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For regulated organizations, language access is a core operational necessity. In 2026, the stakes involve more than avoiding audits. Compliance with language access regulations and requirements is no longer just a checkbox—as the population of individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP) in the United States grows to more than 25 million, language access has become a strategic capability that affects a wide range of factors, from the trust your clients have in your organization to the revenue that you’re able to generate.  In this blog post, we’ll take a look at how the language access landscape has changed in recent years, and key things organizations in regulated industries like healthcare, government, and elections need to look out for in 2026. Table of Contents What is Language Access Compliance?  Regulatory Landscape: Recent and Upcoming Changes Federal Changes State Changes International Changes ​​Lessons from 2025: The Language Access Shift The Five Forces Reshaping Language Access Core Operational Impacts on Regulated Organizations Enforcement, Risk, and Litigation Trends Practical Steps to Operationalize Compliance in 2026 Frequently Asked Questions about Language Access Compliance in 2026 Conclusion In a regulatory context, language access refers to the processes an organization has in place to make information accessible to individuals with LEP or certain disabilities that impact their ability to read or listen (i.e., vision or hearing impairments).  Federal, state, and local regulations typically require language access to go beyond mere translation and interpretation—language access entails the removal of communication barriers entirely by rendering content fully culturally and linguistically accessible. Individuals who are impacted by language access measures include those with LEP, individuals who use sign language as their primary language, and individuals who use alternative text formats like braille or screen readers, just to name a few examples. Language access carries a great deal of significance in healthcare and government, and as such, there are many regulations that organizations in these fields must comply with. In healthcare, language access is a matter of patient rights and informed consent, while government agencies are required to provide language access under the Civil Rights Act. In the last couple of years, there have been a handful of changes to key regulations impacting language access compliance. This requires regulated organizations like hospitals, health insurance plan providers, and government agencies to expand the scope of their language access efforts. Here are a few key changes to note in 2026: The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a final rule in May 2024 that significantly strengthens language access. Organizations must now provide a notice of availability of language assistance services in the top 15 non-English languages in their state. It also explicitly prohibits the use of unqualified staff or minors as interpreters. These rules were  A landmark rule signed in April 2024 requires state and local government entities to ensure their web content and mobile apps meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards. Large public entities (50,000+ population) must be fully compliant by April 24, 2026. This includes ensuring that PDFs, forms, and video captions are available in accessible, translated formats. Smaller organizations have more time to prepare for the shift, but should begin doing so soon—the rule goes into effect for them April 26, 2027. Last year marked the 25th anniversary of the HHS’s CLAS standards for health and healthcare—as such, the agency’s Office of Minority Health published a revised edition of the standards, emphasizing the importance of interpreter competence and adjusting clinical workflows for cultural competency. California’s Department of Health and Human Services published a memo on language access policy in October 2025 significantly strengthening language access, mandating translation of vital documents into the top five LEP languages and free interpretation services across state departments. New York continues to evolve language access laws, with several bills (e.g., S4170 and S5535) in the 2025-2026 session that would require agencies to record primary language data, provide language assistance, and translate documents into a broader set of languages. This act entered into application in June 2025, requiring goods and services—including digital platforms, e-commerce, and communication tools accessible across the EU—to meet defined accessibility standards. Any organization selling “highly digital” services (banking, e-commerce, transport) in the EU must ensure their digital interfaces are accessible and available in the national languages of the member states where they operate. Clearly, our framework for language access compliance has had to evolve in response to the above changes. In our end of year report Inside the Language Access Shift of 2025, we took a closer look at how things changed last year and what regulated organizations need to take note of for 2026. Let’s take a quick look at some of the factors driving these changes and the lessons to be learned from them: AI is scaling translation and outreach faster than policy frameworks can keep up. This has increased the risk of bias, hallucinations, and untraceable errors. In high-stakes contexts like Medicaid eligibility notices or clinical communications, organizations must keep humans in the loop to protect patient safety, compliance, and trust. Language access requirements are expanding across Section 1557, ADA Title II digital accessibility, voting rights, and state laws, often without clear implementation guidelines. Agencies that fail to map and operationalize overlapping federal, state, and local rules risk audit findings, enforcement actions, and inconsistent service delivery. As digital formats like portals, automated notices, PDFs, and AI-driven workflows, become more integrated into communications processes, multilingual touchpoints now carry privacy, security, and integrity risks. Errors in translated online forms or patient communications can expose organizations to data breaches and loss of public trust, meaning vendor oversight is more critical than ever. Fragmented translation and interpretation vendors create quality gaps, compliance blind spots, and, ultimately, operational inefficiency. Organizations need to work toward consolidating integrated language access partners to improve oversight and consistency, especially in light of incidents like mis-mailed multilingual notices or inconsistent ballot translations. Language access is no longer measured by volume alone, but by comprehension, engagement, and real-world outcomes. Patient safety incidents and member disenrollment tied to confusing or culturally mismatched communications show that accuracy without cultural context still fails the communities organizations serve. Download the 2025 Language Access Industry Report Complying with language access regulations is no longer just a matter of translation and interpretation. Full language access compliance means making several adjustments to your workflow, leading to an overall shift in the way your organization operates. Here are a few key areas in which your operations might be impacted as you adjust your language access protocol: Language access policies need to be reviewed and revised to ensure that they meet the latest guidelines and standards. Consider risk assessment frameworks in particular—who will be accountable if language access is mismanaged? With an increased emphasis on interpreter and translator credentials and accuracy of translations—particularly with regards to any documentation dealing with informed consent—errors in patient outcomes as a result of miscommunication can yield more significant adverse outcomes. Quality assurance has become more important than ever. AI-generated messages need to have a human in the loop to to review for accuracy and quality—poorly done messages can lead to member confusion and compliance issues. Standardized contracts with language service providers are key—these should include credentialing, performance metrics, security controls, and auditability. Fragmented vendor ecosystems often produce inconsistent translations and compliance gaps, as seen in mis-mailed notices or conflicting multilingual communications. Staff involved in multilingual communication must be trained on compliance requirements, cultural literacy, and proper escalation to qualified linguists. Untrained staff or ad hoc translation use continues to drive miscommunication in high-stakes scenarios, from informed consent failures to loss of public trust. As language access requirements expand, enforcement is more about how regulated organizations actually operationalize these requirements—it’s not enough to have these policies on paper anymore. Regulators are focusing more closely on breakdowns in real-world execution, particularly where these have an impact on patient safety, civil rights, or digital accessibility. AI-enabled and digital workflows are being regulated more tightly, as they also expose organizations to risks in both data security and quality. Automated translations, portals, notices, and AI-generated messages can introduce silent errors at scale, especially when human review, auditability, or vendor oversight is lacking. In regulated environments, these failures can quickly become compliance and reputational problems. To mitigate these risks, organizations are shifting toward preventive controls rather than reactive fixes. Human-in-the-loop quality assurance for high-stakes content, tighter security and performance standards for language service vendors, and proactive internal audits are some of the most effective ways to reduce risk while maintaining speed and consistency. In the following section, we’ll see how you can operationalize language access compliance in 2026 to reduce these risks and serve your LEP communities to the fullest. The risks of non-compliance with regulations on language access are simply too high for organizations to ignore. Here are six steps you can take in 2026 to operationalize language access compliance: Look at how your organization handles language access right now and refer to federal, state, and local language access regulations that might apply to you. Do you see any gaps? Be sure to assess your use of AI in translation and interpretation workflows. Once you’ve identified critical gaps in your language access policies, draft and revise language access policies that target those particular weak spots. Particular attention should be devoted to incorporating a human-in-the-loop in all of your AI workflows.  After developing a targeted plan for language access compliance, look into the technology and quality frameworks that will be needed to actually put this plan into action. QA tools and computer-assisted technology tools are a few common examples of technology you may need to look into. Be sure to establish audit trails for all multilingual communication. Deliver training on health equity, cultural literacy, and/ or multilingual engagement to ensure that your frontline staff are prepared to work with people from different linguistic backgrounds. Your staff should know how to deploy interpretation services as needed and they should also be trained on acceptable AI usage. Your HR department should maintain a record of staff training completion. Define key performance indicators that will help you track the success of your language access efforts; these should be reported on a dashboard for leadership review. As data comes in, your team should be prepared to course-correct if anything unusual occurs or results are not as successful as anticipated. This entails securing executive sponsorship for language access initiatives and creating cross-departmental communication loops (i.e., clinical, operations, IT, legal). A few additional notes to keep in mind: Avantpage supports hybrid workflows: AI for scale, humans for accuracy, context, and compliance assurance. Non-compliance can lead to legal penalties, audit findings, and workflow disruptions. Avantpage helps organizations mitigate these risks with certified interpreters, accurate translations, and compliance-focused workflows. Regulations update frequently—federal guidance, state laws, and enforcement expectations evolve yearly. Avantpage keeps clients ahead by tracking updates and embedding compliant workflows for every new requirement. In healthcare and government, miscommunication can lead to patient harm, legal exposure, or audit findings. Avantpage provides certified interpreters and quality-controlled translations to ensure critical decisions are accurate and defensible. Yes. Avantpage offers on-demand interpretation and rapid, regulated translations, so organizations meet compliance standards even in emergencies or high-pressure operational contexts. Proactive language access compliance is a critical component of any organization’s operational efficiency, client trust, and risk management. If your organization is in a regulated industry like healthcare or government, it’s critical to devise a plan to react to recent regulatory changes in language access. The time to review and update your language access plan is now. Download our industry report, Inside the Language Access Shift of 2025, to learn more about how the language access landscape is shifting. If you’re looking for in-depth language access compliance consultation, contact us today at [email protected] or (530) 750-2040. 

