HB 1295 – Health literacy planning mandate

HB 1295 instructs a state health council to craft and update a long-term plan focused on improving Texans’ health literacy—essentially how well people understand and use medical information. It expands government responsibilities by adding yet another planning mandate, which could lead to increased bureaucracy and future spending obligations without clear accountability or measurable cost-savings. It also risks mission creep by turning the state health plan into a platform for soft regulatory initiatives. There are no guarantees that the recommendations will actually reduce costs, despite claims to that effect. Taxpayers should be concerned about the slow and costly expansion of state health planning authority.