OAR 836-053-1033: Cultural and Linguistic Appropriateness

(1) All notices and communications required to be provided by an insurer to enrollees under ORS 743.804 and 743.857 must be provided in a manner that is culturally and linguistically appropriate, as required by ORS 743.804. For purposes of this section, an insurer is considered to provide relevant notices in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner if the plan or issuer meets all the following requirements with respect to the applicable non-English languages as described in section (2) of this rule: (a) The plan or issuer must provide oral language services (such as a telephone customer assistance hotline) that include answering questions in any applicable non-English language and providing assistance with filing claims and appeals (including external review) in any applicable non-English language. (b) The plan or issuer must provide, upon request, a notice in any applicable non-English language. (c) The plan or issuer must include in the English versions of all notices, a statement prominently displayed in any applicable non-English language clearly indicating how to access the language services provided by the plan or issuer. (2) For the purpose of this rule, “applicable non-English language” means, with respect to an address in any United States county to which a notice is sent, a non-English language for which ten percent or more of the population residing in the county is literate only in the same non-English language.