Preserving endangered languages is a mission-critical task for linguistic and translation professionals worldwide. Beyond the historical implications of protecting indigenous languages, it’s also important to safeguard the native tongue of global cultures for individuals who currently speak the language. Let’s take a look at what’s involved in preserving languages and what it means for the translation industry as a whole. Table of Contents Benefits of Preserving Endangered Languages 1. Provides Equal Access to Critical Resources 2. Languages Teach Us About Culture and History Why Language Loss Matters Examples of At-Risk and Endangered Languages How the Translation Industry Can Help What You Can Do to Help Preserve Endangered Languages Frequently Asked Questions About Endangered Languages Improve Your Organization’s Linguistic Diversity with Avantpage Preserving endangered languages offers far-reaching benefits that go beyond communication. Each language carries cultural identity, ancestral knowledge, and access to essential resources for those who speak it. By protecting and revitalizing these languages, we strengthen communities, promote inclusivity, and ensure that future generations can continue to learn from the wisdom embedded in every word. As languages grow closer to becoming extinct, the circle of people who speak them grows smaller. However, whether the language is as common as Italian or as rare as Pitkern, existing speakers still need access to translation resources. Efforts to preserve endangered languages help translators provide services to people in communities where their native language is not primarily spoken. Through crowdsourced or direct translation projects, speakers of endangered languages can access community resources like healthcare, education services, and other necessities that directly impact their quality of life. According to UNESCO, more than 40% of the world’s estimated 7,000 languages are endangered, and one language disappears roughly every two weeks. When a language dies, entire communities risk losing not only their ability to communicate but also their connection to ancestral knowledge, stories, and cultural identity. This makes translation professionals key advocates for linguistic equity. By helping to translate documents, signage, and resources into lesser-spoken languages, they ensure that speakers of endangered languages are not excluded from essential systems of care and communication. Human language is a fluid, ever-changing form of communication. Its content and structure change over time to reflect the culture of its native speakers and hold clues to its history. Naturally, one of the biggest benefits of the preservation of endangered languages is the impact it has on the understanding of how languages grow and develop. Since communication is a fundamental part of human interaction, the study of indigenous languages offers limitless insight into humanity itself. “Every language has poetry,” says Bob Holman, host of PBS program Language Matters. “Each [one] holds a little piece of information or a lot of information, can hold information about medicines and health, can hold information about the constellations in the sky. And that’s information that, if you lose the language, you lose that connection with that place, with that way of thinking, with tens of thousands of years of that language’s lineage.” As with any avenue of historical study, researching a language’s past can provide clues to its future. Endangered languages are particularly vulnerable, so it’s important to learn all we can from them before they go extinct. Beyond history, every language represents a unique worldview. For example, the Hawaiian and Māori language revitalization movements show how reconnecting with native tongues strengthens cultural identity and community pride. In both regions, immersion schools and media programs have helped new generations become fluent speakers, proving that with support and documentation, even highly endangered languages can be brought back to life. When a language disappears, humanity loses more than just words — we lose access to generations of collective wisdom. Many endangered languages contain ecological, agricultural, or medicinal knowledge specific to the lands where they developed. Without these languages, valuable information about sustainable living, environmental balance, and local biodiversity may be lost forever. Language loss also has deep social implications. Communities that can no longer use their mother tongue often face barriers to education, healthcare, and civic participation. Preserving endangered languages supports inclusivity, empowerment, and human dignity — values that align closely with Avantpage’s mission to ensure everyone has equal access to information, regardless of the language they speak. The translation and localization industry plays a critical role in language preservation. Translators, linguists, and language service providers are uniquely positioned to: Anyone can contribute to language preservation, whether by volunteering time to translate documents, supporting local revitalization projects, or simply learning and using endangered languages in daily life. Translators and global businesses can also partner with preservation organizations to ensure that Indigenous voices remain heard and respected in the digital era. Organizations like The Enduring Voices Project and the Endangered Language Project are making great strides in language preservation. However, the continued globalization of the internet is positively impacting efforts as well. “While the dispersal of speech communities across the globe has led to the demise of some languages, technology popularized by globalization is playing an equally important role in their revitalization. Through the internet and mobile communications, people are reconnecting with fellow speakers using digital tools to revive languages on the endangered list,” writes Yale linguistics expert Mark Turin. UNESCO’s Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger lists 576 languages as critically endangered, but thousands more are threatened. The translation industry needs to support measures that slow down or mitigate the loss of an important part of global cultures. Equally, businesses that provide resources to individuals with limited English proficiency must do what they can to help lessen the impact of languages that may be lost forever. Endangered languages are languages at risk of falling out of use because their speakers are shifting to a dominant language or because intergenerational transmission is declining. When a language loses its youngest speakers and relies only on older generations, it faces a high risk of extinction. Preservation efforts are critical for maintaining language diversity and protecting human history embedded in linguistic traditions. Language documentation preserves the grammar, vocabulary, and cultural knowledge of a language before it disappears. Organizations like the Endangered Languages Project and resources like Ethnologue compile detailed data on language use, language vitality, and speaker populations. Documentation ensures that languages can be studied, revitalized, and used to support human rights, including the right to cultural and linguistic expression. The number of endangered languages worldwide is estimated at over 2,500, though some sources suggest up to 3,000. Certain regions, like Papua New Guinea, are particularly linguistically diverse, with hundreds of small language communities at risk. Other countries, such as Canada, also report multiple endangered Indigenous languages. Organizations like the United Nations and national governments work to support these communities and track language endangerment. Speakers often include both older generations and younger speakers, though in many cases, the youngest members of a language community may not be fluent. Revitalization efforts aim to pass languages to the youngest speakers, maintaining language vitality and ensuring that knowledge tied to the language is not lost. Languages carry unique knowledge about human history, including local traditions, human rights norms, ecological practices, medicine, and social customs. When a language disappears, this cultural heritage vanishes. Protecting endangered languages helps preserve both cultural identity and valuable historical insights for researchers and global communities, from New York to remote villages worldwide. - Support language documentation projects and the Endangered Languages Project.
- Collaborate with linguists to record, transcribe, and archive languages.
- Promote language diversity in education, media, and digital platforms.
- Provide resources to language communities to maintain language vitality.
- Recognize that access to one’s native language is a human rights issue. The United Nations and UNESCO maintain initiatives to track language endangerment, fund revitalization programs, and promote human rights related to cultural and linguistic identity. Urban centers like New York also host workshops, language classes, and community gatherings to support immigrant and Indigenous language communities. At Avantpage, we believe that linguistic diversity is essential to cultural understanding and inclusion. Every language represents a living story. By supporting translation, education, and revitalization efforts, we help those stories continue to be told. If you’re ready to expand your language access program, use one of our online forms to reach out or call (530) 750-2040.

