Health literacy has long been a central component for enhancing health equity, as patients with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) historically have had less access to quality health care and worse health outcomes than patients with greater English proficiency. In a move to address the negative impact of language barriers on health equity, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) just rolled out policies for an updated Language Access Plan (LAP) that requires all recipients of HHS funding to abide by policies that help ensure greater health literacy.
Over 65 million individuals in the U.S. currently speak a language at home other than English, while more than 8% speak English “less than very well,” which qualifies them as having LEP. At the same time, however, communication and language constitute the most foundational elements of a patient’s experience with their health care. This can manifest in several ways, including a patient’s lack of understanding of their medical condition, a poor relationship with their health care provider if there’s a language barrier, and longer periods of health recovery when patients fail to understand language detailing best practices for their recuperation.
The health equity policies underpinning the updated LAP from HHS are designed to require HHS funding recipients to meet more stringent obligations to remove language barriers and to foster greater health literacy. For example, a patient may need an American Sign Language interpreter to best understand their health care provider’s diagnosis and instructions for care. Likewise, the LAP seeks to better protect patients from discrimination on the bases of race, color, national origin, and disability, which may east affect individuals with LEP.
In terms of implementation of the updated LAP, HHS will be working with HHS affiliates and agencies to devise and monitor language access initiatives by collecting data and measuring outcomes. Additionally, an annual report will be published each year going forward to evaluate the extent to which agencies are meeting the requirements of the LAP.
Health equity advocates are lauding the new policies, particularly given the importance and role of health literacy in reducing health disparities, especially among historically underrepresented populations. Proponents believe that this could serve as a policy and programmatic role model for other organizations across geographies to strengthen health literacy in the months and years ahead.
