Opportunity to Comment on Importance of ACA Protections for People with Disabilities

ANCOR is sharing this announcement by the Administration for Community Living (ACL) because the Affordable Care Act (ACA, also known as Obamacare) contains provisions explicitly prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities in certain health programs. The proposed rule covers a variety of areas including what type of accessibility assistance people should receive in ACA related transactions.  ANCOR members interested in participating in a workgroup to help ANCOR craft a response to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed rule described below should email our Vice President of Government Relations, Esme Grewal, at [email protected].

As shared by the ACL:

“The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a proposed rule to revise regulations implementing and enforcing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Section 1557 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in certain health programs or activities.

Members of the public are invited to submit comments on this proposed rule through August 13, 2019 online via regulations.gov.

Comments can also be mailed to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, Attention: Section 1557 NPRM, RIN 0945-AA11, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, Room 509F, 200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20201

Among the issues that the Notice of Proposed Rule Making seeks input on is, ‘whether HHS’s Section 504 regulations at 45 CFR part 85 should be amended to address effective communication, accessibility standards for buildings of facilities, accessibility of electronic information technology, and the requirement to make reasonable modifications for otherwise qualified individuals with disabilities under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance from HHS.’”