Virginia Insurance Regulators Add Translation Service

Virginia insurance regulators have implemented a telephone translation service that will allow consumers who speak little or no English to ask questions or make complaints about insurers or coverage.

Approximately 2.7 percent of Virginia’s population — more than 180,000 people — have little or no English language skills. The majority of those — about 64 percent, or 118,000 — speak Spanish. About 13 percent, or 24,00 people, speak Korean or Vietnamese.

The Virginia State Corporation Commission said the effort will improve its outreach efforts. It will allow regulators to “assist a segment of Virginia’s population that we may not have been able to assist previously,” said Insurance Commissioner Jacqueline K. Cunningham.

Funding for the program comes as part of the health care reform legislation, as part of a federal grant established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.