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2004 SESSION

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SJ 122 Medicaid-eligible persons w/ limited English prof.; reimburs. translation & interpretation services.

Introduced by: L. Louise Lucas | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY AS PASSED: (all summaries)

Medicaid reimbursement for translation and interpretation services. Requests the Department of Medical Assistance Services to seek reimbursement for translation and interpretation services for Medicaid-eligible persons with limited English proficiency. The resolution notes that in August 2000 the Office of Civil Rights of the United States Department of Health and Human Services issued "Policy Guidance on the Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination as It Affects Persons with Limited English Proficiency," requiring all health care providers and entities that receive federal Medicaid or State Children's Health Insurance Program funds to provide oral and written translation or interpretation services to persons with limited English proficiency to enable them apply for and obtain services. Under the guidelines, federal matching funds are available to states for expenditures related to "oral and written translation administrative activities and services provided persons with limited English proficiency, whether provided by staff or contract interpreters, or through a telephone service." However, many states, including Virginia, have not applied to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the United States Department of Health and Human Services to receive federal funds to cover translation and interpretation services for eligible Medicaid patients. In 2003, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission recommended in its report, The Acclimation of Virginia's Foreign-Born Population, that the Department of Medical Assistance Services request Medicaid reimbursement for interpretation and translation services. The Department must submit an executive summary indicating its progress in meeting the objectives of this resolution in the 2005 Session of the General Assembly.


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