If your organization provides Medicare or Medicaid insurance plans, the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) acts as the scorecard that shows just how well you’re caring for your members. HEDIS, developed by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), is a standardized set of performance measures that are used to assess the quality of care that healthcare organizations provide to their patients. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requires many health insurance plans to report their HEDIS data as a part of their Medicare Star Ratings—as such, HEDIS data can have a strong effect on a provider's revenue and enrollment.  While health outcomes are a significant part of HEDIS measures, communication, engagement, and patient satisfaction play a key role as well. So, if you’re looking to improve your organization’s HEDIS performance, you may want to take a look at your member engagement and communication strategies. In this blog post, we’ll take a deeper look at what HEDIS is and how health plans can improve their performance by rethinking their engagement strategy. Table of Contents What Are HEDIS Measures? The Link Between Member Engagement and HEDIS Performance Common Barriers to Effective Member Engagement Inclusive, Accessible Member Correspondence: The Foundation of Engagement Member Engagement Strategies That Directly Impact HEDIS Measures Measuring Success: Tracking HEDIS Improvement Through Engagement Avantpage's Role in Supporting Better HEDIS Outcomes Frequently Asked Questions About HEDIS Measures and Member Engagement Your Message, Measured: Turning Communication Into Better Outcomes More than 235 million people across the United States are enrolled in health plans that report data on HEDIS measures, making it one of the most widely used performance improvement and quality assurance tools in the healthcare industry. The NCQA uses around 90 different HEDIS measures to evaluate health plans. These measures are organized into six domains of care: By collecting and analyzing this data, HEDIS enables health plans to monitor performance and improve member outcomes. HEDIS measures are also an important way to meet regulatory requirements, while giving members and stakeholders a transparent, standardized way to compare the quality of care across plans. Member engagement is a way to improve your performance on HEDIS measures—when members understand their benefits, feel connected to their care teams, and receive timely, accessible communication, they’re more likely to schedule preventive visits, complete screenings, and adhere to treatment plans. This in turn improves a health plan’s scores in HEDIS domains like Experience of Care and Utilization and Risk-Adjusted Utilization. It should come as no surprise then, that health plans with strong engagement strategies consistently report higher HEDIS scores, especially when outreach is personalized, multilingual, and easy to understand. When health plans successfully engage their members, members feel more trust toward their health insurance provider, leading to improved patient satisfaction and an increased willingness to use their health insurance and advocate for themselves within the healthcare system. Research shows that improved care coordination—a form of member engagement involving “the deliberate effort by two or more healthcare professionals to facilitate and coordinate proper delivery of care to a patient”—also leads to improved performance on HEDIS measures, often by more than five percentage points. Below are a few examples of some common issues health plans encounter when trying to boost member engagement: - Limited language access: It’s hard to engage members if you’re not speaking their language. If you don’t offer thorough medical translation and interpretation services, members with limited English proficiency are much less likely to make use of their health plan.
- Poor health literacy: All too often, health plans communicate to their members in jargon-laden benefits letters, notices of action, and other media. But this can be difficult for patients to understand, making them less likely to engage and utilize their insurance.
- Outdated outreach methods: While there’s certainly a place for print media and letters, keep in mind that many members prefer to use more modern means of communication like email, text message, and online member portals.
- Limited accessibility: Without options like large print, screen-reader compatible digital content, or ADA-compliant materials, members with disabilities are less likely to understand their benefits, complete preventive care, or follow through on recommended screenings. Improving member engagement starts by tackling these problems head-on. By developing a more accessible communication strategy, you can better engage your members and boost your organization’s performance on HEDIS measures. Effective member engagement begins with clear communication. Inclusive and accessible correspondence ensures that all members, regardless of language, literacy level, disability, or cultural background, can confidently navigate their care. This involves using plain language, ADA- and Section 508-compliant formats, multilingual materials, and multiple communication channels. Members who receive clear, understandable messages are more likely to schedule preventive screenings, follow treatment recommendations, and complete necessary follow-ups. Examples of inclusive communication include sending appointment reminders in a member’s preferred language, providing visually clear benefit explanations, and offering audio or video versions of critical information for those who need alternative formats. This foundation of trust and clarity empowers members to take charge of their care and directly supports HEDIS measures related to Effectiveness of Care, Access/Availability, and Experience of Care. In short, even the best care programs may fail to reach the members who need them most without accessible correspondence. Below, we’ll take a look at five different strategies that health insurance providers can take to improve their communication and member engagement strategies. Tailor outreach to each member based on demographics, claims history, and identified care gaps. Personalized reminders for screenings, vaccinations, and chronic condition management increase adherence and close gaps, directly improving HEDIS measures like Effectiveness of Care. Ensure appointment notices, telehealth links, and coverage information are easy to understand and accessible in multiple formats. Using mail, email, SMS, and portal notifications reduces barriers and encourages timely care. Use inclusive language, culturally relevant translations, and community-specific messaging to foster respect and belonging. When members feel respected, they tend to report higher satisfaction. This improved satisfaction goes hand in hand with improved member engagement, as members are more likely to trust and engage with their health plan if they feel satisfied with it. Encourage preventive visits and follow-ups with personalized outreach to plan members. Automated systems can flag members who are overdue for screenings, which will help your organization manage utilization and ensure appropriate care delivery. Integrate AI, automation, and translation tools to scale outreach while maintaining accessibility and language compliance. Technology ensures timely, consistent communication that reaches all members and supports better performance on HEDIS measures. However, it’s important to integrate technology carefully—there should always be a human in the loop to review the messages you’re sending out. Once you’ve implemented the above strategies and begun working to improve your member engagement, there are a few key metrics you can look at—aside from overall HEDIS scores—to determine the success of your efforts: As you track member engagement and HEDIS improvement, try to establish feedback loops that capture member responses and interaction data. For example, after sending out preventive care reminders, you can track open rates, click-throughs, appointment completions, and survey feedback. These insights allow you to adjust messaging, choose the most effective communication channels, and personalize outreach for different member populations. And keep in mind that improving member engagement is an ongoing process—the way we communicate today is very different from the way we communicated 20 years ago. That means that your engagement strategy needs to be constantly evolving to meet the ever-changing needs of your members. At Avantpage, we’ve recently launched a tool to help you improve member engagement and boost performance on HEDIS measures: AvantSend. AvantSend is our new, AI-enabled correspondence platform that supports 150+ languages and ensures ADA and Section 508 compliance. This platform handles all of your communication needs, from translating letters to printing them out and mailing them directly to your members, speeding up the turnaround time for delivery by about two days. Here’s an example of how you can take advantage of AvantSend: Using AvantSend, a health plan was able to automate end-to-end mailing of preventive screening reminders, including multilingual and ADA-compliant formats. By tracking responses and appointment completions, the organization was able to follow up with members who hadn’t scheduled screenings, ultimately increasing participation rates and closing care gaps more efficiently. By streamlining your communications workflow and getting correspondence out to your members faster, AvantSend boosts member satisfaction and bridges gaps in care—in turn boosting your HEDIS performance. HEDIS measures are standardized performance metrics used by health plans and the NCQA to evaluate care effectiveness, accessibility, experience, and utilization. Higher engagement leads to better follow-up, preventive care, and satisfaction — directly improving scores in domains like Effectiveness of Care and Experience of Care. Personalized outreach, multilingual materials, accessible appointment reminders, and culturally responsive communication all boost engagement and HEDIS outcomes. When members understand their benefits and next steps, they feel respected and informed — leading to higher satisfaction scores and stronger plan loyalty. AvantSend automates inclusive, ADA-compliant, multilingual member correspondence — helping health plans communicate clearly and consistently across all populations. Clear, inclusive communication is essential for helping members understand their benefits and take advantage of them.  Ultimately, when communication is inclusive and intentional, members are more engaged, overall satisfaction improves, and your HEDIS measures get even better. In this sense, a good communication strategy can be seen as a clinical quality tool, rather than just a small administrative task. If you’re looking to boost your HEDIS performance, Avantpage can help. We offer translation, interpretation, and accessibility services that can transform the effectiveness of your communication strategy. And that’s not to mention our latest development, AvantSend. Get a free quote online or call (530) 750-2040 to learn more about how we can help you modernize member correspondence and drive measurable quality outcomes.

