I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6033 

To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a 

task force to improve access to health care information technology for 

non-English speakers. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 24, 2023 

Mrs. STEEL (for herself, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. CISCOMANI, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. 

CA ́RDENAS, Ms. DE LA CRUZ, Mrs. KIM of California, Mr. CUELLAR, Ms. 

CHU, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. VALADAO, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. CARBAJAL, Ms. 

LEE of Nevada, and Ms. SEWELL) introduced the following bill 

OCTOBER 25, 2023 

Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

to establish a task force to improve access to health 

care information technology for non-English speakers. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supporting Patient 

5 Education And Knowledge Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘SPEAK 

6 Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Telehealth has become a critical source of 

4 health care for patients. 

5 (2) Patients with limited English proficiency 

6 have lower telehealth use rates than proficient 

7 English speakers. 

8 (3) Patients with limited English proficiency 

9 are less likely to utilize video telehealth options for 

10 primary care visits. 

11 (4) Physicians providing telehealth services for 

12 people with limited English proficiency would benefit 

13 from additional resources and support. 

14 (5) Access to telehealth saves patients money 

15 through reduced travel costs, as well as time-related 

16 tradeoffs. 

17 SEC. 3. IMPROVED ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE INFORMA18 TION TECHNOLOGY FOR NON-ENGLISH 

19 SPEAKERS TASK FORCE. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 180 days of the passage 

21 of this legislation, the Secretary of Health and Human 

22 Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

23 shall convene a task force known as the ‘‘Improved Access 

24 to Health Care Information Technology for non-English 

25 Speakers Task Force’’ (in this section referred to as the 

26 ‘‘Task Force’’) to— 


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1 (1) assess current barriers to health informa2 tion technology services, including telehealth plat3 forms and patient portals, for people with limited 

4 English proficiency; and 

5 (2) develop recommendations and best practices 

6 for addressing identified barriers including— 

7 (A) how health information technology 

8 platforms can be designed to maximize access 

9 for people with limited English proficiency, in10 cluding those with additional barriers such as 

11 living in rural locations or with communica12 tions-related disabilities; 

13 (B) how health information technology 

14 platforms and language service providers, in15 cluding providers of remote video interpretation, 

16 can improve integration; and 

17 (C) how health care providers can best fa18 cilitate access to health information technology 

19 for their patients with limited English pro20 ficiency. 

21 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Task Force shall be com22 posed of representatives of— 

23 (1) the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Serv24 ices; 


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1 (2) the Office of the National Coordinator for 

2 Health Information Technology; 

3 (3) the Health Resources and Services Adminis4 tration; 

5 (4) the Office of Minority Health; 

6 (5) the Office for Civil Rights; 

7 (6) health information technology service pro8 viders, including electronic medical record, remote 

9 patient monitoring and tele- and mobile-health ven10 dors and companies; 

11 (7) health care providers, including practicing 

12 physicians, and hospitals; 

13 (8) health care insurance companies; 

14 (9) language service companies; 

15 (10) interpreter and translator professional as16 sociations; 

17 (11) health and language services quality cer18 tification organizations; 

19 (12) patient and consumer advocates, including 

20 but not limited to those working directly with limited 

21 English-proficient populations; and 

22 (13) any other entity determined necessary by 

23 the Secretary. 

24 (c) REQUEST FOR INFORMATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec3 retary shall issue a request for information for 

4 health care providers, insurance plans, consumer or5 ganizations, language service providers, interpreters 

6 and other relevant parties on barriers to providing 

7 telehealth services to people with limited English 

8 proficiency. 

9 (2) SUMMARY OF RESPONSES.—The Secretary 

10 shall compile and summarize the responses to the re11 quest for information for the Task Force which shall 

12 utilize them in completing its duties under section 

13 (a). 

14 (d) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.— 

15 (1) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than one year 

16 after the date of enactment of this section, the Task 

17 Force shall submit to Congress a report on the 

18 progress of the Task Force in carrying out sub19 section (a). 

20 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 

21 after the date of enactment of this section, and an22 nually thereafter, the Task Force shall submit to the 

23 appropriate congressional committees a report on 

24 the activities of the Task Force in carrying out sub25 section (a), including— 


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1 (A) the results of the assessment under 

2 subsection (a)(1); and 

3 (B) any recommendations and best prac4 tices developed under subsection (a)(2). 

5 SEC. 4. BEST PRACTICES PUBLICATION. 

6 No later than 90 days after completion of each report 

7 described in section 2(d), the Secretary of Health and 

8 Human Services shall publish, publicize, and maintain a 

9 website for the purposes of informing health care and 

10 technology providers about best practices for connecting 

11 people with limited English proficiency to health care in12 formation technology services. The website shall provide 

13 guidance and resources, identifying best practices in— 

14 (1) facilitating and integrating use of inter15 preters during telehealth sessions; 

16 (2) providing accessible instructions on how to 

17 access telehealth platforms for people with limited 

18 English proficiency; 

19 (3) improving access to digital patient portals; 

20 and 

21 (4) other topics need appropriate by the Sec22 retary, as advised by the Task Force established 

23 under section 3. 

Æ 


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