Reconsidering Reimbursement for Medical Interpreters in the Era of COVID-19

Abstract

As COVID-19 exerts financial strain on clinicians nationwide, its impact on health equity is a pressing concern. In recent surveys, 57% of primary care providers reported their payments were insufficient to cover costs, and 20% reported at least temporarily closing their practice, along with layoffs and furloughs. 1 As providers are forced to cut costs, what services are cut-and whom would be most affected by such cuts-could exacerbate existing disparities. Medical interpretation services for more than 25 million individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP) in the United States is a key example.Adequate interpreter services were limited even before the current pandemic. Currently, less than 70% of all US hospitals offer language concordant care, partly because providers must pay for the services themselves. As a result, patients with LEP often face language-related barriers to care in addition to existing inequities. Cutting medical interpreter services in the face of COVID-19, despite short-term savings, may further hinder the care patients receive.

Disparities In Telehealth Use Among California Patients With Limited English Proficiency

“…Further, payers, such as CMS, should expand reimbursement for interpreters, thus encouraging their use across all visit modalities. 46 At the institutional level, seamlessly integrating interpreters into telehealth workflows will help with both patient and provider satisfaction. Finally, institutions should monitor telehealth use across patient demographics, including language, to quantify the magnitude of disparities as they are likely to persist.…”

Addressing Structural Inequities, a Necessary Step Toward Ensuring Equitable Access to Telehealth for Medication Abortion Care During and Post COVID-19

“…However, there is a significant shortage of bilingual providers, translated documents, and medical interpreters in the healthcare system, as shown during the COVID-19 pandemic ( 53 , 54 ). Language concordant care is further limited by reimbursement, with few insurers directly reimbursing for interpreter services and others reimbursing at a lower rate ( 55 ). In this context, adults with limited English language proficiency face language related barriers to care.…”

Health crisis and the reorganization of translation activities: the case of a Parisian agency

“…Ils sont disponibles hors ligne depuis 2019 sur les tablettes numériques déployées dans 6 services hospitaliers en Ilede-France. Dans le but de promouvoir l'interprétation professionnelle en milieu médical, action encore nécessaire de nos jours (Shah, 2020 ;Colley & Guéry, 2015) les explications accompagnant la vidéo en voix off ont été traduites en 17 langues : albanais, amharique, anglais, arabe littéraire, arabe du Maghreb, arabe du Soudan, bengali, dari, français, géorgien, oromo, pashto, peulh, portugais, roumain, russe et sorani. La réalisation des tutoriels vidéo à l'initiative d'ISM s'inscrit dans une tendance moderne de plus en plus répandue en Europe : face à une demande croissante auprès des services surpeuplés accueillant les migrants, les professionnels du milieu se tournent vers des supports numériques multilingues permettant le partage des informations essentielles en langue de l'usager même en absence d'interprète (Way et al, 2020 ;Cox, 2021).…”