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Access to Health Care for People with Disabilities

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Posted: 02 Feb, 2010
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Updated: 27 Aug, 2014
by Valerie Bogart (New York Legal Assistance Group)

People with disabilities may confront additional barriers to accessing health care.  Barriers to enrolling in public health care programs like Medicaid, Family Health Plus and Child Health Plus include transportation issues, physical access issues, and failures on the part of local districts to provide alternative print formats and/or translation and interpreter services.  Even after coverage is in place, people with disabilities often encounter barriers to accessing services in provider settings.  These problems can occur both at the level of the insurer or managed care provider, as well as in the individual doctor's office and/or hospital setting. 

There are several important legal tools available to advocates for persons with disabilities, including the Rehabilitation Act of 1983 and the Americans with Disabilities Act. 


This article was authored by the Empire Justice Center.

Empire Justice Center

Also read
item Medicaid Disability Determinations - NYS Forms & Procedures (with updated forms Dec. 2021)

Also listed in
folder Medicaid -> Getting Started
folder Language and Disability Access
folder Research and Advocacy Tips

External links
http://health.wnylc.com/health/client/images/icons/article_out.svg http://www.empirejustice.org/issue-areas/civil-rights/useful-sites/
http://health.wnylc.com/health/client/images/icons/article_out.svg http://www.ada.gov/hospcombr.htm
http://health.wnylc.com/health/client/images/icons/article_out.svg http://www.justice.gov/crt/foia/tal590.txt
http://health.wnylc.com/health/client/images/icons/article_out.svg http://www.nclej.org/documents/ModernizingPublicBenefits_20Jul10.pdf

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