"Patient Translators Save Money, But Who Pays?"

by Jennifer Ludden, NPR

"At a Northern Virginia pediatric clinic, 1-year-old Katy is getting a checkup.

"As Dr. Hoda Bastani peers into her throat and eyes, Katy's mother, Myrna Mejia, looks on. Standing just behind her is Barbara Perez, one of 16 full-time medical interpreters for Inova Hospital, which runs this clinic.

"Under civil rights laws, health care providers who accept federal money must provide interpretation for patients who can't speak English.

"But the law doesn't compel the government or insurers to pay for that. As Congress debates a health care overhaul, medical providers are hoping that will change."

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"One stumbling block may be that insurers often don't know who qualifies as a legitimate medical interpreter.

"'We want to make it convenient and accessible for all the interpreters everywhere in the United States to be tested, and in essence allow for us to have one single certification process that will recognize individuals as a CMI — certified medical interpreter — designation,' says Louis Provenzano, who heads Language Line, one of the country's largest interpretation providers.

"The International Medical Interpreters Association estimates that right now, fewer than one-third of patients who need an interpreter get one. And with the country's changing demographics, that overwhelming demand is only expected to grow."

Read the rest of this July 27, 2009 National Public Radio article here >>

Listen to the story here >>