Sec. 203. Pilot program for improvement and development of State medical interpreting services
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The Secretary shall award one grant in accordance with this section to each of three States to assist each such State in designing, implementing, and evaluating a statewide program to provide onsite interpreter services under Medicaid. A grant awarded under this section is authorized for a period of three fiscal years beginning on October 1, 2016. In awarding a grant under this section, the Secretary shall give preference to a State— that has a high proportion of qualified LEP enrollees, as determined by the Secretary; that has a large number of qualified LEP enrollees, as determined by the Secretary; that has a high growth rate of the population of LEP individuals, as determined by the Secretary; and that has a population of qualified LEP enrollees that is linguistically diverse, requiring interpreter services in at least 200 non-English languages.
A State receiving a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to— ensure that all health care providers in the State participating in the State plan under Medicaid have access to onsite interpreter services, for the purpose of enabling effective communication between such providers and qualified LEP enrollees during the furnishing of items and services and administrative interactions; establish, expand, procure, or contract for— a statewide health care information technology system that is designed to achieve efficiencies and economies of scale with respect to onsite interpreter services provided to health care providers in the State participating in the State plan under Medicaid; and an entity to administer such system, the duties of which shall include— procuring and scheduling interpreter services for qualified LEP enrollees; procuring and scheduling interpreter services for LEP individuals seeking to enroll in the State plan under Medicaid; ensuring that interpreters receive payment for interpreter services rendered under the system; and consulting regularly with organizations representing consumers, interpreters, and health care providers; and develop mechanisms to establish, improve, and strengthen the competency of the medical interpretation workforce that serves qualified LEP enrollees in the State, including a national certification process that is valid, credible, and vendor-neutral.
To receive a grant under this section, a State shall submit an application at such time and containing such information as the Secretary may require, which shall include the following: A description of the language access needs of individuals in the State enrolled in the State plan under Medicaid. A description of the extent to which the program will— use the grant funds for the purposes described in subsection (d); meet the health care needs of rural populations of the State; and collect information that accurately tracks the language services requested by consumers as compared to the language services provided by health care providers in the State participating in the State plan under Medicaid.
A description of how the program will be evaluated, including a proposal for collaboration with organizations representing interpreters, consumers, and LEP individuals. In this section: The term qualified LEP enrollee means an individual— who is limited-English-proficient; and who is enrolled in a State plan under Medicaid. The term State has the meaning given the term in section 1101(a)(1) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1301(a)(1) ), for purposes of title XIX of such Act.
The term United States has the meaning given the term in section 1101(a)(2) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1301(a)(2) ), for purposes of title XIX of such Act. There is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 to carry out this section. The funds authorized by paragraph
(1)shall be available without fiscal year limitation. Section 1903(a)(2)(E) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1396b(a)(2)(E) ), as amended by section 205(d)(1) of this Act, is further amended by inserting (or, in the case of a State receiving a grant under section 203 of the after Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2016 , 100 percent for each quarter occurring during the grant period) 90 percent . No Federal funds under this section may be used to provide interpreter services from a location outside the United States.
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Sec. 203
Pilot program for improvement and development of State medical interpreting services
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