Individuals with disabilities, including deaf or hard of hearing individuals, are frequently subject to injustice.  Therefore, deaf and hard of hearing people must learn to be effective self-advocates.  Why is self-advocacy important when laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 were passed precisely to safeguard the rights of people with disabilities?  Not everyone obeys the law!  A deaf or hard of hearing person may be turned down when requesting a qualified sign language interpreter, CART services, or an assistive listening system from a college, a doctor’s office, or an employer.  It is important to be familiar with your rights under disability laws so you can explain the law, get help when necessary, and get the services you need. 

If you are deaf, have Medicaid, make an appointment and they refuse to get an interpreter, you need to call the Medicaid office. The Medicaid office will call that doctor (hospital, mental health center, etc.) and tell them to get an interpreter if one is needed for effective communication.

Click here to submit your comment, question or complaint to Florida Medicaid Managed Care

If you have been denied a sign language interpreter for effective communication you can file a Discrimination Complaint: 

• Florida Commission on Human Relations (FCHR) Discrimination Complaint Form https://fchr.myflorida.com/file-a-complaint-page

• Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Discrimination Complaint Form https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/civil-rights-laws/file-complaint/ocr-discrimination-complaint-form

Learn more about the ADA Law and the requirements of businesses to provide you an interpreter.

Q&A:

1. What can I do to make sure that a health care professional provides an interpreter?

At the time you schedule the appointment, tell the professional’s office that you are deaf and ask that the professional provide an interpreter. Because it may take the professional several days to get an interpreter, make sure to request an interpreter at the time you make the appointment. Also, we suggest that you send an email to the health care professional requesting an interpreter. Although this is not required under the ADA, it will establish evidence of your request.

2. What can I do if the health care professional refuses to provide an interpreter?

A. First try to explain to the health care professional why you need an interpreter to ensure that the communication between you and the health care professional will be effective. If the professional says that you can read his or her lips, explain why lipreading is not effective. For example, explain that many sounds, such as T and D, look identical on the lips; and that lipreading may be particularly difficult in the

medical setting because of complex medical terminology. If the professional says that you can communicate by writing notes, explain why this method would not be effective. If the health care professional still refuses to provide an interpreter, you may choose to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Office for Civil Rights.

1.) To file a written complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice. Such a complaint should be a email that contains the following information: (a) your name and address; (b) a statement that you have a hearing impairment and need a sign language interpreter to communicate effectively with others; (c) the name and address of the health care professional; (d) an explanation of what you did to try to get the professional to provide an interpreter; (e) an explanation of what you were going to discuss with the doctor (such as risks of surgery, risks and benefits of medications, etc.); (f) a statement that the professional refused to provide an interpreter; (g) the date on which the professional refused to provide the interpreter; (h) any other information that you believe would be helpful in understanding your complaint; (i) a statement that the professional violated the Americans With Disabilities Act; and (j) a request that the Department of Justice investigate your complaint. Although neither the ADA nor the regulations of the Department of Justice contain a deadline for filing a complaint, you should do so as soon as possible.

The email should be sent to the following address:
U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC. 20530

(2) File a written complaint with the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This Office enforces a federal law called the Rehabilitation Act. Section 504 of that law prohibits recipients of federal financial assistance from discriminating on the basis of disability. Since many health care professionals receive federal financial assistance in the form of Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement, they are prohibited by Section 504 from discriminating on the basis of disability. There is a deadline for filing a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The complaint must be filed “not later than 180 days from the date of the alleged discrimination, unless the time for filing is extended by the responsible Department official or his designee.”

To file such a complaint, you can download a “Discrimination Complaint Form“.

(3) File a lawsuit against the health care professional. To file a lawsuit, you should contact an attorney. The deadline for filing a lawsuit claiming violations of the ADA and/or the Rehabilitation Act may be as short as one year or may be two years. Because the law is unclear on the deadline, the safest course of action is to file the lawsuit within one year of the doctor’s refusal to provide an interpreter.