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Does Your Health Care Suffer From Limited English Proficiency?

A few days ago, noting some of the provisions in one of the pending health care bills I asked, Is Your Health Care Culturally Incompetent?.

Now, looking at the 1018 page bill just passed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on a 31-28 vote, I have one question: Was it written by anthropologists?

I ask this because of the bill?s pervasive concern with ?culturally and linguistically appropriate services? (page 91), ?EFFECTIVE CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY APPROPRIATE COMMUNICATION? (page 106), ?DEMONSTRATION TO PROMOTE ACCESS FOR MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY BY PROVIDING REIMBURSEMENT FOR CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY APPROPRIATE SERVICES,? (page 405), concern with ?the effect of delivering culturally and linguistically appropriate services on beneficiary access to care, utilization of services, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of health care delivery, patient satisfaction, and select health outcomes? (page 415), with the ?COORDINATION OF DIVERSITY AND CULTURAL COMPETENCY PROGRAMS? (page 914), with ?CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC COMPETENCY TRAINING FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS? (page 915)

Pausing for a moment on this coordination of diversity and cultural competency programs, be reassured that in giving grants to meet this goal,

the Secretary shall give preference to entities that have a demonstrated record of the following:

(1) Addressing, or partnering with an entity with experience addressing, the cultural and linguistic competency needs of the population to be served through the grant or contract....

Can anyone say, ?ACORN Enrichment Provision?? There are several of these.

If anything, there is even more concern with providing services to those with ?limited English proficiency? (a phrase that occurs 35 times throughout the bill) than those facing cultural competency challenges.

Indeed, given the emphasis on ?cultural competency,? linguistic appropriateness, and those with limited English proficiency, it strikes me as only mildly hyperbolic to suspect that the government bureaucrat standing between doctor and patient in the future will be accompanied by an ?on-site interpreter? (page 401).

Full post as published by Discriminations on August 02, 2009 (boomark / email).