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.