Language Access: A Source for Better Health

Language barriers experienced by people with limited English proficiency (LEP) can lead to disparities in health care access and health outcomes. To demonstrate its commitment to promoting meaningful language access and mitigating gaps in care, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) is joining agencies across the federal government in the release of a 2024-2026 Language Access Plan (LAP). The OMH LAP is available in nine languages. 

The release of the OMH LAP coincides with the 24^th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order (EO) 13166, “Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency.” EO 13166 requires that all federal agencies improve access to federal programs and activities for individuals with LEP.  

“Addressing health disparities across our nation requires us to identify and reduce barriers to health care access,” said Rear Admiral Felicia Collins, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health and Director of OMH. “One such barrier is language access. As Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has stated, language should never be a barrier to accessing health care and human services.”  

The OMH LAP outlines five areas in which OMH will promote meaningful language access and engagement for individuals and organizations that use its resources:   

1. Enhancing awareness and promotion of the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Health and Health Care.  

2. Increasing use of translation and interpretation services. 

3. Improving language accessibility to OMH resources and convenings. 

4. Researching, developing, and testing methods of informing individuals with LEP about the availability of language assistance services. 

5. Continuing OMH engagement in HHS language access efforts, including serving on the HHS Language Access Steering Committee.  

Additional overarching detail on the five focus areas includes: 

• Promoting the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Health and Health Care. The National CLAS Standards are 15 action steps that provide a blueprint for individuals and health organizations to eliminate health disparities and promote equity. OMH encourages adoption of the National CLAS Standards in its grant initiatives, as well as through providing free, accredited e-learning programs and other resources through Think Cultural Health.
• Supporting Awareness of the Availability of Language Assistance Services. Congress called upon OMH in the FY 2023 budget to research, develop, and test methods of informing individuals with LEP that health care language assistance services are available. OMH was asked to establish a universal symbol that signals language assistance services are offered in health settings. To date, OMH has conducted research, held multiple listening sessions, and published a Request for Information in April 2024 soliciting input from partners to inform the development of this universal symbol for language assistance services. OMH will continue working with vested parties to ensure community engagement for user testing and any refinement of the symbol.   
• Improving Access to Health Hazard Evaluations. OMH worked in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to expand access to the Health Hazard Evaluation request form (previously available only in English and Spanish) by adding versions translated in Mixtecan, Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Haitian Creole. The release of the translated forms correlated with Farmworker Appreciation Day and aligns with the HHS Secretary’s Initiative on Protecting Farmworkers from Extreme Heat and Wildfire Smoke. Workers can now request the form in any of the newly added languages. 
• Advancing Equity for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Communities in COVID-19 Response Efforts: Best Practice Resource Guides. OMH developed a set of resource guides to provide guidance on best practices to advance cultural competency, language access, and sensitivity toward Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities in the federal COVID-19 response.  The set includes an introductory document and three resource guides in English and multiple Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander languages. The guides align with the Presidential Memorandum Condemning and Combating Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.   
• Promoting Equitable Access to Language Services (PEALS). In October 2022, OMH announced more than $4 million in grants for the Promoting Equitable Access to Language Services (PEALS) in Health and Human Services initiative.  Through the PEALS initiative, grant recipients are evaluating strategies to enhance language assistance services, including policy development and implementation, technology use, education for individuals with LEP, and education for providers, including medical support staff.  

For more detailed information about how OMH is supporting language access, visit our LAP webpage.

We invite all partners, including funding recipients and state offices of minority health, to use the OMH Language Access Plan as a resource for developing your strategy for improving access to language assistance services.

Every step that we take to reduce language barriers brings us one step closer to closing the information gap that plays a role in health disparities for populations with limited English proficiency.