FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Media Contact: Yvonne Lee |
The Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Reaffirms Need for Healthcare in Appropriate Language
San Francisco, California - ProEnglish, an organization that wants all government communications to be in English, filed a lawsuit on Monday, August 31 challenging a patient’s right to interpretation and translation in healthcare settings. The group seeks to nullify an executive order signed by President Bush that reminds federally funded hospitals, clinics, and doctors of their obligation to offer language assistance to patients who speak limited English. This is the group’s second attempt to deny the civil rights of individuals who speak limited English. Its first attempt in 2002 was dismissed by a Virginia court.
The Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) condemns this latest attempt to deny millions of individuals the right to quality care.
“As a physician, I know the importance of complete and accurate communication between the healthcare provider and patient,” stated Dr. Ho Tran , President and Chief Executive Officer of APIAHF. She added, “ I need the interpreter as much as I need my stethoscope.”
“ Because healthcare involves the communication of complex and sensitive information, the interpreter must be qualified to interpret. Medical interpretation should be the responsibility of a professional, not a family member, as the plaintiffs have asserted . Numerous studies and my own experience show that using family members or friends to interpret for their loved ones results in miscommunication due to inaccurate and inadequate interpretation. No child should be forced to miss school, ask embarrassing health related questions of their elders, or shoulder the painful burden of informing their parents they have been diagnosed with cancer or other life threatening disease,” asserted Dr. Tran.
The lawsuit challenges guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to health care providers who receive federal funding. This guidance complies with Executive Order 13166, which was originally issued by President Clinton and reaffirmed by the Bush Administration. The purpose of EO 13166 is “to improve access to federally conducted and assisted programs and activities for persons who, as a result of national origin, are limited in their English proficiency (LEP).” The EO affirms that discrimination due to language is a violation of civil rights, as established by the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Contrary to the plaintiff’s assertion, the HHS guidance provides a reasonable framework for determining the scope and level of language assistance that providers must offer, taking into consideration the resources of the provider and the needs of the population it serves.
Census 2000 data indicate that there are 21 million individuals in the country who are limited English speaking; over 4 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders fall in this category. In addition, about one of every four of Asian households are considered linguistically isolated because no one in the home over the age of 14 speaks English very well.
“For many years, APIAHF and other organizations representing immigrants have successfully worked with HHS to develop the OCR guidance so that healthcare providers can comply with the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” commented Gem Daus , Policy Director of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum ,
“We applaud the Bush administration’s reaffirmation of the Executive Order and we expect HHS to maintain its commitment to quality care for all by vigorously fighting off this lawsuit. Even more, we will continue to work with the Administration to implement the Executive Order and OCR guidance,” added Daus.
The Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum is a national organization whose mission is to enable Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to achieve the highest level of health and well-being. Founded in 1986, APIAHF works in coalition with community-based organizations and policy makers to advocate for equitable access to health care.
