Joi

_config.yml

@@ -35,12 +35,6 @@ contact:
 
 # For alerts that aren't tied to a site.categories.notice
 external_notices:
- - text:
- en: Happy Anniversary, ADA!
- link_text:
- en: Title II Medical Diagnostic Equipment Final Rule Signed by the Attorney General
- link_href:
- en: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-publish-final-rule-improve-access-medical-care-people-disabilities
 
 # Display beta disclamers
 beta: false

_includes/notice.html

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{% for post in site.categories.notices reversed limit:1 %}
+{% for post in site.categories.notices reversed limit:2 %}
 
 {% assign lang = "en" %}
 {% if lang==nil %}{% assign lang="en" %}{% endif %}

_pages/notices/_posts/2024-08-07-mde-fact-sheet.md

@@ -0,0 +1,201 @@
+---
+title_es: "Fact Sheet: New Rule on the Accessibility of Medical Diagnostic Equipment Used by State and Local Governments"
+title: "Fact Sheet: New Rule on the Accessibility of Medical Diagnostic Equipment Used by State and Local Governments"
+compact: true
+sidenav: true
+print: true
+notice_text: Rule on Accessibility of Medical Diagnostic Equipment Under Title II PUblished
+notice_link: Learn more about the rule's requirements
+tags:
+ - medical care
+ - title ii
+lead: The Department of Justice (Department) is publishing a final rule updating the regulation for Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The final rule has specific requirements about accessible medical diagnostic equipment (MDE).
+description: The Department of Justice published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
+ (NPRM) on July 20, 2023 explaining how we propose updating the regulations for
+ Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to add more specific
+ requirements about medical diagnostic equipment. This fact sheet
+ gives a plain language summary of the technical standards that state and local
+ governments would have to follow to meet their existing obligations under
+ Title II of the ADA.
+publish-date: 2024-07-17 00:00:00
+---
+**Purpose of this fact sheet:** This fact sheet gives a summary of the rule. It provides introductory information about the rule, particularly for people who may not have a legal background.
+
+{% include expand-accordions-wrapper.html %}
+
+{% details What is medical diagnostic equipment? expandable %}
+Medical diagnostic equipment (MDE) is equipment used in, or in conjunction with,
+medical settings by health care providers for diagnostic purposes. Examples of MDE
+include:
+- examination tables
+- examination chairs (including chairs used for eye examinations or procedures, and dental examinations or procedures)
+- weight scales
+- mammography equipment
+- x-ray machines
+{% enddetails %}
+
+{% details What is a rule? expandable %}
+A regulation, also called a “rule,” is a set of requirements issued by a federal agency to
+implement laws passed by Congress. When Congress passed the ADA, it gave the
+Department the authority to make regulations that explain the rights and requirements
+of Titles II and III of the ADA.
+{% enddetails %}
+
+{% details How did the Department make this rule? expandable %}
+The Department made this rule using a process sometimes called “notice and comment
+rulemaking.” As part of this process, the Department published a Notice of Proposed
+Rulemaking (NPRM). The NPRM was basically a first draft of the regulation. It let the
+public know about the requirements the Department was considering and gave an
+opportunity for feedback.
+
+The Department got feedback from the public on the NPRM. Based on that feedback, the Department made changes to certain parts of the rule. A description of the feedback the Department got and how it updated the rule is available in the appendix to the rule.
+{% enddetails %}
+
+{% details What is Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)? expandable %}
+[Title II of the ADA]({{'/topics/title-ii' | relative_url}}) requires state and local governments to make sure that their services, programs, and activities are accessible to people with disabilities. Title II applies to all services, programs, or activities of state and local governments. These include health
+care services, programs, and activities that state and local government entities offer
+through or with the use of MDE. Title II uses the term “public entities” to describe who it
+applies to, but in this fact sheet, we call these “state and local government entities.”
+{% enddetails %}
+
+{% details Who has to follow the requirements in this rule? expandable %}
+Like the rest of Title II, the rule applies to all state and local governments (which includes
+any agencies or departments of state or local governments) as well as special purpose
+districts, special district governments, and other instrumentalities of state or local
+government.
+
+Examples of state and local government entities include:
+- Public hospitals
+- Public health care clinics
+- Public colleges’ and universities’ health care systems
+
+State and local government entities that contract with other entities to provide public
+services also have to make sure that their contractors follow Title II. For example, if a
+state agency has a non-profit organization run a health clinic on behalf of the agency, the
+agency needs to make sure that the non-profit organization follows Title II.
+
+For more information about the responsibilities of state and local governments under
+Title II, visit our [State and Local Governments page]({{'/topics/title-ii' | relative_url}}).
+{% enddetails %}
+
+## Reasons for the Rule
+
+People with disabilities continue to face barriers to getting medical care because of inaccessible
+MDE. Barriers can include exam tables with heights that cannot be adjusted, mammography
+machines that require a person to stand, or weight scales that do not accommodate
+wheelchairs. These barriers result in inequities and exclusion from basic health services for
+individuals with disabilities, contributing to poor health outcomes. This rule establishes enforceable standards for accessible MDE, which is a significant step toward addressing health
+disparities experienced by people with disabilities.
+
+You can find more information about why the Department of Justice made this rule in the section
+of the rule called “Need for the Adoption of MDE Standards.”
+
+## Highlights of this Rule's Requirements
+
+The rule’s requirements are highlighted below. The full rule explains these requirements in
+more detail.
+
+{% details Requirement: The Department is adopting the U.S. Access Board’s MDE Standards as
+the technical standard for state and local governments’ accessible MDE. expandable %}
+
+- A technical standard says specifically what is required for something to be accessible. For example, the existing [ADA Standards for Accessible Design]({{'/law-and-regs/design-standards/2010-stds' | relative_url}}) are technical standards that say what is needed for a building to be physically accessible under the ADA, like how wide a door has to be or how steep a ramp can be.
+- In 2017, the [U.S. Access Board](https://www.access-board.gov/) issued technical standards on the accessibility of MDE
+in physicians’ offices, clinics, emergency rooms, hospitals, and other medical settings.
+We call these the “[MDE Standards](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/01/09/2016-31186/standards-for-accessible-medical-diagnostic-equipment).”
+- This rule adopts the [MDE Standards](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/01/09/2016-31186/standards-for-accessible-medical-diagnostic-equipment) and makes them enforceable under the ADA by
+incorporating them into the Department’s ADA Title II regulation.
+{% enddetails %}
+
+{% details Requirement: State and local government entities’ newly acquired MDE must meet the
+MDE Standards. expandable %}
+
+- The rule generally requires all MDE that state and local government entities purchase,
+lease, or otherwise acquire after the rule goes into effect to be accessible, until the
+entities have the amount of accessible MDE specified in the rule.
+- State and local government entities may choose to acquire additional accessible MDE
+as long as they have the amount specified in the rule.
+{% enddetails %}
+
+{% details Requirement: State and local government entities that use examination tables and
+weight scales must have at least one accessible examination table and weight scale
+within two years. expandable %}
+
+- Within two years, any state or local government entity that uses an examination table
+must purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire at least one examination table that meets the
+MDE Standards, unless the entity already has one.
+- Within two years, any state or local government entity that uses a weight scale must
+purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire at least one weight scale that meets the MDE
+Standards, unless the entity already has one.
+{% enddetails %}
+
+{% details Requirement: State and local government entities must meet certain requirements for
+their existing MDE. expandable %}
+- State and local government entities must also address barriers caused by a lack of
+existing accessible MDE. Examples of access barriers could include exam tables that
+are not height adjustable or weight scales that do not accommodate wheelchairs.
+- State and local government entities do not necessarily have to make all of their existing
+MDE accessible.
+- The rule requires state and local government entities to operate each service, program,
+or activity offered through or with the use of MDE so that the service, program, or activity
+as a whole is readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. This
+approach is similar to the program accessibility requirements in the Department of
+Justice’s existing regulation implementing Title II of the ADA.
+- State and local government entities can meet this requirement in many ways. For
+example, they can provide services at another location, through home visits, or by
+acquiring accessible MDE.
+{% enddetails %}
+
+{% details Requirement: State and local government entities must ensure that their services,
+programs, and activities that use MDE are accessible to individuals with disabilities. expandable %}
+
+- State and local government entities cannot deny health care services to a patient with a
+disability that they would otherwise provide because they lack accessible MDE.
+- State and local government entities cannot require a patient with a disability to bring
+someone along with them to help if patients without disabilities are not required to do the
+same.
+{% enddetails %}
+
+{% details Requirement: State and local government entities must have qualified staff who can
+operate accessible MDE. expandable %}
+- The rule requires state and local government entities to ensure that their staff can
+successfully operate accessible MDE, assist with transfers and positioning of individuals
+with disabilities, and carry out the rule’s requirements for existing MDE.
+- At all times when services are provided to the public, state and local government entities
+are expected to have staff who can operate accessible MDE.
+- Often, the most effective way for state and local government entities to ensure that their
+staff can successfully operate accessible MDE is to provide staff training on the use of
+accessible MDE.
+{% enddetails %}
+
+{% details Do state and local government entities always have to comply with the MDE Standards? expandable %}
+- Under the current ADA rules, state and local government entities do not need to make
+changes that would be a fundamental alteration or cause undue financial and
+administrative burdens. They still do not need to do that under this rule.
+- For more information about fundamental alteration and undue burdens, see the
+Department’s [State and Local Governments page]({{'/topics/title-ii' | relative_url}}).
+{% enddetails %}
+
+{% details Can state or local governments follow a higher standard? expandable %}
+- The rule allows state and local government entities to use different designs, products, or
+technologies as alternatives, as long as the state or local government can prove that the
+alternatives provide the same or more accessibility and usability as the MDE Standards.
+{% enddetails %}
+
+## How Long State and Local Government Entities Have to Comply with the Rule
+- Starting sixty days after the final rule is published, all MDE that state and local government
+entities purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire must be accessible, until the entities have the
+amount of accessible MDE that the rule requires.
+- Within two years after the final rule is published, state and local government entities that use
+examination tables must have at least one examination table that meets the MDE
+Standards.
+- Within two years after the final rule is published, state and local government entities that use
+weight scales must have at least one weight scale that meets the MDE Standards.
+
+## ADA Information and Resources
+
+If you have questions about this rule or the ADA, you can call the Department’s [ADA Information
+Line]({{'/infoline' | relative_url}}).
+
+Another source of information is the [ADA National Network](https://adata.org/). The National Network includes ten regional centers that provide ADA technical assistance to businesses, state and local
+governments, and individuals with disabilities. One toll-free number connects you to the center
+in your region: 800-949-4232 (Voice and TTY).