National Council on Disability Releases Health Equity Framework

The National Council on Disability (NCD) released a framework for policymakers to address longstanding medical discrimination against people with disabilities. The Health Equity Framework addresses the physical and systemic barriers that people with disabilities face in access to health care. The framework centers on four core areas that are viewed as foundational for achieving health equity for people with disabilities:

• Designating people with disabilities as a Special Medically Underserved Population (SMUP) under the Public Health Services Act
• Requiring comprehensive disability clinical-care curricula in all U.S. medical, nursing and other health care professional schools and requiring disability competency education and training of medical, nursing and other health care professionals
• Requiring the use of accessible medical and diagnostic equipment
• Improving data collection concerning health care for people with disabilities across the lifespan

The NCD is hosting a stakeholder call on February 23 to discuss the framework. To join the stakeholder call, RSVP online.