STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          4615
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                     March 15, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
        AN ACT to amend the public health law and the social  services  law,  in
          relation   to  providing  Medicaid  reimbursement  for  interpretation
          services provided by hospital inpatient and outpatient departments
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Section  2807-c  of  the  public health law is amended by
     2  adding a new subdivision 36 to read as follows:
     3    36. Interpretation services. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of law,
     4  rule or regulation to the contrary, the commissioner shall adjust  inpa-
     5  tient  medical  assistance rates of payment to provide reimbursement for
     6  the costs associated with the provision of interpretation  services  for
     7  patients  in  receipt  of  medical  assistance  who have limited English
     8  proficiency.  Reimbursement shall be available for the costs  associated
     9  with  the  provision  of interpretation services at all locations during
    10  all times that patient care is available, including but not  limited  to
    11  health  care,  billing  and  making  appointments.    To be eligible for
    12  reimbursement, the provision of interpretation services  must  be  docu-
    13  mented  in  such  a  manner  as  to enable reporting to and audit by the
    14  commissioner.
    15    (b) Such adjustment shall be made for  discharges  on  and  after  the
    16  first of April, two thousand twenty-one.
    17    (c)  For  purposes of this subdivision, "patients with limited English
    18  proficiency" means patients whose primary language is  not  English  and
    19  who  cannot  speak,  read, write or understand the English language at a
    20  level sufficient to permit such patients to  interact  effectively  with
    21  health care providers and their staff.
    22    (d)  For  the  purposes of this subdivision, "interpretation services"
    23  refers to language assistance  services  provided  by  individuals  with
    24  proven  bilingual  skills  in  both English and the relevant language to
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10703-01-9

        S. 4615                             2
     1  communicate information necessary for the  patient  to  access  services
     2  and,  in  the case of interpretation services provided during the course
     3  of a clinical encounter, services provided by  individuals  trained  and
     4  skilled in medical interpreting techniques, ethics and terminology.
     5    §  2.  Paragraph  (g)  of  subdivision 2 of section 2807 of the public
     6  health law is amended by adding a new  subparagraph  (iii)  to  read  as
     7  follows:
     8    (iii)  Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule or regulation to the
     9  contrary, the commissioner shall adjust rates  of  payment  for  general
    10  hospital  outpatient and emergency services to provide reimbursement for
    11  the costs associated with the provision of interpretation  services  for
    12  patients  in  receipt  of  medical  assistance  who have limited English
    13  proficiency.  Such adjustment shall be made for outpatient and emergency
    14  services provided on and after April  first,  two  thousand  twenty-one.
    15  Reimbursement  shall  be  available  for  the  costs associated with the
    16  provision of interpretation services at all locations during  all  times
    17  that  patient  care  is  available,  including but not limited to health
    18  care, billing and making appointments. To be eligible for reimbursement,
    19  the provision of interpretation services must be documented  in  such  a
    20  manner as to enable reporting to and audit by the commissioner.  For the
    21  purposes of this subparagraph, "patients with limited English proficien-
    22  cy"  means patients whose primary language is not English and who cannot
    23  speak, read, write or understand the English language at a level  suffi-
    24  cient  to  permit such patients to interact effectively with health care
    25  providers and their staff. For purposes of this subdivision,  "interpre-
    26  tation  services"  refers  to  language  assistance services provided by
    27  individuals with sufficient fluency in both  English  and  the  relevant
    28  language  to communicate information necessary for the patient to access
    29  services and, in the case of interpretation provided during  the  course
    30  of  a  clinical  encounter, services provided by individuals trained and
    31  skilled in medical interpreting techniques, skills, ethics and terminol-
    32  ogy.  Hospitals must use a skilled interpreter  or  translation  service
    33  until  such time as rules and regulations are promulgated by the commis-
    34  sioner.  After such rules and  regulations  are  promulgated,  hospitals
    35  shall  use  individuals  who  meet  such  criteria  in  order to receive
    36  reimbursement.  No reimbursement shall be provided when  a  patient  who
    37  has  been informed in his or her primary language of the availability of
    38  free interpretation and translation services requests the use of family,
    39  friends or others who are not formally trained in translation or  inter-
    40  pretation.
