The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

4025.0: Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - 8:54 AM

Abstract #65282

Linguistic services as a measure of quality in HMOs

Cori D. Reifman, MPH1, Ed Mendoza, MPH1, and Cheri Agonia2. (1) California Office of the Patient Advocate, 320 W. 4th Street, Suite 880, Los Angeles, CA 90013, 213-576-1320, creifman@dmhc.ca.gov, (2) School of Public Health, Community Health Science, University of California Los Angeles, Box 951772, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772

The California Office of the Patient Advocate (OPA) was created in 1999 as part of one of the most comprehensive HMO reform initiatives in the country. OPA is required to produce an annual HMO Report Card for California HMO enrollees. The first annual HMO Report Card in 2001 was the first in the nation to also include data on linguistic services. As part of the Year 2 Report Card project, OPA surveyed California’s largest commercial and Medicaid health plans to assess the provision of linguistic services and whether plans provide: telephone interpreters, access to face-to-face interpreters, bilingual provider lists, translated written materials, and language and cultural barrier grievance monitoring. These health plans represent over 90 percent of the 18 million HMO enrollees in the state. California’s delegated model and the different types of coverage (commercial, Medicare, Medicaid and Healthy Families) posed unique challenges in both obtaining the data from health plans and presenting the information to consumers in a useful format on the 2002 HMO Report Card. OPA’s report on the project describes the survey methodology, key findings and analysis, as well as programmatic and policy recommendations. The report also outlines efforts to develop criteria to review linguistic services as a measure of quality in HMOs. The report is targeted toward an audience of advocates, policy makers, and the research community, and may be used as a model for other states as they assess the cultural and linguistic appropriateness of their managed care delivery systems.

Learning Objectives:

Related Web page: www.opa.ca.gov

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Medicaid and Managed Care: Are They Reaching and Serving the Public's Health Care Needs?

The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA