July 13, 2023
New Mexico law requires health plans to provide free language assistance services to all customers who reside in New Mexico. Cigna provides free interpreter services at all Cigna locations and provider points of contact for all customers in New Mexico with Cigna administered plans (regardless of product type) who have:
› Limited English proficiency (LEP).
› Differing hearing abilities that qualify under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for sign language.
Language assistance services that providers are responsible for offering
| LANGUAGE SERVICE NEEDED | ACTION | DETAILS |
| LEP patient office visit or phone calls | Call Cigna’s toll-free number at 800.806.2059 for free professional over-the-phone interpreter services. Periodically validate with the over-the-phone interpreter that interpretation is accurate. | Be ready to provide the patient’s Cigna ID number and date of birth. If telephone interpretation services do not meet the needs of your patient in New Mexico with a Cigna-administered plan, you can schedule free face-to-face and video remote interpreter services, including American Sign Language (ASL), by calling Cigna Customer Service at 800.88Cigna (800.882.4462). For face-to-face Spanish interpreters, please allow at least three business days to schedule services. For all other languages, including ASL, please allow at least five business days to schedule services. |
| Deaf patient office visit | Call Cigna Customer Service at 800.88Cigna (800.882.4462) to schedule an appointment for free sign language interpreter services. | Provide information about the patient’s next scheduled appointment and type of sign language service needed (e.g., ASL). For ASL interpreters, please allow at least five business days to schedule services. |
| Deaf patient telephone service relay | Call 711 Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) | 711 TRS is a no-cost relay service that uses an operator, phone system, and a special teletypewriter (telecommunications device for the deaf [TDD] or teletypewriter [TTY]) to help people with hearing or speech impairments have conversations over the phone. The 711 TRS can be used to place a call to – or receive a call from – a TTY line. Both voice and TRS users can initiate a call from any telephone, anywhere in the United States, without having to remember and dial a seven- or 10-digit access number. Simply dial 711 to be automatically connected to a TRS operator. Once connected, the operator will relay your spoken message in writing and read responses back to you. In some areas, 711 TRS offers speech impairment assistance. Specially trained speech recognition operators are available to help facilitate communication with individuals who may have speech impairments.1 |
| Refusal of service: An LEP or deaf patient wants to use a family member or friend to interpret OR An LEP patient wants to speak with bilingual office staff. | Offer a telephone interpreter to the LEP patient. Discourage the use of family and friends – especially minors – as interpreters. Offer a trained, qualified telephone interpreter, even if a provider or office staff member speaks in the patient’s language. | If a patient insists on using a family member or friend, or refuses to use a trained interpreter, document this in his or her medical record. |
Language assistance services that Cigna is responsible for offering
| LANGUAGE SERVICE NEEDED | ACTION | DETAILS |
| LEP customer telephone communication at Cigna point of contact | Customers call the telephone number on the back of their Cigna ID card for access to Cigna bilingual staff and free interpreter services. | Cigna uses qualified professional interpreters and bilingual staff tested for proficiency in language and health care terminology in non-English languages. |
| Deaf or hard-of-hearing telephone communication at Cigna point of contact | Customers dial 711 for TRS. | Cigna staff follow department workflows to communicate with deaf or hard-of-hearing customers. |
| LEP customer telephone and in-person interpreter services at provider point of contact | Customers have access to these services at the provider’s office at no cost to the provider.2 | Each contract requires the health care insurer or managed health care plan to provide interpreters for LEP individuals, and interpretative services for patients who qualify under the ADA. Refer to Tips for Working with a Language Interpreter3 for more information. |
1. Better Communication, Better Care: Provider Tools to Care for Diverse Population. Industry Collaboration Effort. March 2017. Retrieved from https://www.iceforhealth.org/library/documents/Better_Communication,_Better_Care_-_Provider_Tools_to_Care_for_Diverse_Populations.pdf.1
2. New Mexico Administrative Code, Title 13, Chapter 10, Part 22, Section 12 (13.10.22.12).2
3. Cigna.com > For Providers > Provider Resources > Cultural Competency and Health Equity > Language Assistance Services > Tips for Working with a Language Interpreter.
4. 2019 5-Year American Community Survey. U.S. Census Bureau. December 2019. Retrieved from https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=new%20mexico&t=Language%20Spoken%20at%20Home&hidePreview=false&tid=ACSST1Y2019.S1601&vintage=2018.
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