On October19, 2021, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and a Washington health plan resolved allegations from multiple complainants that it repeatedly failed to provide interpreters to patients who are deaf or deaf-blind. The allegations are in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
An investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office concluded that in approximately 400 instances over a four year period, an interpreter was requested by employees of the Washington health plan when working with patients needing these services, but no interpreters were provided. Other problems related to effective communication were raised by patients or their companions. “When health care facilities fail to provide interpreters to patients and their families, including those who are who are deaf or hard of hearing, it creates a major barrier to safe and appropriate medical care.” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas Brown.
The settlement establishes a $1 million fund to pay claims to the patients whose rights were violated under the ADA. Also, the health plan agreed to update and improve procedures for evaluating the need for interpreters, contracting with interpreters, and training staff surrounding those procedures.
Additional terms of the settlement include that the Washington health plan establish a third party claims administrator to allocate the settlement funds based on the harm suffered by each complainant. The administrator will also work with the health plan representatives to locate the claimants. The US Attorney’s Office will review the allocations after the claims have been submitted and reviewed.
For a two-year period, the US Attorney’s Office will review new procedures and training of the health plan’s staff to ensure patients who are deaf or deaf-blind receive appropriate interpreter services at the 41 medical facilities it operates in Northwest Washington, Central Washington, Eastern Washington, the Coastal and Olympic region, and Puget Sound.
Additionally, under the settlement some of the changes include consistent screening of patients for the need of interpreter services; contracting with two interpreter service companies per facility to better provide services; and contracting with video interpreter services for those occasions when in-person interpretation is not possible. The policies surrounding interpreter services will be posted on the health plan website, as well as in their facilities. Logs of interpreter requests and how they were fulfilled will be maintained.
In addition to the $1 million fund for claimants, the Washington health plan will pay $85,000 to the United States to resolve the allegations.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
All healthcare facilities that receive federal funding must ensure that individuals with hearing and vision impairments receive access to effective communication methods. Effective communication for these individuals can assist them in making appropriate healthcare decisions. While the federal law prohibits discrimination, it is also necessary to know the specifics of your own state laws.
Discussion Points
- Review your policies and procedures for providing effective communication for employees and residents who are deaf, hard of hearing, and/or visually impaired. Update your policy as needed.
- Provide training for staff on effective communication techniques for employees and residents. Document that these trainings occurred and file each signed document in the employee’s individual education file.
- Periodically survey staff to ensure that they are aware of resources that are available at your facility for residents who are hard of hearing, deaf, or visually impaired, and that these resources are in use where needed.
