In California, there are policies in place meant to ensure people with limited English speaking ability can still access and understand their health care prognosis or care instructions in the language they speak.
Still, that’s not always what happens, said Sen. Dave Min, and there’s not a dedicated office to take on when that’s a problem.
And when people cannot receive care in a language they understand, that can lead to longer hospital stays, difficulties following post-discharge instructions and higher likelihoods of hospital readmissions, Min said in a recent hearing.
The Irvine Democrat is proposing a new “hub,” an Office of Language Access, within California’s Health and Human Services Agency that could oversee ensuring multilanguage services and programs are available to patients.
The new hub, according to the bill, would help ensure California patients are receiving post-care instructions in their language. Or, if someone isn’t able 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 frightening as it is, and a little confusing,” said Min. “There’s a lot of evidence to suggest if you receive health care translated into your native language, the outcomes improve.”
More than 44% of households in California speak a language other than English at home, according to U.S. census data. In comparison, 22% of households in the U.S. report speaking a different language at home.
California already has certain requirements in place meant 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 people with limited English proficiency and ensure that language is not a barrier to accessing vital health and social services.”
While good in theory, Min argues the various regulations in place “don’t always happen in real life, despite the money and effort we’ve made in the legislature.”
As the analysis for his bill puts it: “There is no designated office within CalHHS to provide critical oversight, accountability and coordination across its various departments and offices to ensure (limited English proficiency) individuals have meaningful access to government programs and services.”
So the idea for a new hub, according to the bill, is to be a centralized coordinating role for CalHHS “with a focus on building a language services infrastructure to implement” its language access plans, provide translated documents and lead periodic updates to the state agency’s language plans.
The bill is designed to be a bit “agnostic on the details,” said Min, so the new office could hone in on just how it deals with language access in health care.
The bill, SB 1078, recently saw success in the Assembly Committee on Health.
It’s backed by several organizations, including the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance, Korean American Coalition of Los Angeles and the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California.
CalHHS estimated the bill would cost in the low millions to administer the new hub, according to its fiscal note.
“This is going to cost some money, but not that much,” said Min. “The argument we’d make is this saves us money in the long run because it improves health care outcomes.”
