Require hospitals with no ASL interpreter on staff provide technology for hearing or speech impaired patients to communicate
Summary
House Bill 3328 would add a new section to West Virginia’s hospital licensing laws requiring hospitals and other covered health care facilities to ensure effective communication with deaf and hard of hearing patients, as well as their family members and caregivers. The bill lists several ways facilities could meet that obligation, including providing American Sign Language interpreters, assistive listening devices, captioning services, video relay services, visual alert systems, and accessible versions of medical forms and documents.
The bill also specifically addresses situations where an ASL interpreter is not available by requiring facilities to provide assistive hearing devices and related communication technologies. In addition, any ASL interpreter retained by a covered facility would have to be approved by the West Virginia Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. The measure would take effect upon passage and would make noncompliance reportable to licensing authorities.
Impact
HB3328 would expand the duties of hospitals, ambulatory health care facilities, ambulatory surgical facilities, and extended care facilities under West Virginia law by codifying communication-access requirements for deaf and hard of hearing patients. It would create a new statutory obligation tied to facility operations and licensing oversight, and it would likely require affected providers to invest in interpreters, assistive technology, accessible documents, and visual alert systems. The bill also gives the West Virginia Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing a role in approving interpreters and allows violations to be reported to licensing authorities.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and available context, the measure appears to have a generally supportive, accessibility-focused purpose with no recorded committee debate or votes showing opposition or amendment activity. The sponsors frame it as a patient-access and disability-communication bill aligned with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Because no transcripts or vote history are available, there is no documented public sentiment beyond the bill’s stated intent to improve communication for deaf and hard of hearing individuals.
Contention
The main potential points of contention are likely to be the compliance burden on health care facilities and the requirement that ASL interpreters be approved by the West Virginia Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Facilities may need to incur costs for interpreters, technology, and facility upgrades, and some providers could question the practicality of meeting these standards in all settings or on short notice. Another possible issue is how licensing authorities would enforce the new requirements and what level of noncompliance would trigger reporting or sanctions.