AAP members are encouraged to provide comments on proposed updates to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which officials say would advance equity and help people with disabilities access health and human services.
Proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the rule updates aim to clarify several areas of Section 504, including:
- ensuring that medical treatment decisions 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;
- clarifies obligations for web, mobile and kiosk accessibility for people with disabilities;
- establishes enforceable standards for accessible medical equipment;
- clarifies requirements in HHS-funded child welfare programs and activities;
- prohibits the use of value assessment methods that place a lower value on life-extension for individuals with disabilities when that method is used to limit access or deny aids, benefits and services; and
- clarifies obligations to provide services in the most integrated setting appropriate for the needs of individuals with disabilities.
"This proposed rule offers the first comprehensive update to the Section 504 regulations since they were first put in place more than 40 years ago,” said Debra Waldron, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP, AAP senior vice president, Healthy and Resilient Children, Youth and Families.
Comments on the proposed rules can be made by Nov. 13 at https://bit.ly/3LNxsaC.
“It’s 2023, yet for many Americans accessing basic health needs is still challenging,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, J.D., said in a statement. “This historic proposed rule will advance justice for people with disabilities and help ensure they are not subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving funding from HHS just because they have a disability.”
Section 504 prohibits programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance or are conducted by a federal agency from discriminating against otherwise qualified individuals based on disability. Since the law was enacted, major legislative and judicial developments have shifted the legal landscape of disability discrimination under Section 504.
“This proposal aligns with core elements of the AAP Equity Agenda and the recently published (Maternal and Child Health Bureau) MCHB Blueprint for Change,” Dr. Waldron said. “All pediatricians will care for children with disabilities in their practices, and this proposed rule would have a significant impact on advancing equity for these children/youth and their families/caregivers.”
The HHS proposal would amend the regulations and clarify obligations in areas not addressed in the original legislation. It also would improve consistency with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act, amendments to the Rehabilitation Act and significant case law.
A fact sheet on the proposed rule is available at https://bit.ly/3M9txp5.
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