To: Board of Supervisors
From: Dr. Grant Colfax, Health Services Director
Report Title: Payment for Services Provided by Health Care Interpreter Network
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Auditor-Controller, or designee, to pay $92,844 to Health Care Interpreter Network, a non-profit corporation, for additional foreign language and sign language interpretation services provided to the Health Services Department facilities during the month of June 2025, as recommended by the Health Services Director.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of this action will result in a one-time expenditure in an amount of $92,844 and will be funded 100% by Hospital Enterprise Fund I revenues.
BACKGROUND:
Individuals with limited English proficiency are at risk of receiving lower quality health treatment because of language barriers. When an interpreter is not readily available patients may rely on family members, even children, to interpret health treatment instructions. California law has required hospitals to provide language assistance since 1990. The Healthcare Interpreter Network’s system allows physicians at Contra Costa Regional Medical Center and Contra Costa Health Centers and various Health Services Divisions to use a software program to route calls to a video conferencing device allowing in-house interpreters and interpreters at other hospitals or remote locations to be connected within seconds to a patient. The County has contracted with Healthcare Interpreter Network for these services since 2009.
This Contract is entered into under and subject to the following legal authorities: California Government Code §§ 31000. Public Health and Contra Costa Health Center’s Quality Management, Utilization Management and Contract Monitor Staff meet on a regular basis to ensure monitoring and performance measures in the Contract are upheld. Health Services Personnel approved this Contract to ensure no conflicts with labor relations. This Contractor was approved by the Public Works Department’s Purchasing Division on May 7, 2025.
On June 27, 2023, the Board of Supervisors approved Contract #23-457-19 with Health Care Interpreter Network, in an amount not to exceed $1,577,500, for the provision of foreign language and sign language interpretation services via video conferencing, for the period July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2025.
On May 21, 2024, the Board of Supervisors approved Contract Amendment #23-457-21 with Health Care Interpreter Network, to increase the payment limit by $1,800,000 from $1,577,500 to a new payment limit of $3,377,500, for additional foreign language and sign language interpretation services via video conferencing, with no change in term ending June 30, 2025.
On January 4, 2025, the Board of Supervisors approved Contract Amendment #23-457-22 with Health Care Interpreter Network, to increase the payment limit by $900,000 from $3,377,500 to a new payment limit of $4,277,500 for additional foreign language and sign language interpretation services via video conferencing, with no change in term ending June 30, 2025.
The Contractor is entitled to payment for the reasonable value of its services under the equitable relief theory of quantum meruit. That theory provides that where a Contractor has been asked to provide services without a valid contract, and the Contractor does so to the benefit of the County, the Contractor is entitled to recover the reasonable value of those services.
Due to increased utilization of services in June of 2025, the shortfall in the contract payment limit was not detected until it was too late to process a contract amendment request. The Department cannot pay the Contractor for services rendered that exceeded the contract payment limit. As such, the Department recommends that the Board authorize the Auditor-Controller to issue a one-time payment not to exceed $92,844.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If this payment is not approved, the Contractor will not be paid for services requested by County staff and provided by Contractor in good faith.