Bobby Caina Calvan of the Sacramento Bee had the write-up about the new regulations on language access finally getting the force of law. Millions of Californians with limited English proficiency now have the right to an interpreter from their commercial health and dental plans – made possible by a first-in-the-nation law aimed at dismantling the language barriers that get in the way of good medicine. The new regulation – implemented New Year’s Day after five years of hearings, delays and wrangling among insurance companies, regulators and consumer advocates – is widely hailed as a milestone in reducing mistakes because of miscommunication. We were happy to be part of the broad coalition in support of the original law, SB852(Escutia), and the […] Read More

In posting about the need for medical interpretation, I would be remiss if not mentioning an upcoming action item: the Department of Insurance is accepting comments for a 3rd round of changes on its pending language access regulations. Written comments are now solicited only on the third round of changes, released July 7th. The 15-day public comment period ends on Monday, July 23rd, at 4:00pm, when written, faxed, or E-mailed comments are due. Comments and questions can be submitted to: Elena Fishman, Senior Staff Counsel California Department of Insurance 300 Capitol Mall, 17th Floor Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 492-3507 fishmane@insurance.ca.gov George Teekell, Senior Staff CounselCalifornia Department of Insurance 45 Fremont Street, 21st FloorSan Francisco, CA 94105(415) 538-4390teekellg@insurance.ca.gov Health Access California […] Read More

Correspondent John Oliver at the The Daily Show with Jon Stewart has the definitive take tonight on the need for language access in hospitals and other health care settings. The segment was directly responding to federal efforts to establish English as the “official language” of the United States, but it looked into the implications of restricting government services from using other languages. Some of the examples was whether the government would be allowed to translate “DANGER” signs and voting pamphlets. In interviewing an anti-immigration group representative who says that “when it comes to the basic diagnosis, good doctors and good hospitals can do so without any language whatsoever,” John Oliver plays along with him, agreeing that someone who doesn’t speak […] Read More

Earlier today, my Health Access colleagues Elizabeth Abbott and Bruce Occena attended a press conference at UCDavis Medical Center in Sacramento, to spotlight the new Department of Managed Health Care regulations on cultural and linguistic access to health care. It’s hard to overstate the importance of these regulations, which implement a bill by Sen. Escutia a few years ago. With a state as diverse as California, and with many people who don’t speak English well or at all, you can’t have access to health care with language access. Health care is all about that doctor-patient communication, and you can’t have communcation with translation. Working with groups like the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network and many others, we have been working for […] Read More