Developing a reimbursement system for language services in Medicaid/CHIP has been expedited because these large programs have administratively determined reimbursement rules. For this reason, although language services for Medicaid/CHIP populations are reimbursed in Minnesota, no similar reimbursement process is required for commercial health plans, and establishing such a process is more complex because of the way health plans are paid. Currently, the expense of lan- guage services for commercially insured populations falls on providers. In recent years, legislation mandating that commercial health plans provide and pay for interpreter services was introduced in two legislative sessions but failed to pass because of.
