Lawmakers consider new ‘hub’ to ensure patients receive health care in language of choice – Orange County Register

In California, there are policies to ensure that people with limited ability to speak English can still access and understand their health care prognosis or care instructions in the language they speak.

Yet that’s not always what happens, Sen. Dave Min said, and there’s no dedicated office to take care of when it’s a problem.

And when people can’t receive care in a language they understand, it can lead to longer hospital stays, difficulty following instructions after discharge and higher odds of hospital readmissions, said Min during a recent hearing.

The Irvine Democrat proposes creating a new “hub,” a language access office, within California’s Health and Human Services agency that could ensure multilingual services and programs are available to patients.

The new center, according to the bill, would help ensure that California patients receive post-treatment instructions in their language. Or, if someone is unable to get information about their diagnosis from their doctor’s office in that language, the new office could serve as a resource.

“Medical care can be scary and a little confusing,” Min said. “A lot of evidence suggests that if you receive health care translated into your native language, outcomes improve. »

More than 44% of California households speak a language other than English at home, according to U.S. Census data. In comparison, 22% of households in the United States report speaking a different language at home.

California already has some requirements in place intended to help people with limited English proficiency. CalHHS, for example, adopted a policy in 2023 that required its departments to create plans to provide “meaningful access to information, programs, benefits, and services to individuals with limited English proficiency and ensure that language is not a barrier to access to health care and vital social services.” services.”

While good in theory, Min says the various regulations in place “don’t always happen in real life, despite the money and effort we’ve put into the legislature.”

As the analysis of his bill states: “There is no designated office within CalHHS to provide essential oversight, accountability, and coordination among its various departments and offices to ensure that (limited control from English) individuals have meaningful access to government programs and services. »

So the idea of ​​a new hub, according to the bill, is to play a centralized coordinating role for CalHHS “with a focus on building a language services infrastructure to implement” its plans language access, provide translated documents, and direct periodic state updates. the agency’s linguistic projects.