Able News Column November 2024 – Fighting for the Right to Healthcare
Read the entire November 2024 Able News Issue
Access to healthcare is a basic civil right and an active topic of debate in our current presidential election cycle. Inequality in healthcare for those of us with disabilities is not covered enough and has dire consequences. As many of us with disabilities unfortunately understand and experience, too often we cannot get into our healthcare facilities, get the interpretation we need to understand our providers, access information about our prescriptions—the list goes on. DRA has been tackling this illegal inequity for decades, case after precedent-setting legal case.
In early September, DRA, along with Access Living, filed a lawsuit against a Preferred Open MRI in Chicago for refusing to offer Ramon Canellada, a wheelchair user, equal access to medical services. After he waited for 30 minutes in the lobby of the healthcare facility, a staff person came out an informed Mr. Canellada that they were unable to provide him with MRI services because he used a wheelchair. In the words of Mr. Canellada: “It is no surprise that people with disabilities complain about access to healthcare when we have to fight tooth and nail just to get seen.” The kind of discrimination that Mr. Canellada experienced is illegal, and every time DRA fights and wins a case like this against a discriminatory provider, the healthcare industry moves closer towards equality.
This latest lawsuit is one of many DRA has brought since our inception in 1993—all designed to ensure that people with disabilities have the same access to healthcare services as their non-disabled peers.
In 2016, DRA reached a settlement in a case representing the Bronx Independent Living Services and multiple individuals against Union Community Health Center and St. Barnabas Hospital, securing healthcare access for people with disabilities. The settlement resulted in a comprehensive plan that included alternative formats for blind patients, American Sign Language for d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing patients upon request, organizational training that promotes best practices to meet the needs of patients and visitors with disabilities, height-adjustable medical equipment, and more.
In 2015, DRA and partners reached a settlement with Kaiser Permanente, setting in motion changes to health care services that increased accessibility for patients who are blind and low vision including, adopting new policies and practices regarding the provision of information in alternative formats such as braille, audio, large print, and talking prescription labels.
The list of DRA’s lawsuits and victories in the healthcare space goes on, and each case and resulting precedent brings us closer to a world where people with disabilities don’t have to fight for basic, life-saving healthcare services. As always, if you’re interested in learning more about DRA and our legal work defending the civil rights of people with disabilities, you can visit us at dralegal.org.