On January 1, 2009 a bill of great importance to language minorities (SB 853) took effect in California. This law requires most health care services plans in California to provide language assistance to their patients who speak limited English.
The law covers Health Care Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) in the state. These organizations are regulated by the California Department of Managed Health Care. The bill does not cover health insurance plans which are regulated by the California Department of Insurance.
This bill is particularly important in a state as diverse as California. According to a 2007 report from the US Census Bureau, there are 4.6 million Spanish speaking people in California who speak limited English. There are 1.5 million people from the Asian and Pacific Islander community who speak limited English. And there are over 85, 000 people from other language groups who speak limited English. Many of them need the translation services that health care Service Plans are now required to provide.
SB 853 requires all health care services plans to provide oral translation to another language when requested by a patient, regardless of the primary language of the patient. These services can be provided either in person or by phone. The service is to be provided at no cost to the patient.
In addition, health care service plans are required to create written translations of certain key documents. Which languages the documents must be translated into varies with the size of the patient base in the plan and with the language makeup of that base. However, probably, almost all plans will be required to translate the documents into Spanish and most will also have to translate documents into Chinese. Other languages may also be required, depending on the size of the patient base of the health maintenance plan and the language makeup of that plan’s patient base.
Here are some of the documents which must be translated:
- Standard notices of eligibility and membership requirements
- Notices of the right to file grievances or appeals
- Language Assistance Regulations
- Answers to frequently asked questions
But, how does a person who speaks limited English let his or her health plan know that translation services are needed, and in what language? A private non-profit agency, "PALS For Health has created cards that tell the health provider that the patient needs translation services and into what language. Each card says the same thing in another language, such as Cantonese, so the patient can know what it says. PALS for health has placed copies of these cards on its web site in five languages; Cantonese, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish and Thai. It has also placed similar, but wordier cards on its web site. These other cards are in English and one of the following languages: Arabic, Armenian, Cambodian, Japanese, Lao, Somali, and Tongan.
Individuals or organizations can view and print these cards by directing their browsers to: http://www.palsforhealth.org .
Boyce Hinman
California Communities United Institute
b.hinman@ccui.org
http://www.calcomui.org