Medi-Cal Interpreter Services: Ensuring Accuracy in California Healthcare
California is one of the most linguistically diverse states in the country. As a major destination for immigrants to the United States, California is home to speakers of more than 200 different languages, many of whom have limited English proficiency (LEP). In fact, the state accounts for about a quarter of the nation’s LEP population, with seven million people reporting that they speak English “less than very well.”
For healthcare providers in California, that means that interpreter services are absolutely critical. In particular, healthcare providers who work with patients on Medi-Cal, California’s implementation of the federal Medicaid program, must be prepared to provide thorough and extensive Medi-Cal interpreter services to their patients with LEP.
In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the nuances of Medi-Cal interpreter services in California. We’ll explain what Medi-Cal is, how Medi-Cal interpreter services can improve health outcomes for your patients with LEP, and how to integrate interpreting services into your workflow.
Table of Contents
– The Landscape of California’s Linguistic Diversity
– Legal Requirements for Medi-Cal Interpreter Services
– The Benefits of Professional Interpreting
– Common Challenges Without and Interpreter
– How to Implement Interpreter Services in Your Healthcare Practice
– Options for Providing Medi-Cal Interpreter Services
– Summary
The Landscape of California’s Linguistic Diversity
Whether you’re in a cosmopolitan megalopolis like Los Angeles or the rural farmlands of the Central Valley, you’re likely to hear of a wide range of different languages spoken throughout the state. That’s because about 40% of Californians speak a language other than English at home.
The most widely spoken language in the state after English is—as in the rest of the country—Spanish, but there are more than 200 other languages and dialects spoken throughout California, making it one of the most linguistically diverse places in the country. To name just a few, other languages spoken widely throughout the state include:
- Mandarin
- Tagalog
- Vietnamese
- Cantonese
- Korean
- Russian
- Khmer
- Farsi
Many speakers of these languages are fluent in both English and their primary language. But not all of them are—as previously mentioned, about seven million people are classified as LEP. That’s around 17% of the state’s population. And although the state as a whole only makes up about 11% of the country’s population, its LEP residents make up a fairly significant portion of the country’s entire LEP population: 19%.
Additionally, individuals who speak a language other than English at home are particularly over-represented among Californians who depend on the state’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal. More than 44% of the Medi-Cal beneficiaries speak a language other than English at home. This dynamic means Medi-Cal interpreter services are an absolute must-have for any healthcare provider working with Medi-Cal beneficiaries.
What is Medi-Cal?
Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program. Supported by both federal and state taxes, Medi-Cal covers healthcare services for individuals with limited income and resources, allowing them to access high-quality healthcare at low or no cost. Many Medi-Cal beneficiaries are able to receive healthcare without paying a premium, co-pay, or out-of-pocket costs.
Since so many Medi-Cal beneficiaries speak a language other than English at home, it’s important for providers to be prepared to offer interpreting services to their patients. The presence of a medical interpreter can make or break a patient’s health outcome, as clear, seamless communication is key to making sure doctors are well-informed of their patients’ symptoms and that patients are able to advocate for themselves and understand their doctors’ instructions. By lowering the risk of miscommunication, research shows that medical interpreting services can help lower the risk of readmission for patients with LEP by 25%.
And while many Medi-Cal beneficiaries do speak English, patients who speak another language at home may still prefer to receive healthcare in their primary language. By offering Medi-Cal interpreter services, you can build trust with your patients and ensure that they are comfortable receiving your care.
Legal Requirements for Medi-Cal Interpreter Services
Both federal and state laws require healthcare providers to offer language access services to patients with LEP. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act mandate that providers receiving federal funding—like those serving Medi-Cal patients—must ensure meaningful access to care through qualified interpreters and translated materials, on the grounds that not doing so would qualify as discrimination against a patient on the basis of their national origin.
In California, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) expands on these rules. Medi-Cal managed care plans must provide free interpretation, offer timely access to interpreters, translate essential documents like NOA/NAR letters, and more.
Providers who fail to comply with these requirements risk legal penalties, funding loss, and lower patient satisfaction scores. Interpretation services aren’t optional—they’re essential and enforceable.
The Benefits of Professional Interpreting
Working with professional interpreters who specialize in medical interpreting will allow your doctors and other caretakers to worry less about communication struggles and focus on what actually matters: taking care of patients. Medi-Cal interpreter services ensure that care teams are able to seamlessly communicate with their patients in whatever language works for them. That means healthcare organizations and patients alike will experience the following benefits of interpreting services:
- Improved patient outcomes: Patients with LEP who are able to communicate with their doctors and nurses via an interpreter are less likely to be readmitted to the hospital after discharge. The logic here is simple: By providing patients with information and instructions in their preferred language, they’re better prepared to follow doctor’s instructions and speak up for themselves if something doesn’t feel right.
