Health insurers must pay for interpreters: ‘I need an interpreter for my doctor’s visit’

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Tamara Bilen (40) has a tattoo. There is a date: «6. February 2023, 2:10 am.” At that time, her husband died at the age of 50 from complications of liver cancer. They lived together in Eglisau ZH with four children aged fifteen, twelve, ten and six years old.

Bilen is deaf. When she speaks, she moves her lips and gestures with her hands. It works well in the family. But when she has to go to the doctor, she has a problem.

Seven years ago, Bilen’s husband, who was also deaf, went to his doctor because of severe stomach pain: “Communication was very difficult, the doctor found nothing,” said the widow. In 2022, her husband’s health deteriorated; he had to be admitted urgently. “It was only at this point that his complaints were taken seriously.” The diagnosis: terminal cancer.

The patient not only had to fight for his survival, but also against the bureaucracy. The health insurer and the hospital refused to pay for a sign language interpreter. “We have to be able to understand the doctors,” says Bilen. «Communication is important for successful healing. Without an interpreter we only understand a fraction.”

Without an interpreter, additional costs will arise

Can’t deaf people communicate in writing, for example with a smartphone? Bilen contradicts this: “My mother tongue is sign language. Misunderstandings arise when reading and writing. I pay monthly premiums to the health insurer. In return, I can expect good health care.”

What particularly irritates Bilen is that she was repeatedly asked to have her children translate. Unlike parents, their children can hear. “It shouldn’t be the case that a 15-year-old has to translate the medical vocabulary about his father’s fatal diagnosis,” Bilen says. “This is very stressful for the child and the parents. And it’s not professional: what if my child does something wrong?”

After a long battle, Bilen’s husband finally got an interpreter, but the cancer had advanced too far. The father of the family died in February 2023. The widow is convinced: “My husband could have been treated better if he had had an interpreter by his side from the start.”

That is why Bilen and the Swiss Deaf Association support a motion by FDP Council member Damian Müller (39), who calls for “a nationally uniform obligation to reimburse interpretation costs for healthcare services”. This is intended to ensure communication between patients and healthcare staff in the future.

‘There is a right to health. But this right is violated if patients are dependent on an interpreter, but do not receive one,” says André Marty (32) of the Deaf Association. “We assume annual costs of one million francs for the deaf. Rich Switzerland can easily afford that.” Marty knows of cases where incorrect diagnoses led to further treatment. «Without an interpreter, misunderstandings arise. All this adds up to additional costs that could be saved if you had an interpreter available from the start.”

“No one feels responsible”

The Federal Council rejected Müller’s motion. While still under SP Health Minister Alain Berset, 51, he said: “Interpretation services are not services for the direct diagnosis or treatment of a disease and its consequences.” However, interpretation services “may be considered part of the medical service if they prove to be the only possible solution”.

The reality is different. “No one feels responsible,” says André Marty of the Deaf Association. “Doctors do not want to pay the costs themselves and hospitals receive a fixed rate for patients that does not include interpretation costs. But health insurers also do not reimburse the costs. Deaf people and their health suffer from this chaos. There is an urgent need for a nationally uniform solution.”

FDP politician Müller could count on the Council of States, which approved the motion in September with 19 yes, 14 no votes and six abstentions. The National Council will decide on Thursday.

Tamara Bilen appeals to the new Minister of Health Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (60) and parliament: “Help ensure that deaf people also have their right to health.”

Source:Blick