Sec. 208. Increasing understanding of and improving health literacy
371 words·~2 min read·
/bill/115/s/3660/is/section-208A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality with respect to grants under subsection (c)(1) and through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration with respect to grants under subsection (c)(2), in consultation with the Director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health, shall award grants to eligible entities to improve health care for patient populations that have low functional health literacy.
To be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (a), an entity shall— be a hospital, health center or clinic, health plan, or other health entity (including a nonprofit minority health organization or association); and prepare and submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require. A grant awarded under subsection
(a)through the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality shall be used— to define and increase the understanding of health literacy; to investigate the correlation between low health literacy and health and health care; to clarify which aspects of health literacy have an effect on health outcomes; and for any other activity determined appropriate by the Director. A grant awarded under subsection
(a)through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration shall be used to conduct demonstration projects for interventions for patients with low health literacy that may include— the development of new disease management programs for patients with low health literacy; the tailoring of disease management programs addressing mental, physical, oral, and behavioral health conditions for patients with low health literacy; the translation of written health materials for patients with low health literacy; the identification, implementation, and testing of low health literacy screening tools; the conduct of educational campaigns for patients and providers about low health literacy; and other activities determined appropriate by the Administrator. In this section, the term low health literacy means the inability of an individual to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.