Reports

Due to the federal government’s hostile and confusing anti-immigrant rhetoric and actions, many immigrants, regardless of their immigration status, are foregoing medical care. They are afraid to use or apply for MassHealth, or are unsure if their MassHealth coverage has changed. At the same time, Congress is contemplating cutting $880 billion from Medicaid, which could result in significant disruptions to MassHealth benefits and member confusion. The need for MassHealth to be able to effectively communicate with its members and applicants about their benefits is now more urgent than ever. 

MLRI’s report, “Being Heard: The Experience Of Non-English Speakers With The MassHealth Call Center,” explores the barriers that non-English speakers face when trying to communicate with MassHealth, and offers concrete recommendations for improvement. The report draws on the experiences of MassHealth members who were delayed in getting the health care they needed because of language access barriers: a man who couldn’t get his blood pressure medication for months, a child who needed insulin, and a pregnant mother who couldn’t get prenatal care. The report finds that while MassHealth has made progress, there remains significant room for improvement. 

We hope that MassHealth will use the recommendations in this report to meet the urgency of the moment, and remove language barriers from its call center. Regardless of the federal government’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, making public services accessible to people with limited English proficiency, including more than a quarter of MassHealth members, is still the law. Investing in language access is worth it; the human cost of not doing enough is too high.