- Enhances patient trust and satisfaction: Allowing patients to receive care in the language of their choice boosts their trust in the healthcare system and may also leave them feeling more satisfied overall with their care.
- Better operational efficiency: Because care teams don’t have to struggle to understand their patients (and vice versa), they can work more efficiently to provide patients with the care they need. Professional interpreters enable doctors to make accurate diagnoses and take action much faster than they could have without an interpreter.
- Reduced legal risk: At the end of the day, healthcare providers have to comply with the law. Working with an interpreter ensures that you’re in compliance with laws regarding language access in the healthcare system, reducing your risk of legal action, malpractice claims, and non-compliance fees.
Common Challenges Without an Interpreter
Research shows that patients with LEP are more likely than their English-speaking counterparts to experience a severe medical error. Without an interpreter to help you communicate with your LEP patients, you run the risk of encountering the following obstacles, which could have serious consequences for you and your patients:
- Increased liability and patient dissatisfaction
- Misdiagnosis or medical errors due to misunderstandings
- Communicating with patients can be extremely difficult, or even impossible
- Additional stress on the healthcare system due to higher readmission rates
- Ethical concerns about using multilingual staff or family members as interpreters
How to Implement Interpreter Services in Your Healthcare Practice
It should be clear by now that Medi-Cal interpreter services are absolutely critical for any healthcare provider who works with Medi-Cal beneficiaries. Still, you may not be sure where to begin—let’s break it down step-by-step:
- Assess your needs: Begin by conducting research into the language needs of your patients. While California is home to 200 languages, not all 200 of them are spoken in the same place—patients at a hospital in Yuba City are likely to have a fairly different linguistic profile from those of a hospital in San Diego. Utilize census data and hospital records to identify particularly high-demand languages in your locale.
- Select a qualified language service provider: Once you’ve identified the languages you need Medi-Cal interpreter services for most immediately, you’ll need to find a provider who offers interpreting in these languages and beyond. You’ll also want to make sure that this provider offers specialized medical interpreting, as it’s important for interpreters to be trained in specific medical terminology. Also consider your provider’s technological capabilities (Do they offer OPI or VRI interpreting services?) and whether or not they are HIPAA-compliant.
- Train your staff and set internal protocol: Once you’ve contracted services from a language service provider, you need to make sure that your staff are prepared to adequately access their interpreting services. Be sure to train your staff on the protocol you’ll be using for requesting an interpreter and any technological requirements that your provider may have.
- Leverage Medi-Cal reimbursement programs for interpreter services: Interpreter services can be costly—thankfully, there are reimbursement programs for providers using Medi-Cal interpreter services. Look into support programs like CalAIM that may be able to help your organization meet your language access needs without breaking the bank.
Options for Providing Medi-Cal Interpreter Services
When contracting Medi-Cal interpreter services, you’ll likely come across a lot of different forms of interpreting. Let’s break down some of the most common modalities for delivering interpreting services:
- In-person interpreting: An interpreter is physically present, speaking with the patient and care team face to face. This is ideal for more complex visits or sensitive situations.
- Over-the-phone interpreting (OPI): An interpreter listens to the patient and care team over the phone and provides an interpretation accordingly. This allows for quick access to an interpreter, particularly for more general or administrative situations.
- Video-remote interpreting (VRI): An interpreter tunes in via video chat to interpret for the patient and care team. This modality combines the speed of OPI with the visual cues of in-person interpreting.
When contracting Medi-Cal interpreter services, the reality is that you will likely need to use some sort of hybrid model—that is, a combination of all three modalities. Because of the complex nature of medical interpreting, your language service provider will work closely with you to identify when and how you’ll use each modality.
Summary
It’s hard to overstate the importance of high-quality language access measures to providing effective, equitable healthcare to patients. A Medi-Cal interpreter enables healthcare providers to not only meet legal requirements, but also gives LEP patients the same level of care that their English-speaking counterparts receive. If you’re in need of Medi-Cal interpreter services, consider seeking out the services of a trusted language service provider who specializes in healthcare.
Ready to improve communication and care for your Medi-Cal patients? Learn more about our professional interpreter services tailored for California healthcare agencies. Fill out this form to get a free quote or contact us at [email protected] or (530) 750-2040.
