Three milestone disability health equity related decisions occurred between September 2023 and May 2024. Though each is to be celebrated in its own right, the continued failure to collect and/or limitations with disability data block the path to achieving disability health equity in the US.
Three milestone disability health equity related decisions occurred between September 2023 and May 2024: 1) designation of disabled people as a health disparities population; 2) the halting of plans to switch to questions that would underestimate the disabled population in the American Community Survey; and 3) the announcement of a Final Rule tightening regulations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. While each milestone represents progress in the path towards disability health equity and highlights the strength of the US disability community, the lack of comprehensive and equitable disability data collection remains a critical barrier to achieving full disability health equity. In this invited commentary, we summarize these milestones and offer three recommendations essential improving disability data collection in the US. Read more.