Does your practice receive reimbursements from Medicare? Medicaid? C.H.I.P.? How about Tricare? If so, you need to read how this new law Section 1557 will impact your practice!
Regardless of how you feel about it one thing is certain – the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is full of surprises! Let’s look at Section 1557.
The Section 1557 final rule mandates non-discrimination of persons with disabilities (i.e. hearing impairment, speech impairments and etc.) and those with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). The law applies to insurance plans on the Health Information Exchanges, hospitals, physicians/dentists who receive money from federally funded healthcare programs (i.e. Medicare, Medicaid, C.H.I.P, Tricare, the EHR Incentive Program and etc.).
Participating providers are required to ensure effective communication with and accessibility for individuals with disabilities. This includes posting a notice of non-discrimination (in the office and on the homepage of the practice website), providing communication assistance for persons with hearing and speech disabilities, providing interpreter/translator services for LEP persons, providing printed materials in non-English languages, establishing a section1557 compliance officer, creating a grievance policy, and (of course) employee training on what all this means.
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