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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5762 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5762

 To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to research and 
 design a graphic symbol to indicate when linguistic access materials 
 and services are available for a health program, product, or service, 
                        and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 27, 2023

   Mrs. Kim of California (for herself and Ms. Meng) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to research and 
 design a graphic symbol to indicate when linguistic access materials 
 and services are available for a health program, product, or service, 
                        and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Health Communication Access and 
Resources for Everyone Act of 2023'' and the ``Health CARE Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. CREATION OF A HEALTH LANGUAGE ACCESS SYMBOL.

    (a) Initiating Process.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (in 
this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall start a process to 
establish a graphic symbol to indicate when linguistic access materials 
and services are available to users or recipients of a health program, 
product, or service.
    (b) Design.--The graphic symbol under this section shall be 
designed to--
            (1) inform people about the availability of existing 
        interpretation services and translated materials;
            (2) provide a simple and widely understood method for 
        health care providers, issuers, public health departments, and 
        other entities engaged in health care, including public health 
        and health care communications, to inform people about 
        available resources to assist them in effectively communicating 
        and receiving information about a health program, product, or 
        service;
            (3) increase people's access to communication regarding 
        health programs, products, and services, thereby facilitating 
        better uptake of preventative care, diagnosis, and treatment 
        adherence;
            (4) ensure the effectiveness of the symbol across different 
        modalities, including printed and electronic notices, websites, 
        insurance program applications, and consumer-facing outreach 
        and educational materials; and
            (5) provide parameters for the integration of context-
        specific information that accompanies the symbol, such as a 
        telephone number for available telephonic interpreter services, 
        a quick response code, or embedded links to websites with 
        translated materials.
    (c) Research Process.--In conducting or supporting research for the 
design of the graphic symbol under this section, the Secretary shall--
            (1) review the effectiveness of existing linguistic access 
        symbols used in different settings or nations;
            (2) oversee a consumer research and brand design process to 
        inform the creation, modification, or adoption of the graphic 
        symbol, including an evaluation of the symbol's comparative 
        potential to improve consumer access to interpretation and 
        translated materials and services, improve efficiency, and 
        reduce waste;
            (3) consult throughout the process with stakeholders, 
        including health insurance plans, health care providers, 
        interpreters and translators, language services managers, 
        language service companies, organizations representing 
        different communities with limited English proficiency, 
        organizations representing persons with disabilities and older 
        adults, State and local governments, and Tribal organizations; 
        and
            (4) conduct (directly or by entering into a contract) 
        testing among a diverse set of communities using potential 
        symbols to see whether and how those communities improve access 
        to interpretation services and translation materials.
    (d) Finalization.--Not more than 18 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall--
            (1) finalize the design of the graphic symbol under this 
        section; and
            (2) issue a report to the appropriate congressional 
        committees detailing--
                    (A) the design of the symbol; and
                    (B) a plan for dissemination of the symbol under 
                section 3.
    (e) Coordination With Other Federal Agencies.--
            (1) In general.--To the extent determined appropriate by 
        the Secretary, and subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary 
        shall provide for coordination, in designing the graphic symbol 
        under this section, between--
                    (A) the Department of Health and Human Services; 
                and
                    (B) other Federal agencies that could potentially 
                adopt the graphic symbol under this section in 
                communicating information to people with limited 
                English proficiency.
            (2) No delay.--The Secretary shall not allow coordination 
        under paragraph (1) to delay the design of the graphic symbol 
        under this section, the issuance of the final report under 
        subsection (d), or the dissemination of the symbol under 
        section 3.

SEC. 3. DISSEMINATION OF THE HEALTH CARE LANGUAGE ACCESS SYMBOL.

    (a) In General.--Upon finalization of the design of the graphic 
symbol under section 2, the Secretary shall--
            (1) design an education program with the goal of increasing 
        awareness of interpretation and translated materials and 
        services among those who need linguistic access solutions with 
        respect to health programs, products, and services;
            (2) work with entities likely to interact with populations 
        that have limited English proficiency or linguistic barriers to 
        health care access, such as public health departments, 
        interpreter and translator associations, health care providers, 
        health care assisters, Federally qualified health centers, 
        health insurance issuers, community-based organizations, 
        refugee resettlement organizations, and other entities 
        identified by the Secretary;
            (3) work with health care providers, issuers, public health 
        departments, and other entities identified by the Secretary as 
        engaging in communication to consumers regarding health and 
        health care to inform such entities of the symbol and encourage 
        the use of the symbol in consumer communications; and
            (4) conduct trainings and provide technical assistance to 
        State agencies responsible for the Medicaid program under title 
        XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) or the 
        State Children's Health Insurance Program under title XXI of 
        such Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.), managed care 
        organizations, health insurance marketplaces, insurers, 
        hospitals, Federally qualified health centers, and other 
        recipients of Federal funds to encourage widespread knowledge 
        and adoption of the symbol.
    (b) Use of the Symbol in HHS Programs.--The Secretary shall develop 
and implement a plan to use the graphic symbol under section 2 across 
all consumer communications developed by the Department of Health and 
Human Services, including applications for coverage, notices, websites, 
and public health information.
    (c) Option To Use Graphic Symbol To Comply With Existing HHS 
Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--If the testing under section 2(c) 
        indicates that requiring use of the graphic symbol under 
        section 2 would improve access to interpretation services and 
        translation materials relative to such access under existing 
        HHS requirements, the Secretary shall  allow entities described 
        in subsection (a)(2) to use such symbol to give notice of the 
        availability of interpretation services and translation 
        materials in lieu of complying with existing HHS requirements.
            (2) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``existing 
        HHS requirements'' means the requirements of the Department of 
        Health and Human Services relating to giving notice of the 
        availability of interpretation services and translation 
        materials that are in effect as of the date of enactment of 
        this Act.
            (3) Updates to regulations.--The Secretary may update such 
        regulations and take such other actions as may be appropriate 
        to carry out this subsection.
                                 <all>
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