On September 7th, the Department of Health and Human Services announced its plan to strengthen protections for people with disabilities significantly. The new rule updates, clarifies and strengthens the implementing regulation for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in federal programs.
This is the first major overhaul and upgrade of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 in decades.
“As one of the largest federal agencies, the HHS touches the lives of countless people with disabilities daily. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act guarantees equal opportunity for people with disabilities of all ages to receive health program benefits and services,” says United Spinal Association Public Policy Fellow Kent Keyser.
“However, these regulations have not been updated for decades and do not address many of today’s issues facing adults, youth, and children with disabilities. Last year, along with other disability organizations, we called on HHS Secretary Becerra to deliver a much-needed update to its regulations across many health issues our community has been facing recently.”
The rule changes are hoped to improve access to medical equipment. “I’m elated to hear that the Access Board’s Standards for Medical Diagnostic Equipment are about to become something more than just words on paper,” says Marsha Mazz, Director, Accessibility Codes and Standards for our Accessibility Services program and author of our popular Ask the ADA Expert blog.
“When enforceable, these standards will revolutionize health care for people with disabilities who have, for too long, been subjected to far less-than-optimal health care for no other reason than their inability to climb onto exam tables and similar diagnostic equipment. Accessible medical diagnostic equipment will make everyone’s visit to the doctor a safer and more effective experience.”
Proposed Clarifications of Sect. 504
The proposed rule seeks to clarify the application of Sect. 504 in several crucial areas, including:
- Accessible medical equipment. The proposed rule establishes enforceable standards for accessible medical diagnostic equipment, a significant and concrete step toward addressing health disparities experienced by people with disabilities. It also requires that within two years of the rule’s effective date, recipients that use an examination table in their program or activity have at least one accessible exam table, and recipients that use a weight scale in their program or activity have at least one accessible weight scale.
- Medical treatment. The proposed rule ensures that medical treatment decisions by entities that receive Federal financial assistance from the Department are not based on biases or stereotypes about individuals with disabilities, judgments that an individual 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 a disability.
- Value assessment methods. Value assessment methods may discriminate against individuals with disabilities when they place a lower value on life extension for individuals with disabilities when that method is used to limit access or deny aids, benefits, or services. The proposed rule prohibits the discriminatory use of such methods.
- Web and mobile accessibility. The proposed rule defines what accessibility means for web and mobile applications and sets forth specific technical standards for compliance with Section 504.
- Integration. The proposed rule will help recipients better understand and comply with their obligations under Section 504 and provide more detail about the right to be served in the most integrated setting appropriate for individuals with disabilities.
Sect. 504 and the ADA
In a sign of how overdue this proposed rule is, it seeks to ensure consistency with the 33-year-old Americans with Disabilities Act. It also addresses significant case law and amendments to disability legislation that have passed over the years.
Some of these new sections address:
- Service animals: Recipients must permit the use of trained service dogs except under certain circumstances.
- Maintenance of accessible features: Facilities and equipment required to be accessible to individuals with disabilities must be maintained in operable working order.
- Mobility devices: Recipients must permit individuals to use manually-powered mobility devices such as wheelchairs in areas open to pedestrian use and power-driven mobility devices under certain circumstances.
- Retaliation and coercion: Recipients may not retaliate against an individual for having made a complaint or objected to any act or practice made unlawful by Section 504
- Standards: Recipients building new facilities or altering existing facilities must comply with the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design, the standard issued by the Department of Justice.
Input from the disability and aging communities is essential! The Department of Health and Human Services is seeking organizational and individual comments by November 13. United Spinal will be submitting comments. You are welcome to submit individual comments here.
For more information on United Spinal Association’s extensive advocacy and policy activities to improve the quality of life of all wheelchair users, visit our advocacy and policy page.