MA Health Disparities Council
Working Group on Interpreter Services 
Presentation of Recommendations on
Medical Interpreter Services in Massachusetts
May 24, 2010
Georgia Simpson May, Director, MDPH-Office of Health Equity (OHE)
James Destine, Coordinator of Interpreter Services, MDPH-OHE
Iyah Romm, Intern, MDPH-OHE

The 2007 Massachusetts Legislative 
Commission to End Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities – Chapter 65 of the Acts of 2004 

Three recommendations “to expand access to quality health care:” 	

–	Uniform standards modeled after the national standards developed through the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC).
–	statewide regulations to certify medical interpreters
–	Reimbursement procedures for interpreter services by all payers, public and private. 

Uniform Standards – Recommendation:
Strengthen the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Best Practices Guidance and issue an MDPH circular letter to all hospitals and affiliated health clinics regarding use of uniform standards for training and evaluation of medical interpreters.

By July 1, 2011, institutions required to provide medical interpretation in MA under G.L. c.111 §25J must train and evaluate the medical interpreter staff using one of the following nationally recognized standards: the California Healthcare Interpreters Association (CHIA), the International Medical Interpreters Association (IMIA), or the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC) or equivalent nationally recognized standards as approved by the Commissioner of Public Health. Certification Recommendation, continued
	
By January 1, 2015, these institutions must ensure that individuals who interpret for the deaf and hard of hearing are certified by the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf or an equivalent body as approved by the Commissioner of the Department of Public Health, in consultation with the Commissioner for the Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. 

To be approved as being “equivalent” the standards and processes used by another board for certification must be as stringent and as precise as the standards and processes for certification used by the entities specified above. 

Financing Medical Interpreter Services – Recommendation:
Financing for the provision of Medical Interpretation be consistent with payment reform and medical interpreter services should be included in the development of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and global payment methods. 

HDC Future Decision
•	Sustainability of effort and ongoing monitoring.

Many Thanks To:
Ceci Phelan Stiles, Cape Cod Hospital
Yashira Pepin, EOHHS
Anuj Goel, MHA
Eric  Linzer, MAHP
Stephanie Richardson, MAHP
Karen Boudreau, BCBSMA
Lenny Lopez, MMS
Terri Yannetti, MassHealth
Dianne Shearer, MCD
David DelPizzo, MCD
Olulade Ayodele, Intern BCBSMA
Helen Luce, BCBSMA
Peggy Wiesenberg, MDPH
James Destine, OHE
Iyah Romm, Intern OHE