Thread: English translation required to be paid by Medicare?

This came via email from English First:
Everybody is frantic over the new health care legislation.

Talk show hosts and a few politicians are doing their best to terrify older Americans, with some actually describing the proposed legislation as a "government run health system that pays for itself by killing off the sick and the elderly." What a shame that, instead of making such outrageous statements, these people couldn't find the time to actually study the bill. If they did, they would find some major flaws in the plan that, if not eliminated, could definitely cost some patients their lives. Getting our facts right is something that we do here consistently at English First. That is our job and our pledge to members like you. And that is also why when we talk to Congress, they know they are getting the straight, unvarnished truth and they respect us for it.

Buried deep within this massive bill are efforts to "provide for culturally and linguistically appropriate communication and health services." This, of course, is political doubletalk masking an effort to spend billions of our tax dollars to provide free translation services, in every language under the sun, and at every health care facility, from hospitals and emergency centers to your neighborhood family physician.

And if a health care facility or physician cannot or will not provide such services, they may not qualify to provide services under the new health care plan, and, perhaps, could be forced out of business. Forcing doctors to provide for translation services or be excluded from the government-approved list of health care providers is really frightening. And, sadly, very few people, including Congressmen, will be debating these critical elements of the bill - unless you and I bring it to their attention.

That is why I hope you will send an email to your Congressman today so he or she will know that their constituents want to see real substantive debate on every aspect of these bills so we can actually learn how they will affect our lives. As far as I am concerned, in its present form, H.R.3200 must not be passed. Why? This bill would make available "language services for beneficiaries who are limited English proficient" and it will fund these services out of our Medicare trust fund.

Wait a minute. Why should Medicare be funding translation services? Isn't Medicare supposed to be for Americans who spend their whole lives paying into the fund so they could have health care after they retire? This program also calls for "on-site interpreters, including interpreters who work as independent contractors and interpreters who work for agencies that provide on-site interpretation, pursuant to which such interpreters could directly bill Medicare for services provided in support of physician office services for an LEP Medicare patient."

In addition to onsite interpreters, they are also looking into off-site interpretation services including telephonic and video interpretation where such contractors could directly bill Medicare for the services provided in support of physician offices that need such services for their non-English speaking patients.
And who would police this? What an opportunity for fraudulent billing on a massive scale.

How simple life could be if our Congress had made English the official language of the United States.
None of this nonsense would be necessary. But they haven't. And, as a result, we have a health care bill that is top-heavy with language problems:

The bill includes a taxpayer-funded entitlement to foreign language translation, which, essentially, makes permanent the infamous Executive Order 13166 by making it a federal statute.
It requires the taxpayers to pay for proper translation of complex medical jargon into any and every language, creating a huge financial burden.
Translations will create massive legal liability that taxpayers would have to fund.
Section 144 mandates ombudsman operation in every foreign language;
Section 204 mandates that all health benefits plans must provide translation into every foreign language;
Section 1222 commences a Medicare program to provide free interpreter and translation services ... to each patient with limited English proficiency at all points of contact, in a timely manner during all hours of operation, i.e., 24 hours a day; 7 days a week!
Section 1224 also mandates signage in all foreign languages.
The services will likely include all document translation.
This mandate would mean hiring tens of thousands of additional employees as translators and interpreters.
The American Medical Association (AMA) warns that mandated translation could create serious access problems, even for people with limited English proficiency
The cost to taxpayers at all levels of government could easily total tens of billions of dollars.
Clearly, the potential for deaths caused by inaccurate, delayed or unavailable translations is simply massive.

And what about the potential of tens of thousands of lawsuits brought against the government every time a delayed translation or a misdiagnosis blamed on an improper translation, causes injury or death to a non-English speaking patient.

Of course, all of this can still be completely avoided IF our Congress replaces all of the hundreds of pages of translation requirements with a simple amendment making English the official language of government. No muss. No fuss. And no legal liability. Non-English speakers seeking health care can bring an English speaking friend or relative, or hire their own translator.

It is not your fault, nor mine that some people have refused to learn English, preferring to speak their own native language. If they became American citizens, it was their obligation to become fluent in English. In fact, despite the best efforts of the Hispanic caucus, fluency in English remains a requirement for U.S. citizenship. It is clear cut.

What is less clear cut is trying to understand why our elected leaders have, for years, ignored our own laws and granted citizenship to non-English speakers; developed non-English speaking classrooms for their children; created bilingual ballots and bilingual signage - and forced tax-paying, English-speaking American citizens to pay for all of this outrage.

If you and I can help steer the Health Care debate away from the political diatribe it has become and towards a more sincere effort to develop a good plan, there can be several positive outcomes:

1. We might actually get a good health care plan.
2. We can expose and eliminate all of the costly and dangerous translation services in the bill.
3. We can use this health care debate to show millions of Americans why English needs to become the official language of the United States - and push for its swift passage.

One thing is certain. If we do nothing, we will get a very scary health care plan that will push our nation deeper into debt without providing any better heath care. And, sadly, the debate will continue to be a ridiculous partisan stone throwing contest with no real efforts being made to improve the bill or address real issues, such as all the "culturally and linguistically appropriate communication and health services" included in the bill.

And, if all that were not bad enough, if they remain in the bill, the language provisions will make permanent Clinton's Executive Order 13166, which made America officially multilingual.

Obviously, we have a lot to lose, if this bill passes as is.

So, I am urging you to join me in this effort to wake up the Congress and the American people to the real serious and deadly consequences of H.R. 3200, a bill whose language provisions alone have the potential to cause unnecessary deaths; raise the costs of the program exponentially; and open the government and the taxpayers to huge lawsuits.

CLICK HERE TO SEND AN EMAIL TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVE ASKING THEM TO VOTE AGAINT ANY HEALTH CARE BILL THAT CONTAINS TRANSLATION PROVISIONS.

Please send your emails today. And then please send a Contribution, in any amount, so we can use this debate on health care to rally the tens of millions of angry Americans to join us in making English the official language of the United States.

As the long hot Summer slowly winds down, I am happy to be able to report to you that, with a lot of belt-tightening and careful administration of our budget, we have survived what I hope is the worst of the recession without having to abandon any of our ongoing efforts and projects to serve your best interests in Washington and in state capitals across the nation.

I want to thank you personally for your continued support for our work and your confidence in our ability to represent you in the halls of Congress.

Sincerely,
Frank McGlynn
Acting Executive Director

This could also wind up funding civil service jobs for amnesty activists if the American public is not careful.

From what I saw at Lee Memorial Hospital in Ft. Myers, FL, it was the responsibility of the hospital to provide translations for those admitted to the ER. No wonder hospitals are going broke and we English-speakers and our insurers pay out the kazoo to cover services for people who have no right to be here.
I am very happy to know that the local DMV office provides nothing like that when you go to get a license plate. You get taken at the next window and better bring your own translator.
No other country in the world that I know of mollycoddles non-English speakers like we do, and we really ought to stop.