Bill > A01380

This bill establishes an interagency task force on health literacy within the State University of New York (SUNY) to study and address health literacy challenges across the state. The task force will be chaired by a SUNY public health faculty member and include representatives from various health, medical, educational, and governmental organizations, such as state hospitals, medical societies, pharmacy schools, and health departments. The task force's primary objectives include examining residents' ability to access and understand health services, identifying barriers to health care for individuals with low health literacy, and studying how factors like rising healthcare costs, complex treatments, age, and cultural diversity impact health literacy. By December 15, 2026, the task force is required to submit a comprehensive report to the legislature detailing their findings and providing recommendations for improving health literacy, including strategies like promoting plain language in healthcare, simplifying insurance enrollment processes, developing educational resources and curricula, creating easy-to-understand health information, and recommending funding mechanisms to support these efforts. The bill recognizes that health literacy challenges disproportionately affect older adults, minority populations, immigrants, low-income groups, and medically underserved communities, and aims to reduce unnecessary healthcare spending and improve health outcomes by addressing these challenges.

Education

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A1380