SPEAK Act of 2025

This bill tells the Department of Health and Human Services to write and share guidance within one year to make telehealth and online health tools easier to use for people who don’t speak English well. The guidance must cover how to use interpreters during telemedicine visits, give clear instructions for getting onto telehealth systems, make patient portals easier to use, allow video platforms where an interpreter can join the visit, and provide patient materials, text reminders, and prescription info in multiple languages.

In creating this guidance, the department must consult with groups like health IT companies, doctors and hospitals, health insurers, language service companies, interpreter associations, quality certification groups, and patient advocates, including those who work with non‑English speakers.

• Who is affected: Patients with limited English skills; health providers; health IT vendors; insurers; language service organizations.
• What changes: National best practices for interpreter use in telehealth, easier access to telehealth systems and patient portals, and more materials in multiple languages (including texts and prescription info).
• When: Guidance must be issued within one year after the law takes effect.