The Briefcase
Disability Rights Advocates' Semi-Annual Newsletter
Disability Rights Advocates' Semi-Annual Newsletter
Disability Rights Advocates has led the way in protecting the right to access health care for people with disabilities. To help educate Californians with disabilities about their rights to access quality health care, DRA created the Health Access Project.
2006 marks the 5th anniversary of the settlement in Metzler v. Kaiser Permanente, a groundbreaking lawsuit that challenged the level of health access at Kaiser Permanente facilities throughout California. This sweeping settlement requires the removal of architectural barriers, the installation of accessible medical equipment, and the implementation of policies and procedures that improve health access for patients with disabilities.
Implementation of the settlement is still ongoing, but the results continue to serve as a model for the health care industry on how to deliver medical care for people with disabilities. Notable results at the end of 2005 include the statewide installation of accessible medical equipment such as wheelchair scales, accessible exam tables, and patient lifts. Kaiser has also begun the widespread implementation of resources such as assisted listening devices and computer software that converts health information materials to alternative formats.
This year, with the help of a grant from the California Endowment, DRA, in collaboration with Kaiser Permanente, is organizing site tours at facilities statewide. These tours are an opportunity for disability advocates to review the changes being made at Kaiser Permanente and offer constructive feedback. It is also an opportunity to raise awareness within the community, so that individuals with disabilities can become familiar with the new resources available to them.
The Health Access Project is supported by a generous grant from The California Endowment.
Following the positive results in Metzler v. Kaiser Permanente, DRA has taken steps to simultaneously exert pressure, collaborate with the community, and offer constructive solutions to other major health care providers to ensure that they provide access for their disabled consumers and have the tools, equipment, and disability training necessary to provide quality health care and multi-cultural competence.
All health care facilities—including places specializing in mental, dental, vision, and alternative care—must be accessible (free from barriers that make it difficult or impossible to use the facility or to get the goods and services offered by the facility).
Accessibility applies not only to physical access, but also to communication access, access to auxiliary aids, services and other program access. Any person or group that owns, leases, or operates a health care facility is responsible for access, even a health care provider whose office is part of his or her home.
ADA Title III accessibility requirements for health care providers include:
Health care providers must remove architectural barriers, where readily achievable, from facilities that serve patients. For example, parking lots should have accessible parking spaces; ramps should be provided where there are stairs; doorways should be wide enough for a wheelchair to pass through; and lobbies and waiting rooms should contain adequate space around doors and open areas for wheelchair users to sit.
Health care providers must ensure they can effectively communicate with people who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or have a speech, vision or learning disability. Providers can use many kinds of auxiliary aids and services, such as sign language interpreters, TDDs, readers, Braille, and large print, to ensure effective communication. Providers should also have accessible medical equipment such as accessible scales, accessible exam tables that raise and lower for easy transfers, and accessible exam chairs that patients can read from their wheelchairs and transfer onto. Finally, providers can not charge patients for the provision of auxiliary aids and services.
Health care providers must modify their policies and procedures to provide the same goods and services to people with disabilities as those provided to people without disabilities. For example, a health care provider should make an exception to a “no pets allowed” policy for people who use service animals or should provide referrals to doctors outside the plan if no doctors within the plan can serve the patient’s needs.
California has one of the largest populations of Asian Americans in the United States. According to the U.S. 2000 Census, 665,000 of the 4 million Asian Americans in California have disabilities.
DRA recognizes that members of the Asian American community with disabilities faces multiple barriers to health care access. Asian Americans with disabilities not only confront the physical, attitudinal, financial, and insurance barriers faced by many people with disabilities, but also language and cultural barriers. According to the Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California's California Speaks report, thirty-nine percent of Asian Americans in California have limited English proficiency. This lack of English proficiency deters many from accessing health care services or from receiving quality care.
DRA's Know Your Rights, a pocket guide to health care for Californians with disabilities, is available for free download.
This publication is available in English, Spanish, and Chinese.
These problems are compounded by the cultural stigma and shame associated with having a disability in many Asian cultures, which can prevent many Asian Americans with disabilities from seeking health care services. Studies have also shown that Asian Americans often have lower self-advocacy skills and a lower sense of entitlement than members of other ethnic groups. These barriers prevent Asian Americans with disabilities from receiving equal and full access to health care.
Recognizing that the Asian American community with disabilities faces particular difficulty in health care, DRA initiated the Asian American Health Care Access Outreach Project. This project aims to bridge the gap between the disability movement, the independent living movement, and the Asian American civil rights movement.
DRA works with health care service providers to further understand how to better serve members of this community. To reach this goal, DRA holds Know Your Rights workshops: information sessions to raise awareness about disability rights and health care issues among those who provide service to Asian Americans with disabilities.
DRA is accepting complaints from people with disabilities who use Sutter Hospitals and other California health care facilities including dental and vision care facilities. Please contact us at HealthAccess@dralegal.org if you have experienced inadequate health care due to any of the following:
DRA offers training on health care access rights for people with disabilities, their families, caretakers, and advocates. This training provides an overview on legal rights to health care and insurance, advocacy tips, and resources, with ample time for questions and answers. For a list of upcoming training, please visit our Health Access Project page or contact Dorene Giacopini, Outreach Coordinator, at dgiacopini@dralegal.org .
DRA provides several publications on health access for people with disabilities. All publications are avilable for free download in multiple formats, and printed editions are available for purchase. Large-print and Braille versions are available.
Know Your Rights — A pocket guide to health care for Californians with disabilities. Available in English, Spanish, and Chinese.
Through the Maze — A Guide to Health Care & Insurance Rights & Resources for Californians with Disabilities. Available in English and Spanish.
A Call to Action — A Guide for Managed Care Plans Serving Californians with Disabilities. Available in English.
Disability Watch — an illuminating sourcebook for all those working to advance opportunities for people with disabilities. Available in English.
DRA's national advocacy work includes high-impact class action litigation on behalf of people with all types of disabilities, including mobility, hearing, vision, learning, and psychological disabilities. Through negotiation and litigation, DRA has made thousands of facilities throughout the country accessible and has enforced access rights for millions of people with disabilities in many key areas of life, including health care, education, employment, and transportation.
The following are descriptions of selected past DRA cases that focus on access to health care and insurance services.