Our planet is home to more than 7,000 different languages. Thanks to a long history of immigration, experts estimate that anywhere from around 300 to over 800 of those languages are spoken in the United States, making it one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world. And when it comes to the nation’s healthcare system, just over 50 languages are commonly used between patients and their healthcare providers across the nation, according to data from AMN Healthcare. While most of the country’s multilingual individuals do speak English, about 8% of people living in the United States have limited English proficiency (LEP), meaning they’re unable to effectively communicate with their healthcare providers—or anyone else, for that matter—in English. Because of this, healthcare providers need to be adequately prepared to interact with speakers of other languages in their preferred tongue, as miscommunication between patients and their doctors can lead to serious, even life-threatening, errors. In this blog post, we’ll take a broad look at the global linguistic landscape before narrowing in more closely on factors that healthcare providers need to be aware of to provide equitable language access to their patients with LEP. Table of Contents How Many Languages Are There? A Look at the Linguistic Landscape The Distinction Between Language vs. Dialect The Growing List of Endangered Languages The Geography of Language Why the Number of Languages in the World Matters in Healthcare Healthcare Needs to Be Accessible to All Populations Miscommunication Leads to Misdiagnosis  Language Gaps Disrupt Operations Non-Compliance Puts Your Operation at Risk Strategies & Best Practices for Healthcare Providers Needs Assessment and Prioritization Interpretation and Translation Modalities Technology Staff Training and Cultural Competency Policy, Governance, and Sustainability Challenges and Future Outlook Frequently Asked Questions About How Many Languages Are There & Healthcare Literacy Conclusion Estimates vary on just how many languages are spoken across the world, but most experts seem to agree that the number is somewhere in the ballpark of 7,000 languages. However, there are other factors that contribute to the use and extinction of language.  Data from Ethnologue says there are 7,159 languages in use today. However, this kind of data is tricky to pin down cleanly—the distinction between a language and a dialect can be very subtle. What one source classifies as two separate languages might be identified as two dialects of the same language elsewhere.  But what’s the difference between a language and a dialect? What’s more, languages and their speakers are constantly changing—a language today might eventually split into several different languages later on, just like Latin evolved into modern Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese (among others).  Likewise, languages regularly vanish from everyday use. A language is endangered when it is at risk of falling out of use because it has very few speakers, especially if younger generations are no longer learning it. According to Ethnologue, 44% of the world’s languages are endangered. On the flip side, just 20 languages (less than 1% of the world’s languages by Ethnologue’s count) are spoken natively by about half the world population. Linguistic diversity isn’t necessarily spread out evenly. Linguistic diversity in the United States is heavily tied to patterns of immigration.  Within the United States, urban centers like New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago are home to native speakers of hundreds of different languages. And while other regions may not have quite as many different languages represented, it’s not uncommon to hear languages like Navajo, Mandarin, Spanish, or Hmong spoken in various rural and suburban communities. The table below shows data based on U.S. Census Bureau statistics and other sources like the American Community Survey. But what does all of this mean for healthcare providers in the United States? How do language demographics affect patient care?  Linguistic diversity has real, measurable impacts in clinical settings, and every healthcare provider needs to pay close attention to the linguistic landscape of their particular locale. By understanding linguistic patterns in their area, providers can offer better care to patients with LEP, empowering these patients to advocate for themselves. Ultimately, the number of languages in use worldwide underscores the importance of designing systems that can meet patients where they are linguistically. Here’s how: LEP individuals make up a fairly significant portion of the United States population, at about 8%. While that may not seem like a staggering percentage, in reality, that’s nearly 26.9 million people who are limited in their ability to effectively communicate with English-speaking healthcare providers.  And while you may serve a predominantly English-speaking population, all you need is one deaf or hard-of-hearing or LEP patient needing critical care to highlight the importance of accessible communication. Having the right resources in place ensures healthcare providers can deliver quality care to anyone, anywhere, at any time. Nothing good comes from miscommunication and misunderstanding. When patients and providers fail to understand one another, the likelihood of negative health outcomes increases significantly. Miscommunication has been linked to misdiagnosis, medication errors, delayed treatment, and lower adherence to care plans. Research shows that language barriers increase the likelihood of preventable adverse events in clinical settings. Failing to account for language diversity can also create operational challenges. Staff may spend extra time trying to work around communication gaps, which slows workflows and increases stress.  Hospitals and clinics that neglect proper language services also face compliance risks. The United States, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act requires federally funded healthcare providers to offer language access services. Non-compliance can result in legal penalties, reputational damage, and costly corrective action plans. Here are a few strategies for healthcare providers to take the linguistic diversity of their particular locale into account and improve the quality of their care for LEP patients: Not every healthcare provider will have the same exact language access needs. A hospital in Seattle is much more likely to encounter patients who speak Coast Salish than a provider in Oklahoma City is—and that provider in Oklahoma City is equally more likely to encounter patients who speak Cherokee or Choctaw.  Use a data-based approach to determine which languages to prioritize in your language access strategy—you can draw on data from the US Census to see what languages are most commonly spoken around you, and use patient intake surveys to see what languages are most common among your patients. Once you’ve identified the languages that have the highest demand, you can work with a language service provider to identify interpreting and translation solutions that meet your needs.  Find a language service provider that specializes in medical interpreting and translation and offers services in the languages you need most. Your provider will help you identify the specific services you need most, whether it’s in-person interpreting or on-demand remote interpretation via video or phone call. You’ll also want to identify important documents that need translating—things like consent forms and administrative paperwork should be translated promptly. Many providers may be tempted to use tools like artificial intelligence and machine translation to speed up the translation and interpreting processes. However, it’s not recommended to use without expert supervision, particularly in the healthcare system, where communication is often high-stakes and there’s little room for error. Consult with your language service provider about these technologies and be sure there’s always a human in the loop to verify the quality and accuracy of the software’s output. Even the best language services fall short without staff who know how to use them effectively. Training clinicians to work with interpreters, whether in person or remotely, helps ensure accurate communication. Techniques like “teach-back,” where patients repeat instructions in their own words, can confirm understanding and reduce errors. Cultural competency training also equips providers to recognize language bias, avoid assumptions, and build trust across diverse patient populations. Be sure to establish clear institutional guidelines for interpreter use, translation standards, and staff training expectations. Building partnerships with community interpreters or trusted language service providers can expand capacity for rare languages. Regulatory and accreditation requirements provide a framework, but should also be backed by strong governance. By treating language access as a core part of health equity strategy, providers can ensure long-term impact and accountability. The strategies above can certainly be challenging to implement, but a trusted language service provider like Avantpage can help you with much of the legwork of developing and implementing a strong language access plan. Healthcare providers often find that language access measures are costly to implement. And indeed, interpretation and translation services can certainly be expensive. There are some ways to lower costs without significantly reducing the overall quality of your language access services, such as making use of remote interpreting services, rather than in-person interpretation. You can also consider implementing a technology-driven translation process with human linguists carefully reviewing machine translation output for accuracy and cultural sensitivity. Although it can be costly, keep in mind that the cost of not having a strong language access plan is often greater than the cost of the language services themselves. Without these services, healthcare providers run the risk of extremely expensive (not to mention time-consuming and reputation-damaging) legal fees and fines for noncompliance with local and federal regulations. Another common challenge is finding interpreters and translators who support rare or endangered languages. In these cases, your language service provider can help you find the right person for the job. Additionally, community-based organizations can also help connect you with possible interpreters and language experts. As artificial intelligence and machine translation technologies improve, it’s likely that these tools will be used more and more in the healthcare system. However, it’s important to note that these tools still are not at a point where healthcare providers can safely use them without a human reviewer to make sure that translations and interpretations are accurate. This largely depends on local demand. Healthcare providers in a place like New York City, where more than 800 different languages are spoken, will need to be prepared to support more languages than a provider in a small town with less linguistic diversity. This is why organizations should conduct thorough, data-driven needs assessments and plan their language access services around these needs. Among other risks, poor language access can result in regulatory noncompliance, poor health outcomes for patients with LEP, decreased trust, and lowered reputation. Healthcare providers should work closely with a language service provider to identify the tools they need to address gaps in language access. These may include, but are not limited to, remote interpreting software and machine translation technology. Learn about AvantInterpret and AvantSend. A dialect is a specific variety of a language—think North American English versus British English. The borders between a dialect and a language are often hard to identify—for example, Mandarin and Cantonese are not mutually intelligible, but are often classified under the Chinese language (and on the other hand, languages like Arabic and Maltese have an extremely high degree of mutual intelligibility, but are still considered distinct languages). In healthcare, it’s important to identify the specific dialect that an LEP patient speaks to find an interpreter who is best suited to provide services. Providers can measure the impact of language access programs by tracking patient outcomes, satisfaction surveys, and readmission or error rates among LEP patients. Monitoring interpreter utilization, turnaround times for translated materials, and compliance with legal requirements also provide useful insights. Comparing these metrics before and after program implementation helps quantify improvements in safety, equity, and efficiency. With more than 7,000 languages spoken worldwide, considering linguistic diversity is an important factor in planning out language access services in the healthcare system. Providers who invest in strong language access strategies not only reduce clinical risk but also ease operational burdens and strengthen trust with their communities. From staff training to governance and sustainable partnerships, every step toward better communication is a step toward better health outcomes. To recap, here are some key strategies to keep in mind as you plan out your language access services: As languages continue to evolve and populations shift, healthcare systems must adapt accordingly. The future of equitable care depends on recognizing language as a key determinant of health.  If you’re looking to improve your organization’s language access services, contact Avantpage, use one of our online forms to reach out, email us at [email protected], or call (530) 750-2040. We offer interpreting and translation solutions to clinics, hospitals, and health insurance providers, empowering them to provide patients with the highest quality care possible, regardless of the language they speak.

