One of the biggest complaints from practitioners related to the use of interpreters is the cost of providing these services, says Maggie Butler, PhD, director of APA’s Office on Disability Issues in Psychology. To help offset the costs of offering American Sign Language interpreting and other accessibility services, the IRS offers a tax benefit to small businesses who report expenses related to providing access to people with disabilities. Under the Disabled Access Credit, you are able to deduct a portion of what you pay for property and upgrades to your business—including interpretation services. These deductions come as a nonrefundable tax credit for 50% of qualified expenditures.
In some cases, the cost of interpreter services—for limited English proficient and deaf and hard of hearing patients—will be reimbursed or covered by a patient’s federally funded medical insurance. In at least 14 states and the District of Columbia, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program reimburse providers or language service agencies for the cost of interpreter services. And as Antonio E. Puente, PhD, a bilingual clinical neuropsychologist and pastpresident of APA, notes, practitioners who properly document their use of an interpreter may use an interactive complexity code—90785—to get a bonus on their reimbursement for that therapy session or testing assessment to help defray some of the costs.
When using a face-to-face interpreter provided through a language-translation service, costs generally range from $45 to $150 per hour, often with a two-hour minimum. Costs may vary, however, depending on the language involved. For example, in an area where many Spanish-language interpreters are available, the cost is often lower than in areas where few are available.
Using telephonic language services to provide language assistance is typically the least expensive option, with typical costs in the range of $1.25 to $3 per minute, depending on the time you need an interpreter and the language. Costs of video remote interpreting (VRI)—which can involve expenses for equipment and for the interpreter service—vary widely depending on whether a practice simply uses a laptop or desktop computer or a more sophisticated setup using cameras, speakers and microphones. VRI services cost as little as $1.95 per minute to as much as $3.49 per minute, sometimes with a minimum number of minutes per session.
