Home Health & Hospice Week

HHS, DOJ will monitor for 18 months.

If you’ve been neglecting your duty to furnish interpretation services for patients, you could be opening yourself up to a lawsuit, fines, and more. That has been the case for one provider in Dearborn, Michigan.

Dearborn Obstetrics and Gynecology has agreed to pay $7,500 to the complainant and enter into a voluntary resolution agreement with the HHS Office for Civil Rights and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, to resolve an alleged federal civil rights violation, the Department of Health and Human Services says in a release.

“OCR received a complaint alleging that Dearborn OBGYN refused repeated requests to provide the complainant with a sign language interpreter for a preoperative appointment,” the release explains. “The complainant further alleged that Dearborn OBGYN retaliated against her for requesting an interpreter by cancelling her preoperative appointment and surgery and by terminating her as a patient.”

Reminder: “Failure to provide effective communication for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing violates Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 … and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act of 2010,” HHS explains.

“The provider terminated her as a patient because she requested an accommodation — this is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” OCR Director Melanie Fontes Rainer says in the release. “Ensuring that people with disabilities can access their care equally is critical and today we call on providers around the country to follow the law.”

The resolution agreement includes requirements to modify related policies and procedures and submit them to HHS and the DOJ for approval; post signage; maintain a log of interpreter requests; train staff; and submit compliance reports to HHS and DOJ every six months. HHS and DOJ will monitor the practice for 18 months.