July 2020 newsletter
News You Can Use
Providers must meet language assistance compliance requirements
PROVIDER DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE FOR LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE SERVICES Cigna has contracted with professional language assistance service vendors to offer discounted rates for Cigna-participating providers for their LEP patients who have Cigna-administered plans. Depending on the service, discounted rates of up to 50 percent are available for telephone and face-to-face interpretations, as well as written translations. Providers and their staff must contact the vendors directly to schedule and pay for the services. Requests for face-to face interpreters, including American Sign Language, must be made in advance. Click here for vendor information, such as available discounts, how to schedule the services, and more. Additional resources, such as Tips for Working with a Language Interpreter, are available on Cigna’s Cultural Competency and Health Equity Resources web page. Visit Cigna.com > Health Care Providers > Provider Resources > Cultural Competency and Health Equity Resources > Language Assistance Services. We hope these discounts will help make it easier for providers to comply with federal language assistance laws, and ensure successful communications with their LEP patients. |
It's the law
The Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in day-to-day activities, including accessing medical services and facilities.
Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act
Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also referred to as the nondiscrimination rule, prohibits discrimination in health programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability.
This legislation supports the ACA’s goals of:
- Expanding access to health care coverage
- Eliminating barriers
- Reducing health disparities
Under Section 1557, it is unlawful to delay or deny effective language assistance services to individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). Covered entities, such as Cigna and health care providers, are required to take reasonable steps to assist in providing language assistance services or written translations for LEP individuals who are eligible to be served in health programs and activities. Additionally, when language services are required, they must be provided free of charge and in a timely manner.
Providers’ responsibilities to ensure compliance with the law
Health care providers are required by law to provide and pay for language services for their LEP patients free of charge and in a timely manner. These services include:
- Sign language interpreter services, including video remote services, for communication with patients who are deaf or hard of hearing when needed, regardless of the cost, even if the cost of the interpretation services exceeds the amount a provider will receive for the services* (except in New Mexico, where the health plan is required to pay for sign language interpreter services).
- Language assistance services, such as telephone and face-to-face interpretation services, as well as written translations for LEP individuals,** except in California and New Mexico, where the health plan is required to pay for telephonic interpreter services, in any health care setting. In California, Cigna covers the cost of written translations of vital documents, which are documents that impact benefits and coverage, in Spanish and Traditional Chinese.
- Reasonable accommodations for those with disabilities, when necessary, to ensure they have an equal opportunity to participate in, and benefit from, programs or activities.
Auxiliary aids that are needed for effective communications may include, but are not limited to:
- Qualified sign language interpreters
- Large print materials
- Teletypewriters (TTYs)
- Captioning
- Remote video interpreting services
How Cigna ensures compliance with the law
At Cigna's points of contact for customers with Cigna-administered plans, such as Customer Service, we offer the following language assistance services at no charge:
- Access to qualified professional interpreters that have knowledge of medical terminology and health care benefits in the customer’s preferred spoken language.
- Access to bilingual staff – who have passed an oral proficiency assessment administered by a professional vendor – to speak directly with the LEP customer in their preferred language.
- At the request of the customer, written translation of significant documents in more than 33 languages including Braille, alternative fonts, and audio.
- Inclusion of the nondiscrimination notice and taglines with the mailing of significant documents to inform customers about the availability of free language assistance services, nondiscrimination rights, and how to file a complaint.
Special note about compliance with California and New Mexico laws. In California and New Mexico only, state laws require health plans, such as Cigna, to provide language assistance services free of charge to eligible individuals who participate in their plans. In New Mexico only, this includes sign language interpreters. In California, the provider is responsible for covering the cost for sign language services.
For more information about the California and New Mexico language assistance laws, please refer to the related articles in the April 2020 issue of Transformations.
Questions?
If you have questions about the law or language assistance services, please call Cigna Customer Service at 800.88Cigna (882.4462).
* The law requires that qualified sign language interpreters are provided for a patient who is deaf or hard of hearing while in a medical setting. The use of any unqualified interpreters is extremely dangerous because these individuals are not trained to be professional sign language interpreters. Therefore, important information is at risk of being conveyed poorly or completely lost in translation.
** Using family members, friends, or children as interpreters for individuals with LEP is discouraged because of serious concerns around competency, confidentiality, and conflicts of interest. Exercise caution if circumstances require the use of family members, friends, or children as interpreters for LEP individuals.