January 25, 2011. COAT was very pleased to see that in guidance provided to the states, that the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services (HHS) affirmed standards for accessibility by people with disabilities in new healthcare delivery systems. In its document "Guidance for Exchange and Medicaid Information Technology (IT) Systems," released November 3, 2010, HHS included Standards for Accessibility as part of the Technical Architecture requirements.
By 2014, states are expected to have set up technology systems to support the new health care reform requirements to assure everyone has health insurance. This effort includes setting up Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) that will start helping small business and people -- including people with disabilities -- select and pay for health plans. Typically, these will be web sites with information about tax credits, cost-sharing, Medicaid and children's health care and on available health care insurers.
COAT advocacy groups, such as AAPD, ACB and AFB, have long been concerned that there would be few or no requirements to ensure accessibility and usability of these new technology systems. Section "5.1.3 Standards for Accessibility" in the new HHS Guidance clearly states that "enrollment and eligibility systems should be designed to meet the diverse needs of users (e.g., consumers, state personnel, others)...Systems shall include usability features or functions that accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities, including those who use assistive technology..." This new standard invokes Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act for compliance purposes and cites to WCAG 2.0 website accessibility guidelines. The HHS Guidance also addresses Security & Privacy standards, including the HIPAA requirement for protection of personal health information.
via coataccess.org