouda, and Mr.
Cox of California) submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing support for the designation of October 1, 2019, as
``National Health Literacy Day'' to recognize the value of health
literacy in transforming and improving health and healthcare for all
people in the United States.
Whereas health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the capacity to
obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services
needed to make appropriate health decisions;
Whereas, based on a national assessment, a majority of adults have intermediate
health literacy, while more than 75 million adults had basic or below
basic health literacy;
Whereas mental health literacy is defined as knowledge and beliefs about mental
disorders that aid in their recognition, management, or prevention;
Whereas good mental health literacy may lead to better outcomes for those with
mental disorders, particularly those with suicidal ideation, either by
facilitating early help-seeking or by helping others identify early
signs of mental disorders and seek help on behalf of another;
Whereas language differences, cultural barriers, and low health literacy have
been described as a ``triple threat'' to effective health communication
between providers and patients that could harm the delivery of quality
care for communities of color;
Whereas, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, low health
literacy is consistently associated with increased hospitalizations,
greater emergency care use, lower use of mammography, lower receipt of
influenza vaccine, poorer ability to demonstrate taking medications
appropriately, poorer ability to interpret labels and health messages,
and, among seniors, poorer overall health status and higher mortality;
Whereas experts estimate that the cost of low health literacy to the United
States economy is between $106 billion to $238 billion annually;
Whereas, when health literacy is measured, it has been shown that--
(1) individuals with low health literacy scores had higher rates of
diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure;
(2) States with high health literacy have lower rates of diabetes,
obesity, and high blood pressure and have lower costs of prescription drugs
purchased under the Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) than States with low health literacy;
and
(3) there is a strong correlation between health literacy and
healthcare costs, which are a serious challenge for individuals, families,
and society as a whole;
Whereas measuring health literacy is an objective process that produces results
that can be scientifically obtained, measured, reported, assessed,
improved, and rewarded;
Whereas, while such measurement has already begun through data-driven means,
such measurement has not been systematically used to assess individual
health literacy and improve the health system throughout the United
States;
Whereas health literacy holds great promise to transform the health
consciousness of people in the United States and around the world, and
is essential for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the
healthcare system in preventing diseases and illness, improving wellness
and longevity, improving patient care and outcomes, and reducing
healthcare costs;
Whereas health literacy empowers individuals to better engage in their health
and with trained health professionals and caregivers because they are
better educated about their bodies and how they work;
Whereas people have the right to health information that helps them make
informed decisions, and health education and services should be
delivered in ways that are easy to understand and that improve health,
longevity, and quality of life;
Whereas knowledge of health and improvements in health literacy can encourage
individuals to take action on their health that can improve their health
status and lower their costs despite their health status;
Whereas, despite the breathtaking advances in reading literacy over the last
century that have led to impressive economic, societal, and cultural
advances, there is little systematic effort in the United States to
improve health literacy generally, through public programs specifically
and with individuals particularly;
Whereas, in 2010, the Department of Health and Human Services produced a
National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy that lays out seven
goals, including research and interventions to improve health literacy,
but that action plan does not directly encourage patients to become more
health literate or knowledgeable, has not been updated, and the
recommendations contained in such action plan have not been implemented
or reviewed;
Whereas it is necessary to continue activities that are foundational to
healthcare modernization and improvement in the United States,
including--
(1) improving health literacy, IQ, knowledge, and education about how
the body works and how to maintain health appropriately;
(2) promoting innovation in wellness and prevention; and
(3) expanding rewards and incentives for healthy behavior; and
Whereas organizations have recognized the month of October as ``Health
Literacy'' month to encourage doctors and other health professionals to
take an online health literacy assessment and provide education to
improve patient engagement: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) expresses support for the designation of ``National
Health Literacy Day'';
(2) encourages individuals to assess their health knowledge
and literacy, and urges the Secretary of Health and Human
Services to adopt new tools and incentives immediately to
encourage individuals to assess and improve their health
knowledge and literacy;
(3) calls on the Secretary of Health and Human Services to
issue a new action plan on health literacy that--
(A) includes specific recommendations and concrete
steps to improve and incorporate incentives into
healthcare payment and delivery models that will
improve health literacy; and
(B) reflects the changes in knowledge and science
about health literacy and the evolution in healthcare
payment and delivery; and
(4) encourages all interested parties to promote health
literacy to transform the health and healthcare system of the
United States.
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