The post-pandemic Medicaid unwinding has created one of the largest coverage shifts in recent history. For Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), the stakes are high: millions of members risk losing coverage, not because they’re no longer eligible, but because of procedural disenrollment. According to the KFF Medicaid Enrollment and Unwinding Tracker, 70% of Medicaid disenrollments in early 2024 were due to missed paperwork or incomplete renewals, not actual eligibility loss. Many of these members face a common and solvable barrier: language access. When renewal notices, forms, and instructions aren’t available in a member’s preferred language, deadlines are missed, documents are misunderstood, and coverage slips away. The result? Avoidable churn that disrupts care continuity and drives up costs for plans. The good news: this is a fixable problem. The solution: a proactive, multilingual Medicaid redetermination strategy. Table of Contents What Is Medicaid Redetermination? What is a Multilingual Medicaid Redetermination Strategy? Why a Proactive Approach Matters The Core of a Multilingual Redetermination Strategy - Start Early - Deliver Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Communications - Leverage Multiple Outreach Channels - Train Staff and Partners on Language Access Measure, Learn, and Adjust - Renewal Rates Among LEP Populations - Call Center Volume and Language Line Usage - Reduction in Procedural Terminations - Member Feedback and Retention ROI Marketing Redetermination Effectively Common Pitfalls to Avoid Frequently Asked Questions About Building a Redetermination Strategy The Bottom Line Medicaid redetermination is the process by which the state reviews beneficiary information to ensure they still qualify for Medicaid benefits. This typically involves verifying details such as income, household size, and place of residence. It’s a routine step that helps ensure Medicaid is providing coverage to people who meet the program’s rules. Ensuring that communication is clear and accessible in multiple languages is essential to help all beneficiaries maintain their benefits.  Learn more about LEP patients and what it means to be limited English proficient. A multilingual redetermination strategy is a proactive, structured approach designed to help Medicaid enrollees renew their coverage, regardless of their language proficiency. It’s about more than just translating a few forms. It means ensuring that every touchpoint in the renewal process, communications, support channels, and workflows, is designed to work seamlessly across languages and cultural contexts. With the right approach, members who are eligible won’t fall through the cracks simply because they couldn’t access renewal instructions in a language they understand. Too often, plans address disenrollment reactively; contacting members only after their coverage lapses. At that point, re-engagement becomes an uphill climb, requiring additional outreach, administrative effort, and resources. Members may also have already gone without needed care or medications, compounding health risks. A proactive approach flips the script: For MCOs and health plan marketers, the renewal cycle isn’t just an operational requirement; it’s an opportunity to strengthen relationships and close health equity gaps. Learn more about how improved language access can make healthcare better. A strong multilingual redetermination strategy weaves together language access, cultural relevance, and well-timed outreach. Here are the essential components: Redetermination should begin months before a member’s renewal date. This means: Early contact gives you time to: Translation is only the starting point. True effectiveness comes from cultural adaptation - ensuring messages are understandable, relatable, and trustworthy.Work with healthcare translation experts to ensure every message: Why this matters: Some populations may distrust official-looking documents or may be unfamiliar with how public benefits work. Tailoring the tone and framing can make the difference between a member opening a letter versus ignoring it. Different communities have different communication preferences. A multi-channel approach ensures your message is seen and understood: Tip: Make each communication channel reinforce the others to create a seamless and consolidated experience for members. For example, a mailed renewal reminder can direct members to a multilingual hotline where language resources are centralized and available on demand, providing real-time support without the higher costs of last-minute interpretation. Meanwhile, a follow-up text can link directly to the renewal form, guiding members smoothly through the process. This strategic coordination helps reduce confusion, saves resources, and ensures consistent language access across touchpoints. Even the most perfectly translated materials will fall short if frontline staff don’t know how to connect members to language assistance. Training should cover: Language access consulting can help build a sustainable plan that ensures every frontline staff member, from call center agents to community health workers, not only knows how to support LEP (Limited English Proficient) members effectively, but also understands the process to accurately identify the required language before connecting to an interpreter. Tools like “I Speak” cards or call-routing systems can prevent wasted time and expense from reaching the wrong interpreter. Proper training on using phone systems is also crucial; many staff unintentionally hang up or fail to connect due to a lack of familiarity, which can be uncovered through methods like mystery calls. A multilingual redetermination strategy is only as strong as its measurable impact. Tracking the right indicators ensures that your efforts are driving meaningful retention, improving member experience, and meeting compliance requirements. Pro tip: Segment results by language and region to identify high- and low-performing areas for more targeted follow-up. Pro tip: Use this metric together with renewal rates to gain a fuller understanding. Some members might reach out for help but still fail to complete the process without extra support. Additionally, analyze drop-off points to identify where language barriers may be causing friction for Limited English Proficiency (LEP) members, and conduct quality assurance to uncover gaps in language coverage. Pro tip: Use this metric alongside renewal rates to get a complete picture. Some members may call for help but still not complete the process without additional support. Pro tip: Translate surveys and use trusted messengers to boost response rates from LEP members for more accurate sentiment analysis. When it comes to helping members renew their coverage, especially those with limited English proficiency, the way you market matters. Meet people where they already are. Run targeted ads on social media, place spots on local radio stations, share print flyers, and partner with community media outlets,  all in the languages your members speak. Avoid spreading your resources too thin. Instead, concentrate your outreach efforts on neighborhoods and regions where your target language communities reside and work. This strategic focus ensures that your message reaches those who need it most. To identify these areas, you can utilize the U.S. Census Bureau's interactive mapping tools, which provide detailed demographic data by location. Skip the technical terms and bureaucratic tone. Use clear, friendly language that makes renewal feel simple, urgent, and worthwhile. The goal is to make the process less intimidating and more empowering. By combining these strategies, you can ensure your multilingual redetermination efforts truly connect and help more members keep their coverage. Medicaid redetermination is the process of reviewing a member’s eligibility for coverage. This involves confirming household size and income, among other factors such as residency and disability status. While some states may renew based on this information, beneficiaries may also need to complete a form, provide documentation, or attend an interview.  Medicaid redetermination is crucial because missing deadlines or paperwork can cause members to lose health benefits. Members with limited English proficiency are more likely to miss renewal notices if they’re not in their preferred language. Multilingual materials ensure everyone understands how and when to renew. Clear communication in the right language helps members take timely action, reducing the risk of losing coverage due to misunderstandings or missed deadlines. It should include translated notices, culturally relevant outreach, geo-targeted campaigns, and partnerships with trusted community channels. Yes. Retaining members through better communication reduces churn, improves health outcomes, and strengthens long-term plan revenue. The Medicaid unwinding period is both a challenge and an opportunity. By embedding multilingual and culturally competent communication into your redetermination process, you can: Don’t wait until members disappear from your rolls. Start building your multilingual redetermination strategy today. Ready to take action? Explore our expertise in healthcare translations and language access consulting services. You can also learn more about multilingual outreach strategies or request a free quote to start designing your plan.
By acting early and leading with equity, your organization can turn renewal season from a compliance headache into a member engagement success story.

Miscommunication in healthcare, especially for patients with limited English proficiency (LEP), can lead to serious health risks, lower patient satisfaction, and poor outcomes. A comprehensive language access policy isn’t just a compliance requirement—it’s a powerful strategy for improving care, performance scores, and equity. That’s why every healthcare provider needs some sort of language access policy. And while there are federal regulations that outline the basic obligations—such as requiring hospitals and clinics to offer interpretation to patients with LEP—mere compliance with these laws isn’t quite enough.  Measures like the Health Equity Index (HEI) or Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) heavily emphasize equity of care. These measures can seriously affect a provider’s reputation and funding. This means providers need to go above and beyond the bare minimum requirements to make sure patients with LEP can access their services just as easily as native English speakers.  In this blog post, we’ll explain the strategic importance of having a thorough language access policy that goes the extra mile. We’ll also discuss how language access policies can lead to better health outcomes and improve performance on measures the HEI and HEDIS. Table of Contents What Is a Language Access Policy—and Why It Matters Now Turning Compliance Into Competitive Advantage How to Build an Effective Language Access Policy Measuring ROI: Health Equity, Financials, and Retention Getting Started: Key Actions for Health Plans and Providers Frequently Asked Questions About Creating a Strategic Language Access Policy Final Takeaways A language access policy acts as a blueprint for organizations to address the cultural and linguistic needs of individuals with LEP. It outlines needs specific to the organization, such as how many patients need language access services and what languages are most common among this group. In a healthcare setting, a language access plan may also consider health equity—i.e., how healthcare outcomes for patients with LEP compare to those who speak English fluently—and social determinants of health. Then, the plan outlines strategies for addressing these needs, be it interpreting services, translation services, or other language access services. Typically, a language access policy will cover interpreter access, written translation, accessibility services, staff training, technology integration, and vendor partnerships.  Historically, language access plans were tied primarily to compliance with federal and local regulations, but it can also be a strategic investment. Performance metrics like HEDIS, HEI, and CAHPS factor in communication and patient experience—this means that a provider that does well in other areas but falls short in language access will not perform as well on these metrics as one that does offer high-quality language services. These metrics can impact reputation and funding, so investing in thorough language access measures can pay off, both in terms of improved health outcomes and an organization’s finances. Meeting basic language access requirements is important, but it’s just the beginning. Top-performing health plans go beyond simply offering interpreting and translation services. They make sure that patients with LEP receive the same level of care, communication, and support as English-speaking patients.  That means thinking about ways to make things like patient intake forms, patient portals, and care instructions accessible and easy to understand for people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This proactive approach improves outcomes, strengthens trust, and boosts performance on key metrics like HEDIS, CAHPS, and the Health Equity Index (HEI). By operationalizing things like the Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) standards and investing in better workflows, training, and vendor partnerships, providers can: For a language access policy to have a meaningful impact on performance, it should begin with a data-driven needs assessment. Health insurance providers and hospitals alike can look to the following sources for high-quality data on the needs of LEP patients: Organizations should use these resources to identify the size and demographics of the local LEP population and which languages are commonly spoken among LEP locals. Once an organization understands patient needs, they can seek out language service providers who can offer translation, interpretation, and website localization in these languages. Partnering with a qualified vendor who can offer certified medical interpreting that complies with regulations like HIPAA is key to developing a strong language access plan. After a language services vendor has been selected, it’s important to train relevant staff on when and how to access language services, as they may need to use special technology or language identification cards to properly access language services. Make sure your staff members understand the importance of language access and are prepared for successful, culturally sensitive interactions with LEP patients. While language access may seem expensive at first, organizations that implement thorough language access measures can expect that investment to pay off in the long run. For example, health plans that invest in language access often see stronger performance in areas directly tied to reimbursement and public reporting. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)’s HEI now rewards Medicare Advantage plans that reduce disparities for underserved populations, including patients with LEP. That means strong language access can directly boost HEI score. Likewise, better communication supports higher HEDIS and CAHPS scores, which influence quality bonuses and member enrollment. When patients understand their care plans, they’re more likely to follow through with screenings, medications, and follow-up visits. And that’s not to mention the impact these measures actually have on LEP patients—clear communication in a patient’s preferred language empowers patients to advocate for and express themselves. This in turn leads to better patient satisfaction and health outcomes, reducing gaps in health equity. If you’re looking to improve your language access plan for your organization, here are a few steps to help you get started: A language access policy in healthcare is a document that outlines the measures a healthcare or insurance provider will take to ensure equitable access for patients with LEP. This outlines high-demand target languages for interpreting, vendors of language services, documents that need to be translated, etc. Poor communication and patient satisfaction can negatively impact HEDIS scores and CAHPS ratings—that means if a provider does not have strong language access measures in place, they may score poorly on these performance metrics. By offering language services to patients and members, providers can improve health outcomes for patients with LEP, in turn leading to higher scores on these metrics. If LEP members can’t understand basic information about their health plan, they’re liable to find a new health insurance provider that has a better reputation. Having a strong language access policy in place allows you to build trust with members who have LEP, in turn making them less likely to leave your plan. An effective policy includes a language needs assessment, clear procedures for interpreter and translation services, staff training, qualified vendor partnerships, and ongoing evaluation to ensure services meet member needs. Health plan providers can track improvements in HEI, HEDIS and CAHPS scores, member retention by language group, and the number of language access-related complaints, among other metrics. While compliance is one key aspect of any language access policy, it’s important to understand that it’s not all about compliance. If done right, it can also be a key market differentiator. Having strong language access measures can set you apart from the competition and help you retain members by improving health outcomes, member and patient satisfaction and performance metrics like HEI and HEDIS. While developing a language access policy may seem like a challenging task, know that you don’t have to do it alone. Avantpage offers language access consulting services on top of medical interpreting and translation services to help healthcare organizations build a policy that aligns with their unique needs.  Ready to turn your language access policy into a strategic advantage? Contact us today at [email protected] or (530) 750-2040 to learn more, or fill out this form for a free quote.

