De La Cruz introduces bill for better multilingual telehealth access

Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz has introduced the Supporting Patient Education And Knowledge (SPEAK) Act, a bipartisan initiative aimed at improving telehealth services for non-English speakers. Co-introduced with Representatives Gabe Evans, Brian Fitzpatrick, and Marc Veasey, the legislation mandates the Department of Health and Human Services to form a task force to issue guidance on best practices.

Original co-sponsors include Representatives David Valadao, Young Kim, Jimmy Panetta, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Brittany Pettersen, Susie Lee, and Nanette Barragán.

"Ensuring that all Americans, regardless of their native language, can access quality health care is a priority. The bipartisan SPEAK Act will determine best practices to help facilitate communication between provider and patient to expand quality health care options for millions of Americans," stated Congresswoman De La Cruz.

The LIBRE Initiative supports this legislation. Sandra Benitez from The LIBRE Initiative remarked on its importance: "Millions of Americans—including many in the Latino community—face significant language barriers when seeking medical care. I have seen firsthand with my own family how these challenges can impact access to quality health care. The introduction of the SPEAK Act is a critical step toward ensuring that all patients, regardless of their English proficiency, can fully benefit from telehealth services. We commend Representative De La Cruz for her leadership and commitment to breaking down language barriers in health care. This bipartisan effort demonstrates that lawmakers can still come together to improve the lives of millions."

The SPEAK Act requires creating guidance for healthcare providers and hospitals on distributing instructions in multiple languages and integrating interpreters during appointments. It also seeks to expand access to non-English telehealth services and patient portals.