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The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has updated the regulations that prohibit discrimination based on disabilities to clarify obligations in several critical 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 dehumanizing beliefs that the life of an individual with a disability has less value than the life of a person without a disability.
  • 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 an aid, benefit or service.
  • Defines what accessibility means for websites and mobile applications and sets forth a specific technical standard to ensure that health care and human service activities delivered through these platforms are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.
  • Adopts the U.S. Access Board’s standards for accessible medical diagnostic equipment, like exam tables and mammography machines.
  • 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.
  • 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.

Additionally, the Final Rule updates existing requirements to make them consistent with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), as many HHS recipients are also covered by the ADA. This consistency will improve and simplify compliance.

View the full press release here. If you have any questions, please contact Fady Sahhar.

 

The Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Act passed in 1990. As the country celebrates the upcoming 33rd anniversary of the ADA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), with the guidance of the ADA, has committed to improving services and programs to be uniformly available to individuals with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.

To support the disability community, FEMA made equity in emergency management one of the top goals in its 2022–2026 Strategic Plan. In support of this plan, the agency has:

  • Improved the survivor registration intake process nationwide, expanding disability-related questions and making it easier for people with disabilities impacted by disasters to get the assistance they need.
  • Continued updating the FEMA App, available in English and Spanish, so that it is now more accessible to people with disabilities. The app is screen reader compatible on iOS (11.0 and later) and Android (5.0) devices. The user interface has also been redesigned to fit a wider variety of screen sizes, making it easier for users to interact with it on their preferred device.
  • Worked extensively with state, local, tribal and territorial officials, and nongovernmental and private sector partners and stakeholders to facilitate ADA compliance. This includes removing physical, communication, and programmatic barriers that people with disabilities could face.
  • Designed programs, services, policies, and procedures to include the needs of people with disabilities before disasters happen, rather than solely reacting to barriers that are identified during response and recovery.

July 26 marked the 28th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), signed into law in 1990 by President George Bush. The White House released the following proclamation:

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 25, 2018

Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 2018
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

On the 28th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), we celebrate this historic legislation, which echoed our Nation’s founding promise to recognize and secure the equal rights of all men and women. Today, we reaffirm our commitment to cultivate further opportunities for all Americans to live full and independent lives, and recognize the many contributions enabled by expanded participation of Americans with disabilities in our society.

President George H.W. Bush signed the ADA into law on July 26, 1990. It has transformed the lives of millions of Americans living with disabilities by promoting their equal access to employment, government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and public transportation. Today, people of all ages with disabilities are better able to thrive in the community, pursue careers, contribute to our economy, and fully participate in American society.

Our Nation must continue to build upon this foundation and continue to further the participation of the more than 56 million Americans living with disabilities. My Administration continues to encourage research that will lead to advancements in technology, medicine, and other fields and better enable independent living. We are also expanding and promoting equal education and employment opportunities for Americans with disabilities to live and work. In this regard, in June of last year, I signed an Executive Order to develop more apprenticeship programs for all people, including those with disabilities. Additional training will encourage better involvement from businesses and allow people with disabilities to contribute meaningfully to a wide variety of industries.

As we commemorate the anniversary of the ADA, we recommit ourselves to fostering an environment in which all Americans have the opportunity to pursue the American Dream.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim July 26, 2018, as a day in celebration of the 28th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities that celebrate the contributions of Americans with disabilities and to renew our commitment to achieving the promise of our freedom for all Americans.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord two thousand eighteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-third.

DONALD J. TRUMP