The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report highlighting barriers that individuals with disabilities encounter in accessing health care. The report, titled “Health Care Accessibility: Further Efforts Needed to Address Barriers for People with Disabilities,” identifies ongoing challenges in various areas, including medical settings, diagnostic equipment, telehealth platforms, and provider training. Specific issues noted are diagnostic tools requiring patients to stand, overwhelming waiting rooms, and insufficient disability training for health care providers.

Additionally, the report points out shortcomings in federal data collection regarding accessibility barriers, as the Department of Health and Human Services lacks national-level data on these issues. This gap hinders the identification of barriers and the evaluation of the effectiveness of federal accessibility measures. The GAO offers five recommendations for HHS, which include enhancing data collection, improving oversight, and clarifying guidance for health care organizations about their accessibility obligations. An Easy Read companion report was also published to simplify the findings for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.