A 387: Requires general hospitals to provide language assistance services; requires general hospitals to develop a language assistance program to ensure meaningful access to the general hospital's services and reasonable accommodation for all patients who require language assistance.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 387 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ROZIC, SIMON, WEPRIN, SEAWRIGHT, HEVESI -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring hospi- tals to provide language assistance services The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 2 2803-bb to read as follows: 3 § 2803-bb. Provision of language assistance. 1. Every hospital shall 4 provide language assistance services to a patient or patient assistant 5 so as to ensure that all patients who cannot speak, read, write or 6 understand the English language with the proficiency necessary for 7 adequate communication with health care providers and other personnel 8 have effective access to the hospital's programs and services, including 9 but not limited to health care, billing and making appointments. Every 10 hospital shall ensure that all individuals providing language assistance 11 services to patients have sufficient fluency in both English and the 12 relevant language to communicate clinical and other information neces- 13 sary for the patient to access services. Language assistance services 14 for primary and non-primary languages shall be available at all 15 locations during all times that patient care is available, and shall, to 16 the extent practicable, be provided in person. Translations of all 17 frequently used forms, and other written materials that are essential to 18 a patient's care and treatment or are otherwise necessary to provide 19 adequate access to the hospital's services shall be available in all of 20 the hospital's primary languages. Every hospital shall develop and 21 implement a comprehensive language assistance plan that establishes 22 uniform policies and procedures for providing language assistance 23 services, including procedures for documenting the provision of, or 24 refusal of, language assistance services, and that requires training to EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01392-01-5 
 A. 387 2 1 ensure that all staff who have contact with patients comply with the 2 plan, and that all staff members who provide medical interpretation 3 services in primary languages have received training in medical inter- 4 pretation. Such individual providing language assistance services may be 5 a qualified interpreter, voluntary worker or other personnel currently 6 employed by said hospital and may perform other duties as directed by 7 the hospital. 8 2. The statement regarding patient rights and responsibilities 9 required pursuant to paragraph (g) of subdivision one of section twen- 10 ty-eight hundred three of this article shall include a provision notify- 11 ing patients of the availability of language assistance services, 12 including oral interpretation and translations of forms and other mate- 13 rials. Notice of the availability of language assistance services shall 14 also be posted in conspicuous locations throughout the hospital and in 15 outpatient clinics, in all primary languages. 16 3. (a) Every hospital shall submit to the commissioner an annual 17 report assessing its compliance with the requirements of this section. 18 The report shall identify the primary languages used by its patients, 19 and the percentage of the hospital's patients who speak each such prima- 20 ry language. 21 (b) The hospital shall maintain a record of the foreign language 22 primarily spoken by any patient seeking or receiving language assistance 23 services at the hospital. Such information shall be recorded whether or 24 not such patient actually obtains such services. 25 4. The commissioner shall promulgate such rules and regulations as 26 may be necessary and proper to implement the provisions of this section, 27 which shall include the methodology to be used by hospitals in determin- 28 ing primary languages. 29 5. For purposes of this section: 30 (a) "primary language" means a language other than English that is 31 either (i) used to communicate, during at least one percent of patient 32 visits in a year, by patients who cannot speak, read, write or under- 33 stand the English language at the level of proficiency necessary for 34 effective communication with health care providers; or (ii) spoken by 35 non-English speaking individuals comprising more than one percent of the 36 primary hospital service area population, as calculated by using demo- 37 graphic information available from the United States Bureau of the 38 Census, supplemented by data from school systems; 39 (b) "patient visits" shall include all visits by patients to emergency 40 rooms and outpatient clinics, as well as inpatient admissions of the 41 hospital; 42 (c) "patient assistant" shall mean an individual who communicates on 43 behalf of another who, by reason of age or incapacity, cannot communi- 44 cate for themself; and 45 (d) "hospital" shall mean a general hospital as defined in subdivision 46 ten of section twenty-eight hundred one of this article. 47 6. Nothing in this section shall preclude medical facilities from 48 providing language assistance services in addition to those required 49 under this section. 50 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 51 it shall have become a law.