By: Dania Douglas
Executive Summary
In the spring of 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) updated two rules implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (Section 1557) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) that will improve access to health coverage and services for people with disabilities. These rules provide civil rights protections that prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities in certain types of health coverage and health care settings. They were issued after extensive public comment, and are well-grounded summaries of the current state of the law, in many cases simply consolidating and organizing long-standing interpretations in one place, and in other places, modernizing the rules to reflect changes in technology. While a new administration will take office in January 2025, rules remain in place unless officially rescinded.