    41    §  3. Section 2807 of the public health law is amended by adding a new
    42  subdivision 23 to read as follows:
    43    23. Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule or  regulation  to  the
    44  contrary,  the commissioner shall adjust rates of payment for diagnostic
    45  and treatment centers licensed  pursuant  to  this  article  to  provide
    46  reimbursement for the costs associated with the provision of interpreta-
    47  tion  services  for  patients  in receipt of medical assistance who have
    48  limited English  proficiency.    Such  adjustments  shall  be  made  for
    49  services  provided at diagnostic and treatment centers licensed pursuant
    50  to this article on and  after  April  first,  two  thousand  twenty-one.
    51  Reimbursement  shall  be  available  for  the  costs associated with the
    52  provision of interpretation services at all locations during  all  times
    53  that  patient  care  is  available,  including but not limited to health
    54  care, billing and making appointments.   To be eligible  for  reimburse-
    55  ment,  the  provision  of  interpretation services must be documented in
    56  such a manner as to enable reporting to and audit by  the  commissioner.

        S. 4615                             3
     1  For  the  purposes  of  this subdivision, "patients with limited English
     2  proficiency" means patients whose primary language is  not  English  and
     3  who  cannot  speak,  read, write or understand the English language at a
     4  level  sufficient  to  permit such patients to interact effectively with
     5  health care providers and their staff. For the purposes of this subdivi-
     6  sion, "interpretation services" refers to language  assistance  services
     7  provided  by individuals with sufficient fluency in both English and the
     8  relevant language to communicate information necessary for  the  patient
     9  to  access  services  and, in the case of interpretation provided during
    10  the course of a clinical encounter,  services  provided  by  individuals
    11  trained  and  skilled in medical interpreting techniques, skills, ethics
    12  and terminology.
    13    § 4. Subdivision 8 of section 2807 of the public health law is amended
    14  by adding a new paragraph (g) to read as follows:
    15    (g) Subject to receipt of all necessary federal  approvals,  rates  of
    16  payment  computed  in  accordance with this subdivision shall be further
    17  adjusted in accordance with the provisions of subdivision twenty of this
    18  section.
    19    § 5. Subdivision 1 of section 368-a of  the  social  services  law  is
    20  amended by adding a new paragraph (aa) to read as follows:
    21    (aa)  Notwithstanding  any  provision of law to the contrary, the full
    22  amount expended for interpretation services provided pursuant to  subdi-
    23  vision  thirty-six of section twenty-eight hundred seven-c of the public
    24  health law, or subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (g) of subdivision two of
    25  section twenty-eight hundred seven of the public health law, or subdivi-
    26  sion twenty-three of section twenty-eight hundred seven  of  the  public
    27  health  law,  after  first  deducting  therefrom  federal funds properly
    28  received or to be received on account of such expenditures.
    29    § 6. Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule or regulation  to  the
    30  contrary,  the  effectiveness  of  subdivisions  4,  7,  7-a, and 7-b of
    31  section 2807 of the public health law, and section 18 of  chapter  2  of
    32  the  laws of 1988, as they relate to time frames for notice, approval or
    33  certification of rates of payment,  and  to  the  requirement  of  prior
    34  notice  of rates of payment, are hereby suspended and shall for purposes
    35  of implementing the provisions of this act be deemed to have been  with-
    36  out  any force and effect from and after February 1, 2021 for such rates
    37  effective for the period April 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022.
    38    § 7.  This act shall take effect on  the  one  hundred  twentieth  day
    39  after  it  shall  have  become  a law, provided that the commissioner of
    40  health is immediately  authorized  and  directed  to  promulgate,  amend
    41  and/or  repeal  any  rules  and  regulations  necessary to implement the
    42  provisions of this act on its effective date.