The document discusses standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate health services. It outlines that programs receiving federal funding are required to provide language assistance services, including interpreters, to patients with limited English proficiency at no cost. It also mandates that these patients must be informed of their right to language assistance and that the competence of interpreters be ensured. Signage and materials must be made available in commonly encountered languages in the service area. Failure to comply can result in loss of federal funding. More than $1 trillion in excess direct and indirect medical costs over 3 years were estimated to result from health inequities faced by racial and ethnic minorities.