MINNEAPOLIS, April 17, 2008 - The MMA Minority and Cross Cultural Affairs Committee sent a letter to about a dozen key lawmakers criticizing a state report that failed to recommend a way to fund interpreter services.

 

Fatima Jiwa, M.D., chair of the committee, authored the letter that responded to a report from the Interpreter Services Work Group (ISWG). The group was formed by the legislature to recommend ways to provide and paying for language services in Minnesota’s clinics and hospitals. Click here to download the report, Interpreter Services for Patients in Medical and Dental Settings (PDF).

 

The MMA committee sent the letters after reviewing the report, which was released in February. Click here to see the full letter.

 

The legislative work group did a good job of documenting the problem but showed a lack of leadership by failing to propose a payment solution, according to the committee.

 

“By avoiding a solution, the group’s work unfortunately helps to perpetuate the unsustainable status quo,” Jiwa wrote in her letter. “Since interpreter services can cost more than the reimbursement for a visit, the status quo will add to the impoverishment of these underfunded clinics and hospitals.”

 

The federal government requires physicians to offer interpreter services but Minnesota’s private payers don’t reimbursement for the services. Physicians report paying $50 to $75 for interpreters, which is an amount that can exceed the reimbursement for the entire visit.

 

The committee said the work group should have supported legislation that would require all health plans to reimburse providers or pay interpreters directly for language services. The committee argued that the cost of these services, though difficult for community clinics to absorb, would be a relatively small one for the private insurance market.

 

The state of Minnesota, which already reimburses clinics for these services, spent about $2 million on interpreter services in 2007, according to a state official, or 0.0003 percent of $6.5 billion it spent on health care that year. 

 

The committee also noted that California has started requiring its private insurers to cover interpreter services, and Minnesota should continue to be a leader on this issue and do the same. 

 

“It’s clear that Minnesota lawmakers know the importance of these services, since Minnesota’s state programs provide reimbursement. Why shouldn’t private insurers be held to the same standard?” Jiwa wrote.