Just as they were set to take effect, federal officials are delaying new requirements meant to make healthcare more accessible to people with disabilities and signaling that additional changes are likely.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published an interim final rule Monday putting off the deadline for healthcare providers to ensure that their websites and mobile applications meet certain accessibility standards.
The new mandate was established under a 2024 regulation updating Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The web standards were one piece of the rule, which also stipulates that people with disabilities should not be denied medical treatments due to biases or stereotypes, sets standards for accessible medical diagnostic equipment and more.
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The web accessibility standards apply to most new web content, mobile apps and medical kiosks offered by hospitals, doctors, social services providers and others who receive funding from HHS.
Federal officials initially gave large providers — those with 15 or more employees — until Monday to meet the new web accessibility requirements, while smaller entities had an additional year to come into compliance.
Under the interim final rule, large providers will now have until May 11, 2027 and the deadline for smaller providers has been moved to May 10, 2028.
“The department now believes that the compliance dates for web content and mobile app accessibility in the 2024 final rule in § 84.84(b) are unlikely to be met by a significant number of recipients, especially local governments and other small and medium size recipients of financial assistance from the department, for various reasons beyond the department’s and recipients’ control,” HHS said in the update this week.
Beyond the delay, the agency also said that it plans to reconsider the “substantive requirements” of the 2024 rule more broadly.
“During the extension period, the department will consider issuing (a notice of proposed rulemaking) providing members of the public with an opportunity to comment on the substance of the 2024 final rule and any changes proposed by the department, including any changes that would affect the web content and mobile app accessibility requirements,” HHS said in the interim final rule.
The agency cited comments it has received questioning the need for the new requirements including one indicating that the rule “imposes substantial financial burdens on health care providers without providing any material benefits.” Meanwhile, HHS said that representative of cities, counties and primary healthcare associations have indicated that they are having difficulties coming into compliance.
“While it is possible that some cities, counties, (federally qualified health centers), and other recipients would be able to meet the necessary success criteria prior to the 2024 final rule’s implementation dates, the department is concerned that noncompliance among a significant portion of those recipients would lead to a significant increase in litigation,” HHS said.
Federal officials acknowledged that delaying the deadline could negatively impact people with disabilities, but they said that the change “does not relieve recipients of their other obligations under Section 504” including the need to make reasonable accommodations.
The move comes just weeks after the Department of Justice postponed the deadline for a similar rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act requiring that online offerings from state and local governments meet certain accessibility standards.
Jennifer Mathis, deputy director of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, called the delay of the web accessibility requirements under both rules “deeply troubling.”
“We have seen that the absence of accessibility standards has left people with disabilities without access to key services and programs,” she said. “The rule already took into account the concerns raised by covered entities and provided ample time for them to comply with the standards. There is nothing new justifying a yearlong delay.”
