The Issue

• Many people face difficulties as they attempt to use our health care system which results in inequities in health status, access to care, and the outcomes that persist.• Too often, there exists a chasm of knowledge

between what professionals know and what consumers and patients understand. • Basic health literacy is fundamental to the

success of each interaction between health care professionals and patients.

The Issue• Improving health literacy• Definition: the degree to which individuals have the capacity

to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions

• Critical to achieving the objectives set forth in Healthy People 2020.

The Issue• Many high schools in the United States have health education

programs, D.A.R.E programs, and sex education programs. • But, high school students are not educated on what happens if

they get sick. • I’m proposing that we need to modify the definition of health

literacy by adding insurance literacy to it and to teach students about how healthcare is paid for in the United States.

• Changes such as the implementation of the Affordable Care Act makes this even more critical.

Evidence

• Four in ten Americans (42 percent) are unaware that the ACA is the law.

• This share is higher among certain populations the law was specifically designed to help.

• Six in ten of those in households making less than $30,000 a year are unable to say the law is still in force, as are half of younger Americans.

Evidence• Two decades of research indicate that today’s health

information is presented in a way that isn’t usable by most Americans.

• Nearly 9 out of 10 adults have difficulty using the everyday health information that is routinely available in our health care facilities, retail outlets, media, and communities.

Action Oriented Solution• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of

Disease Prevention and Disease Promotion• National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy first proposed

in 2007

Legislation• S.2424 — 110th Congress (2007-2008)• Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,

Education, Labor, and Pensions.• Reintroduce this bill with a modification to the previous

addendum

Legislation• Part A of title IX of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 299

et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: • SEC. 904. HEALTH LITERACY: STRATEGIC PLANNING, RESEARCH

AND COORDINATION.• Definitions.--In this section: (1) Health literacy.--The term

`health literacy' means an individual's ability to obtain, process, and understand basic health information, services, and insurance options needed to make appropriate health care decisions.

Venue• National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy--federal level

Policy Paramours

• Thomas Harkin, Junior, D-IA

• Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

• As a member of the Senate subcommittee that oversees education funding, Senator Harkin has led efforts to improve education. He has worked to reduce class size, to give students better computer and Internet access, expand school counseling and other school safety programs, and improve teacher training.

• He has earned a reputation for giving a voice to those too often overlooked in Washington: working families, women, people with disabilities, children, students, seniors, family farmers, and small business owners

• He voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in December 2009, and he voted for the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.

Policy Paramours

• Timothy Johnson, Senior, D-SD• Chair, Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs • Johnson then underwent a lengthy regimen

of physical, occupational, and speech therapy to gain strength and mobility and restore his severely affected speech after suffering from a brain hemorrhage. He also suffered from prostate cancer. Due to his medical history, he understands the importance of insurance literacy.

• He voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in December 2009, and he voted for the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010

Policy Paramours

• Amy Klobuchar, Senior, D-MN

• Klobuchar voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in December 2009, and she voted for the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. In December 2012, Klobuchar advocated to "repeal or reduce" the tax on medical devices included in the Affordable Care Act.

Stakeholders: Non-governmental

Stakeholders-Governmental

Marketing/Messaging• Changes such as the implementation of the Affordable Care

Act makes this even more critical.• Increase awareness of the necessity of increasing health

literacy through commercials, newspapers, radio, etc.• Acronym?—IHL • Logo…

References• http://kff.org/health-reform/poll-finding/kaiser-health-

tracking-poll-april-2013/• http://www.health.gov/communication/hlactionplan/pdf/

Health_Lit_Action_Plan_Summary.pdf• http://www.senate.gov/• http://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/planact/index.html