20-569 Language Assistance Program and Cultural Competency Services
Date: 07/20/20
This information applies to Hospitals.
For Medi-Cal, this information applies to Kern, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare counties.
Meet patients’ language needs and stay compliant
Language assistance regulations (28 CCR 1300.67.04, CIC 10133.8-.11) require all California managed care plans and health insurers to provide language assistance to members who have limited English proficiency (LEP), limited reading skills, are deaf or have hearing impairments, or have diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. To comply with this requirement, Health Net created the Language Assistance Program (LAP). Health Net does not delegate its LAP responsibilities to hospitals. If the hospital cannot provide interpreter support for Health Net members, please contact Health Net at the number on the member’s identification (ID) card.
Members have the right to file a grievance with Health Net and to file a discrimination complaint with the Office of Civil Rights if their language needs are not met.
Hospitals cannot:
- Use a minor or attending adult to interpret or help communication, except:
- In an emergency where a qualified interpreter for the LEP person is not available right away. Note the emergency in the member’s medical record. A parent cannot give permission for a minor child to interpret in any other circumstance.
- When the LEP person specifically asks that the attending adult interpret, that adult agrees to provide such assistance, and reliance on that adult is appropriate. Please document in the member’s medical record the circumstances that resulted in the use of an attending adult as an interpreter.
- Ask or require anyone to bring their own interpreter.
- Rely on staff other than qualified bilingual/multilingual staff to communicate directly with LEP persons.
Remember to take the cultural competency training
All providers should take cultural competency training. We suggest the cultural competency training offered by the Office of Minority Health (OMH). The training is computer-based training for health care providers. OMH developed this no-cost training to give providers competencies to better treat an increasingly diverse population. Health Net does not sponsor the OMH training.
If you have questions about interpreter services, or for more information about cross-cultural communication, health literacy or to schedule training, contact the Cultural and Linguistic Department by email or by telephone at 1-800-977-6750.