Amended in Senate August 18, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 635

Introduced by Assembly Member Atkins

February 24, 2015

An act to add begin insert and repeal end insert Article 4.6 (commencing with Section 14146) begin delete to end delete begin insert of end insert Chapter 7 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to Medi-Cal.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 635, as amended, Atkins. Medical interpretation services.

Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing federal law provides for increased administrative funding for translation and interpretation services provided in connection with the enrollment, retention, and use of services under the Medicaid program.

This bill would require the department to begin delete seek federal funding to establish a program to provide and reimburse for certified medical interpretation services, except sign language interpretation services, to end delete begin insert work with stakeholders to conduct a study to identify current requirements for medical interpretation services as well as education, training, and licensure requirements, analyze other state Medicaid programs, make recommendations on strategies that may be employed regarding the provision of medical interpretation services for end insert Medi-Cal beneficiaries who are limited English begin delete proficient. The program would offer medical interpreter services to Medi-Cal providers serving beneficiaries on either a fee-for-service or managed care basis. This bill would specify the requirements for medical interpreter services contracts between the state and health care providers or entities. It would require the department to pursue all available sources of federal funding and federal approvals necessary to implement the bill. The bill also would require the department to create a community advisory committee to advise on the bill’s implementation. end delete begin insert proficient, and establish a pilot project in up to 4 separate sites to evaluate a mechanism to provide and improve medical interpretation services for those individuals. The bill would authorize the department to expend specified funds for the support of activities relating to medical interpreters for a pilot project, study, or both. The bill also would require the department to seek any available federal funding for the purposes of the bill and would make expenditure of all of the described funds contingent on approval by the Department of Finance, as specified. The bill would require the department, commencing in 2017, to provide an annual update to the budget committees of the Legislature on the implementation of the bill, as specified. The provisions of the bill would become inoperative on July 1, 2020. end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

It is the intent of the Legislature to begin delete do all of the
following: end delete begin insert support activities related to a medical interpretation
pilot project, study, or both, to be administered by the State
Department of Health Care Services, in order to assess the process
for delivering language interpretation services for limited English
proficient (LEP) Medi-Cal beneficiaries and make
recommendations regarding existing medical interpretation
services and possible mechanisms to improve those services. end insert

begin delete

(a) Create a program to provide reliable access to language
interpretation for Medi-Cal beneficiaries who are limited English
proficient.

(b) Establish a mechanism for accessing federal Medicaid
matching funds to provide a majority of the funding for the
program.

(c) Enable trained interpreters to meet the demand for language
services for a significant portion of Medi-Cal beneficiaries with
limited English proficiency.

(d) Facilitate accurate and timely communication between
limited-English-proficient patients and their health care providers,
which will improve quality of care, reduce medical errors, increase
patient understanding and compliance with health diagnoses and
care plans, and reduce the cost of health care by eliminating
unnecessary tests and other care.

end delete

SEC. 2.  

Article 4.6 (commencing with Section 14146) is added
to Chapter 7 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:

 

Article 4.6.  Medi-Cal Medical Interpretation Services

 

14146.  

(a) The department shall begin delete seek federal funding to
establish a program to provide and reimburse for certified medical
interpretation services to end delete begin insert work with identified stakeholders to
conduct a study to identify current requirements for medical
interpretation services as well as education, training, and licensure
requirements, analyze other state Medicaid programs, and make
recommendations on strategies that may be employed regarding
the provision of medical interpretation services for end insert Medi-Cal
beneficiaries who are limited English begin delete proficient. end delete begin insert proficient (LEP),
in compliance with applicable state and federal requirements. end insert

begin delete

(b) The program shall offer medical interpreter services to
Medi-Cal providers serving beneficiaries on either a fee-for-service
or managed care basis, pursuant to this chapter.

(c) A health care provider or entity entering into a Medi-Cal
provider agreement or Medi-Cal managed care contract with the
state, including Medi-Cal managed care organizations (MMCOs)
and their subcontracting plans, and fee-for-service providers, may
utilize the program to provide medical interpreter services to
Medi-Cal beneficiaries.

(d) All contracts between MMCOs and their subcontractors,
including health providers and other health plans, shall include
provisions describing access to medical interpreter services under
the program.

(e) The department shall pursue all available sources of federal
funding to establish and administer the program and shall seek
federal approvals necessary to implement this article.

(f) The department shall create a community advisory
committee, consisting of stakeholders and health care providers,
to advise on the implementation of this article.

(g) This article shall not apply to sign language interpretation
services.

end delete begin insert

(b) The study also shall assess and make recommendations on
pilot projects that would further the objectives of this article,
including funding for those activities and the allowable use of
federal funding.

end insert begin insert

(c) Based on the recommendations of the study related to pilot
projects established under subdivision (b), and available funding
pursuant to subdivision (f), the department shall work with
identified stakeholders to establish a pilot project in up to four
separate sites to evaluate a mechanism to provide and improve
medical interpretation services for LEP Medi-Cal beneficiaries.
In identifying sites, the department shall take into account both
the need for those services and the recommendations from the
study.

end insert begin insert

(d) The department may use or contract with an external vendor,
vendors, or other contracted subject matter experts to implement
the activities described in this section. The department shall consult
with identified stakeholders regarding the draft initial scope of
work that shall be used to seek and evaluate proposals pursuant
to this section.

end insert begin insert

(e) (1) Each year, commencing in 2017, during the annual state
budget process, the department shall provide an update to the
budget committees of the Legislature on the implementation of this
article.

end insert begin insert

(2) Any report submitted under this subdivision shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
Code.

end insert begin insert

(f) (1) For activities under this section, the department may
expend up to three million dollars ($3,000,000) under Provision
14 of Item 4260-101-0001 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of
2016 (Chapter 23 of the Statutes of 2016) for the support of
activities related to a medical interpreters pilot project, study, or
both.

end insert begin insert

(2) The department may seek any available federal funding for
support of activities relating to medical interpretation services as
provided under this section.

end insert begin insert

(3) Expenditure or encumbrance of the funds described in this
subdivision is contingent upon approval by the Department of
Finance.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert 14146.5. end insert   

This article shall become inoperative on July 1, 2020,
and, as of January 1, 2021, is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2021,
deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and
is repealed.

end insert