On Sept. 14, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published a proposed rule to update and amend federal regulations implemented under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-112) prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability in HHS programs or activities. The proposed rule would update the definition of disability and other provisions to ensure consistency with the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA, P.L. 101-336), the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-325), and the Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148), as the agency had not previously amended the Section 504 rules in line with these statutory changes.
Notably, the proposed rule would set new requirements prohibiting discrimination in medical treatment, the use of value assessments, website and kiosk accessibility, and requirements for accessible medical equipment to afford persons with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in or benefit from health care programs and activities.
Comments are due Nov. 13.