HHS strengthens disability discrimination protections
The goal is to protect people with disabilities from experiencing discrimination in any program or activity receiving funding from HHS.
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A new rule prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability has been finalized by the Department of Health and Human Services, through its Office of Civil Rights, and seeks to advance equity and boost protections for people with disabilities under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
Titled Discrimination on the Basis of Disability in Health and Human Service Programs or Activities, the final rule is HHS' latest action to advance Executive Order 14091, Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.
According to HHS, the final rule clarifies and strengthens civil rights protections for people with disabilities, addresses discrimination in medical treatment, adds enforceable standards for accessible medical diagnostic equipment, and ensures accessible web content and mobile apps.
The goal is to protect people with disabilities from experiencing discrimination in any program or activity receiving funding from HHS, the agency said.
WHAT'S THE IMPACT?
Section 504 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs and activities that receive funding from HHS.
The department has updated the regulations to clarify obligations in several areas. Specifically, the rule ensures that medical treatment decisions are not based on negative biases or stereotypes about individuals with disabilities, judgments that an individual with a disability will be a burden on others or beliefs that the life of an individual with a disability has less value than the life of a person without one.
Additionally, the rule prohibits the use of any measure, assessment or tool that discounts the value of a life extension on the basis of disability to deny, limit or otherwise condition access to a benefit or service.
It also, according to HHS, defines what accessibility means for websites and mobile applications, and sets forth a specific technical standard to ensure that healthcare and human service activities delivered through these platforms are readily accessible to those with disabilities.
Finally, the rule adopts the U.S. Access Board's standards for accessible medical diagnostic equipment, like exam tables and mammography machines; clarifies obligations to provide services in the most integrated setting, like receiving services in one's own home appropriate to the needs of individuals with disabilities; and details requirements to ensure nondiscrimination in the services provided by HHS-funded child welfare agencies, including, but not limited to reasonable efforts to prevent foster care placement, parent-child visitation, reunification services, child placement, parenting skills programs and in- and out-of-home services.
Existing requirements have been updated to make them consistent with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), as many HHS recipients are also covered by the ADA.
THE LARGER TREND
More than 61 million Americans had a disability as of 2016, according to a 2022 Health Affairs analysis. Disparities in healthcare access and quality have been observed across many groups of people with disabilities in a variety of clinical environments. Such people also have been found to be less likely to report satisfaction with their care compared with people without disabilities.
Disparities in access to healthcare, and the quality of that care, have been associated with worse physical health and greater burden of chronic disease for people with disabilities compared with their nondisabled peers, research found.
ON THE RECORD
"Today's rule is long overdue," said HHS OCR Director Melanie Fontes Rainer. "My office heard from thousands in overwhelming support of this rule and the need to update this rule now for people with disabilities. By removing barriers to health care and social services, this rule advances justice for people with disabilities who have for too long been subject to discrimination. No diagnosis should be missed because of an inaccessible mammogram, no patient should be left with questions about test results due to inaccessible websites, and no life should be valued less due to disability. This is the promise of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and through this action the Biden-Harris Administration is, once again, making clear its commitment to equality and civil rights."
"The direct result of decades of advocacy by people with disabilities, the updated 504 rule is one of strongest tools we have ever had to combat the discrimination and inequities faced by disabled people," said Alison Barkoff, who leads the Administration for Community Living. "ACL was proud to work with OCR to develop the new regulations, and we are committed to supporting OCR in implementing them. We also are looking forward to partnering with the disability community to educate people with disabilities of all ages about the rule's powerful protections of their civil rights."
Jeff Lagasse is editor of Healthcare Finance News.
Email: jlagasse@himss.org
Healthcare Finance News is a HIMSS Media publication.