Based on standard hearing exams, one in eight people in the US aged 12 years or older has hearing loss in both ears. This number equals 13 percent of the population or 30 million people. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires Title II (state and local governments) and Title III entities (businesses and non-profit organizations that serve the public) to communicate with people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. That said, it’s crucial to provide certain communication services for the deaf or hard-of-hearing for your organization to be legally compliant and accessible to all. In this article, we’ll explore the types of communication services, how to make accommodations for D/HoH populations, and considerations when looking for an interpreter.  Table of Contents What Are Language Accessibility and Communication Services? Communication Services For Deaf Populations Communication Services For Hard-of-Hearing Populations  How to Make Accommodations for the Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing 1. Provide the Preferred Sign Language 2. Provide the Preferred Delivery Method  Considerations for Finding an Interpreter Considerations for Scheduling an Interpreter Conclusion Ensuring effective communication for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals goes beyond simply providing interpreters or hearing aids. Language accessibility services are designed to remove barriers, support meaningful participation, and provide equal access to information and services. These services take into account different communication needs, preferred languages, and technologies, helping individuals engage fully in education, healthcare, work, and everyday life. Let’s explore the various communication services for the deaf or hard-of-hearing.  Language accessibility for deaf individuals goes beyond just providing a sign language interpreter. It involves creating meaningful access to information, interpreting services, and nuanced communication, which can include: Communication services for deaf populations are designed to ensure full participation in education, government, healthcare services, and everyday life, respecting both linguistic and cultural identity. For individuals who are hard-of-hearing, language accessibility focuses on amplifying, clarifying, and visually supplementing spoken communication. Services may include: Unlike deaf populations who may primarily rely on signed languages, hard-of-hearing individuals often benefit from a combination of spoken language support and visual communication tools. The goal is to ensure that these individuals can engage effectively in conversations, access government and public services, and participate fully in education, employment, and social activities, including elections.  For those who schedule services for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, consider the following. Although ASL is the most common sign language in the US, not all individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing use ASL. That’s why it’s important to find out a person’s preferred language—if someone doesn’t use ASL, then providing an ASL interpreter won’t be helpful.  Some examples include: No two patients are the same. To ensure your communication services are fully accessible, you must offer options for how you interpret and interact with patients.  In-person interpreting provides face-to-face language support, allowing interpreters to capture tone, body language, and facial expressions that are essential to clear communication. This option is ideal for: Over-the-phone interpreting (OPI) connects you to a qualified interpreter within seconds, making it one of the fastest and most convenient interpreting solutions. OPI is available in hundreds of languages and can be used for both planned and on-demand conversations. 

This service is ideal for situations where visual cues aren’t essential, such as: Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) combines the speed of over-the-phone interpreting with the added benefit of visual communication. Using a secure video platform, interpreters can facilitate conversations in American Sign Language (ASL) and spoken languages, helping participants see facial expressions and body language for greater understanding. VRI is ideal for: Simultaneous interpreting allows the interpreter to translate spoken words in real time, with little to no delay. This service is commonly used in: CART, also known as real-time captioning, allows a provider to transcribe spoken words into text and then display them on computers, mobile devices, or screens. CART can be used in a variety of ways, such as: Not only does it help individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, but it also helps those who may struggle to hear in loud places and Limited English Proficient individuals. Remote CART can also be streamed to an internet browser for remote communication needs. C-Print is similar to CART, but it uses a QWERTY keyboard. The service provider uses software to type full and abbreviated words, and the software finds full words for the abbreviations. C-Print allows individuals to type responses, making the communication two-way. When seeking out an interpreter, consider these scenarios and preferences. Depending on certifications and skills paired with an individual’s preferences, these interpreters work with a person who is deaf and the organization to facilitate communication, most often using ASL. These interpreters are specially trained with personal knowledge of the deaf community, added resources, and more to work with a hearing interpreter as a team. They have firsthand knowledge of the deaf culture and can work with individuals who are children, use home signs, use sign languages from other countries, and more. CODA interpreters have grown up using sign languages, typically in tandem or even before using spoken English. They have a nuclear family awareness of deaf culture and language. These technologies can be leveraged when individuals understand written English but do not have a way to communicate through signs. The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. (RID) is the national organization that issues certifications for sign language interpreters. However, in 2016, they placed a moratorium on certifications as a way to address systemic issues with testing, and that moratorium is still in place today. Currently, the only nationally issued certification through RID is the National Interpreter Certification (NIC). There are already too few sign language interpreters, and the RID moratorium presented another issue. Since 2016, not many interpreters have been added. This can make scheduling last-minute sign language interpreters difficult, so plan ahead when you have a need for an ASL interpreter. Learn about AvantInterpret, our sign language interpreter scheduling software:  Before you schedule an interpreter, talk to your patient population to determine the best ways to communicate with them. Remember to schedule as far out as possible to ensure you can meet the needs. We provide in-person and remote interpretation services for all kinds of industries and environments. For more information, get a free, no-obligation quote online or call us at (530) 750-2040. Let us help you provide the best language services.

