Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) prohibits discrimination based on race, color, sex, national origin, age, and disability in many health care and related programs and services. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has established regulations to ensure equitable access to health care by defining and applying the ACA’s nondiscrimination provisions. These regulations took effect on July 6, 2024, with phased-in provisions.
These regulations are crucial for immigrant communities, as they establish standards and notification requirements for providing language assistance services to people with limited English proficiency (LEP). LEP individuals often encounter barriers to health care, including ineffective communication and the lack of a usual source of care. Quality language assistance services are vital to reducing disparities and improving health outcomes for LEP individuals.
- The obligation to provide language services for meaningful access to federally funded programs has long been in place, but Section 1557 and its regulations offer important updates and clarifications on the scope of this obligation.
The obligation to provide language services for meaningful access to federally funded programs has long been in place, but Section 1557 and its regulations offer important updates and clarifications on the scope of this obligation.
Read MoreNew Policies Strengthen Language Access Protections in Health
Apr 30, 2024 The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil rights (OCR) has posted its finalized regulation updating Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as the Health Care Rights Law. The final rule...
States Need to Improve Language Access for Medicaid Renewals
Aug 9, 2023 In March 2023, after a three-year pause, states resumed terminating the eligibility of...
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Understanding of the Power of Language Is a Welcome Addition to the Supreme Court
Apr 7, 2022 At the recent hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) asked Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson about her seemingly “conscious choice” to avoid harmful language in her legal writings to acknowledge the inherent...
Bipartisan Language Access Developments in Congress Pave the Way for Change
Ben D’Avanzo
Nov 6, 2023 In August, NILC documented the dire need to address health disparities through our report, Expanding Health Care Access for Individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). In the past month, two bipartisan bills have been introduced in...