It’s not uncommon for students to struggle with subjects like math and science. But sometimes the problem isn’t the math that they’re actually struggling with: It’s the language they’re being taught in. All too often, English language learners (ELLs) at nearly every level of the United States education system fall behind in school due to language gaps that make it difficult for them to fully understand the topics being explained in the classroom, whether it’s basic arithmetic in an elementary school math class or cell division in a high school biology course. This ultimately makes assessing English language learners a significant challenge for teachers to overcome. While English language learners may perform well in subjects taught in their native languages, English-only instruction can delay their learning and lead to poor performance in subjects like math, science, history, and more.  Because of this, it’s critical for educators to conduct thorough and accurate assessments of their English language skills and development, so that they can provide ELLs with the extra support they need to make the most out of their education. At the same time, it’s also important to conduct fair content assessments to gauge how much of the classroom material they actually understand. Fairly assessing English language learners is the key to providing an equitable education to students from diverse linguistic backgrounds. In this blog post, we’ll look at the basics of assessing English language learners’ mastery of classroom subject matter, covering the key challenges that might arise in grading the work of ELLs and the accommodations schools can make for ELLs in response to these assessments. Table of Contents - Who Are English Language Learners (ELLs)? - Changes in Assessing ELLs - Principles of Fair Assessments for ELLs - Legal and Policy Framework - Accommodations and Strategies for Assessing English Language Learners - Building a School-wide System for ELL Success - Summary According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 10% of students in US public schools are considered English language learners—that’s more than five million students. These numbers vary from state to state, with about 20% of Texas public school students classified as ELLs and just under 1% of West Virginia public school students. But who exactly can be considered an English language learner? As the term suggests, an ELL is any student who is learning English as a second or other language. For example, a five-year-old who only speaks Spanish upon starting kindergarten in a US school would be classified as an ELL. In addition to these newcomers enrolling in school for the first time ever, ELLs make up a diverse community of learners, such as: The vast majority of ELLs speak Spanish as their primary language—according to Colorín Colorado, which offers resources for teachers of ELLs, upwards of 70% of ELLs speak Spanish as their native tongue. But as a group, there are more than 400 different languages spoken by ELLs nationwide, with Arabic, Chinese, and Vietnamese making up a significant portion. In short, ELLs make up a diverse group of students, from young learners enrolling in school for the first time to older students who have already taken classes in their native language in their home country. Assessing English language learners on their understanding of academic content presents unique challenges that often go beyond language proficiency. Limited proficiency in English can skew students’ results on tests and other classwork—for example, a student may have a strong understanding of the basic principles of mathematics, but if they aren’t able to read and understand instructions or word questions written in English, they’ll likely struggle to come up with the correct answer.  When it comes to standardized testing, these skewed results can have an impact on their academic future, such as whether or not they are placed in remedial or advanced courses later on (or even whether or not they’re held back at a certain grade level). Likewise, poor test results can even lead to a misdiagnosis of certain learning disabilities—a significant portion of ELLs are misdiagnosed with learning disorders, further delaying them from receiving an education at the level that they’re really at. Additionally, teachers may not feel adequately prepared to support their ELLs in the classroom, and may struggle to determine which errors are a result of their linguistic abilities and which are a result of struggling with the actual material. Because the result of traditional assessments can be skewed by a student’s limited English proficiency, many ELLs find themselves at a disadvantage. That’s why it’s essential to design assessments that accurately reflect what students know and can do, independent of their English language development. Here are three principles of fair assessment for ELLs:
In addition to the principles outlined above for fairly assessing English language learners’ content mastery, there are several federal and state regulations that provide a framework for assessing English language learners: Additionally, parents of ELLs (or former ELLs) may have limited English proficiency themselves. Federal regulations require schools to provide parents with adequate information about their children’s academic performance in their primary language—this means schools may need to provide interpreting services during parent-teacher conferences or translations of relevant documents, such as Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) or translations of relevant documents. When it comes time to test students on material learned in the classroom, there are several accommodations teachers can make for assessing English language learners, such as: Teachers should also consider the needs of their ELLs when developing the assessments themselves. By using thoughtful, inclusive strategies, educators can create assessments that are both accessible and academically rigorous for ELLs. Here are a few examples of classroom strategies to help educators with assessing English language learners: A successful education isn’t just about the student-teacher relationship—the school system is a network of students, teachers, administrators, parents, and other parties who must all come together to help children learn to the best of their ability. It’s important to partner with parents of ELLs to ensure that they’re playing an active role in your child’s learning. Given that parents of ELLs often have limited English proficiency themselves, that means making accommodations to enable them to participate to the same extent as any other parent would, such as: These measures will help parents feel more involved in their child’s learning. But there are also measures administrators can take to make sure staff are able to provide thorough support to students: Together, faculty, staff, and parents can work to ensure that your school is assessing English language learners fairly and accurately. Assessing English language learners isn’t always easy—teachers have to make certain accommodations and modifications to assessments, which can be especially time-consuming on top of the other expectations of school teachers. But these adjustments are absolutely critical to ensuring fair and equitable access to education for all children. Accommodations in assessing English language learners aren’t just “special treatment.” They’re a matter of equity and inclusion. By adopting assessment strategies that accurately evaluate your students’ knowledge, you can make sure they’re getting the most out of their education. Looking to improve how your school supports ELLs? Start by rethinking your assessment and accommodation strategies with equity in mind. At Avantpage, we can provide consultation on language access and language services such as translations and interpretation to help you support the students who need it most. Fill out this form today for a free quote or contact us at [email protected] or (530) 750-2040 to learn more.

If you’re looking to improve your organization’s language access measures, you may want to consider leveraging an advisory board that specializes in language access and accessibility. Advisory boards can play a helpful role in evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of your organization’s language access measures (or lack thereof) and provide actionable insights into improving services for limited English proficient individuals.

Whether you work for a federal government agency or an election office in a small town, it’s quite likely that your work impacts individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). An advisory board that specializes in matters of language access can help you identify ways in which your organization can better serve those individuals.
 
These groups can play an invaluable role in monitoring and improving your language access efforts, as they take a look at the bigger picture to point out weak spots that you may not notice when you’re focused on the day-to-day aspects of your work. They can also provide answers to any specific questions you might have and serve as a great way to crowdsource community members and find community leaders.
 
Advisory boards come in all shapes and sizes — essentially, they consist of a group of specialists and stakeholders who meet regularly to develop solutions to problems that a community might face. These can include language service professionals like translators and interpreters, but an effective advisory board will incorporate a broad range of perspectives: recruiting community leaders, individuals with LEP, and others who are impacted by your services will ensure that you have a wide range of viewpoints to develop an innovative solution.
 
There are plenty of advisory boards that focus on language matters already — for instance, the US Election Assistance Commission’s Language Access Roundtable convenes regularly to “discuss topics and resources available to election officials as they serve language minority voters.”
 
While it’s possible to join an already existing advisory board, you should also consider taking the time to set one up specifically for your organization or industry. This way, you can tailor the advisory board to your organization’s unique needs. In this blog post, we’ll show you how you can set up your own language access advisory board to set you up for success. How Language Access Strengthens Communities Case Study: Bridging the Digital Divide in Minority Communities Learn more about our Translation Services
Starting up your own advisory board can be a daunting task. If you’re not sure where to begin, we’ve broken the process down into four simple steps that will help you get started:
There are plenty of other advisory boards that focus on language-related issues already. Take some time to gather basic information on these advisory boards — look at their members and their experience, as well as their bylaws and meeting minutes if they’re publicly available. This will give you a better idea of what kinds of people to seek out when inviting different community members and stakeholders to join your advisory board.
 
This research should give you some inspiration for structuring your board and planning all the details out. A few examples of advisory boards you can look to in your research include the Language Access Collaborative in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the Language Access Services Section of the National Center for State Courts. By getting familiar with the work that other advisory boards do, you can get a better sense of what you want yours to do for your organization.

After conducting research into and getting inspiration from other advisory boards, it’s time to narrow in on your own board. Start by determining the overarching goal of your advisory board — some common goals you might want to focus on include: Once you’ve figured out the scope of your advisory board, you can pin down the different experts and stakeholders you’ll need to serve on your board.
 
If improving language access is the focal point of your advisory board, you’ll want to focus your efforts on consulting with interpreters, translators, other language service experts, and multilingual community members who understand the needs of LEP individuals; on the other hand, if you’re focused more on diversity and equity as a whole, you’ll want to work with DEI specialists and the community members who use your services.
 

Advisory boards are most effective when they include a diverse group of voices — people who have LEP and community leaders should also play a key role in your advisory board.[3]  Make sure to target a wide range of prospective board members. You’ll want to get perspectives from the people who use your services, front of staff, buyers and requesters of services, industry leaders, and language-specific experts, just to name a few. If you already have some stakeholders in mind, go ahead and invite them to join the board directly. But don’t stop there — cast a wide net by posting open calls to sign up on social media and ask others to share as well. In your outreach efforts, be sure to be clear about your goals in setting up the advisory board and what your expectations are. If you need some inspiration for your outreach efforts, take a look at this Linkedin post from the New York City Civic Engagement Commission, promoting their Language Assistance Advisory Committee.
 
Notice that the application in the Linkedin post above is very clear about the commitment level expected of council members. In your outreach efforts, be as clear as you possibly can — outline the frequency of meetings and, if possible, when and where the board’s meetings will take place. Working with an advisory board is an excellent way to improve your organization’s language access services. And while there are many out there already, you may find that setting up your own advisory board allows you to gain more useful, custom-tailored insights into your organization’s strengths and weaknesses. Here are some simple steps to get started: If you’re looking to improve your organization’s language access plan, Avantpage can help. We offer language access consulting services that help you expand your language services and adapt to evolving needs. Reach out to us today at [email protected] or (530) 750-2040 to learn more.

Reframed this as bullet points, rather than questions — I think it's a little bit clearer now, but let me know what you think
Does "members" work better than "specialists and stakeholders" here?
Added a new sentence here, per previous comments Contact us today for a brief call to explore how Avantpage can be your trusted language access partner, working together to find the best solution tailored to your needs.

It’s simple, but true: Patients need to be able to trust their healthcare providers. From routine doctor’s appointments to calling their insurance provider, it’s important that patients are confident in their provider’s ability to give them the highest quality of care possible.   After all, the healthcare system can be daunting — fostering a sense of trust allows patients to open up and feel secure in doing so. And when patients feel open and secure, they’re able to advocate for themselves better, improving the outcome of their care.  Building trust with your patients can be a challenge, though, especially for health insurance providers. This is doubly true when it comes to building trust with patients who have limited English proficiency (LEP) and other minorities that have historically been marginalized within the healthcare system.   While programs like Medicare and Medicaid aim to improve healthcare outcomes for historically marginalized members of society, inequality in the healthcare system remains—research indicates that even today, racial and ethnic minorities tend to receive lower quality care than their white counterparts. As a result, it can be challenging for members of these groups to fully trust their providers. For individuals with LEP, language gaps can make it even more difficult to build trust.   Measurements of equity in the healthcare system like the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Health Equity Index incentivize providers to emphasize equity in their practice—higher scores on these measures can help your patients trust you.   In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the ways in which health insurance plans can improve their communication with LEP patients and feel more trusting—because at the end of the day, that trust leads to a better patient-provider relationship, ultimately boosting the quality of care and saving lives.  Effective CMS Marketing for Multilingual Healthcare Materials Translating Member Letters for State-Managed Health Plans Listening is the foundation of trust — especially for LEP patients navigating the complexities of our healthcare system. By actively listening to LEP patients, health plan providers can gain insight into the unique challenges they face.  
 
Listening isn’t just about gathering feedback from plan members — it’s about actually doing something with that feedback. To build a sense of trust in your patients, it’s critical that you take their input and co-create relevant solutions with community leaders, advisory groups, and other experts. This approach fosters a sense of inclusion and empowers LEP members to voice their concerns openly — here’s how you can take an active approach to listening to your LEP patients. 
Surveys, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews can give you valuable information about the experiences and needs of your LEP plan members.  
 
Working with a trusted language service provider, you can develop multilingual surveys that LEP plan members can complete. Likewise, you can partner with community-based organizations (CBOs) and other cultural experts to help coordinate focus groups and interviews in languages spoken prominently among the LEP communities you’re targeting. 
 
These are just a few examples of ways to get feedback from your LEP patients — by leveraging them, health plans can identify gaps in service, improve communications, and create a more seamless and comprehensive experience that fosters long-term trust and satisfaction. 
Feedback is a crucial tool for refining your services — by acting on the feedback you receive from LEP patients in surveys and focus groups, you can show patients you’re actually listening to them, thereby building a strong sense of trust. 
 
The feedback you receive from LEP members will likely uncover gaps in communication, accessibility, and overall service delivery. By creating consistent feedback loops — i.e., regularly conducting surveys and focus groups — you can address these issues proactively. This process not only improves the user experience but also demonstrates a commitment to listening and adapting.  
 
When you consider member feedback, you may find instances where you can make tangible improvements to the patient’s experience: you might find that you can simplify forms, develop better outreach strategies in certain languages, or improve interpreter access. These changes will all add up to build a sense of trust toward your organization.  
Be sure to be transparent and open when conducting these outreach efforts. Make sure to inform members of why you’re reaching out to them and how you plan to use their feedback. This transparency is essential to building trust with LEP plan members, while also building goodwill and trust. 
 
In some instances, it may be worthwhile to share the results of surveys and focus groups with plan members — this gives them a better idea of how you plan to act on their feedback. As you adjust your practices and act on feedback, patients can rest assured that you’re making changes that are rooted in their own ideas and insights. This incentivizes further participation and creates a foundation of trust that leads to stronger, more equitable healthcare relationships.  When LEP patients trust their health insurance provider, they navigate the healthcare system with a sense of agency and security that allows them to be the best possible advocate for themselves. As a health plan provider, building trust means listening to your patients and being adaptable to their input. Here’s how you can do that:  Foster and maintain confident relationships with your LEP patients and health plan members through translation, interpreting, and other language services. Contact us today at (530) 750-2040 or at [email protected] to learn more about how we can help you. 

For millions of immigrants and refugees living in the United States, navigating essential federal programs poses quite a challenge. Individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP) often struggle to access critical services like Medicare — even though these agencies are required by law to offer language access services, individuals with LEP often have trouble accessing them as easily as their English-speaking counterparts. This difficulty arises in part due to the fact that the federal government’s guidelines for supporting individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP) are rather outdated — most federal agencies today utilize guidelines based on the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) LEP Guidance published in 2002. A lot has changed in the last two decades — so our approach to language access at the federal level should adapt to reflect those changes. In fact, there are a couple of key challenges with the current federal approach to language access. Firstly, federal agencies today usually follow a single set of LEP guidelines for all programs, rather than tailored language access plans for each. While this one-size-fits-all approach might have worked in 2002, it falls short as programs have diversified and gone digital. Additionally, there is little transparency about the effectiveness of these language access plans. Although agencies are required to have them, few processes exist to evaluate their efficacy or enforcement. If you work with a federal agency and are looking for ways to develop a unique and creative language access plan, this blog post will give you some insight into how you can address these challenges, particularly in the research and early phases of development. We’ll start with a look at the stakeholders who will be most impacted by changes to your LEP guidance and then explore the other areas you need to consider, from data collection to IT support. Common Components of a Language Access Plan
While language access measures are put in place to help individuals with LEP, those end users aren’t the only people who will be impacted by changes to your agency’s language access guidelines. It’s also important to consider how this will impact your frontline staff, who are often the first point of contact for LEP individuals. You’ll want to consider the ways your staff typically interact with LEP users — do they talk to them on the phone or is communication mostly through mail or online, text-based channels? Answering questions like this will help you identify weakness in your current processes and customize your plan to a specific program. Ensuring that these staff members are equipped with the necessary training and resources to effectively communicate with LEP individuals is critical for the success of any language access plan. Depending on how they interact with users, you may want to hire additional bilingual staff who can perform these tasks in a language commonly spoken among LEP individuals who seek your services.
Odds are, you’ll need a lot of support from outside sources — vendors like language service providers, as well as DEI consultants, research organizations, community representatives and community-based organizations (CBOs) should play a prominent role in the development and implementation of any language access plan. You can work with language service providers to identify the kinds of language services you need, whether it’s over-the-phone interpreting, document translation, website localization, or something else. Meanwhile, consultants and other organizations can share valuable insights into the specific needs of LEP users. For example, a CBO that works with specific immigrant populations can help you organize focus group sessions with LEP residents who seek access to your programs; DEI consultants can provide you with information about the best practices for making sure your language access plan is equitable and inclusive.
A solid language access plan starts with comprehensive data. Use existing sources like U.S. Census data and the American Community Survey (ACS) to identify LEP demographics and common languages spoken among the immigrants who are most likely to need your services. You should also supplement this with internal data on service usage, user feedback, and past interactions to uncover current language access gaps. Combining this data with the insights provided by vendors and other third parties like CBOs can provide first-hand insights from LEP individuals and staff who interact with them. Collecting both quantitative and qualitative data ensures your language access plan is targeted, effective, and responsive to the actual needs of the community.
The way we connect with one another has changed quite a bit since 2002 — social media and the internet have become critical outreach channels and as such, effective language access requires using them to reach individuals with LEP. Be sure to integrate a mix of digital and traditional methods such as online platforms, printed materials, phone services, and in-person interactions. Websites and apps should be optimized for multilingual access, with clear navigation in users’ preferred languages. Be careful not to put all your eggs in one basket though. Digitization is important, but it’s also important to use print media and other channels, as individuals with LEP (especially elderly folks) may face digital inclusion barriers that English speakers don’t. Don’t overlook community hubs like churches and local nonprofits that LEP individuals trust. Partnering with these groups can help amplify outreach and build awareness of available services. By diversifying communication channels, you enhance the likelihood that LEP users can access critical information and support seamlessly.
In the early phases of planning and developing LEP guidance, you’ll also want to consider the ongoing support you’ll need after the plan’s been implemented. Maybe you’ll need additional support from your IT specialists after localizing your website to make sure that everything functions properly (i.e., you don’t want a link on the Spanish version of your website to direct users to an English webpage or PDF). Additionally, you’ll also want to work with CBOs and community members to receive regular feedback on your language access measures to make sure that you’re able to adapt to the needs of your programs’ LEP users.
Modernizing your language access plans can be a major task — as the DOJ’s federal guidance on language access hasn’t changed much in two decades, there’s a lot to consider after two decades of change in other dimensions. Here are some key questions federal agencies should ask themselves if they plan on developing a language access plan for the modern era: If you’re looking to revamp your agency’s LEP guidance and implement a more modern approach to language access, Avantpage has you covered. We offer translation and interpreting services that are crucial to any language access plan — not to mention, we also offer in-depth language access consulting services to help you lay out a roadmap for your organization. Contact us today at [email protected] or (530) 750-2040 to learn more.