In April, Pressley Led Colleagues Urging DOJ to Strengthen & Finalize Proposed Rules to Boost Medical Equipment Access for Disability Community

BOSTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) issued the following statement applauding the Biden-Harris Administration for finalizing its proposed rule to improve access to medical diagnostic equipment (MDE) for people with disabilities. The DOJ’s final rule follows an April letter by Rep. Pressley and 11 of her colleagues urging it to strengthen and finalize its proposed rule, and underscoring the need for health care facilities to have functional and accessible MDE for people with disabilities.

MDE refers to any equipment used to diagnose a patient’s condition, from weight scales and examination tables to dental chairs and radiology devices.

“Disability rights are human rights, and every policy is a disability policy issue,” said Congresswoman Pressley. “Improving access to medical diagnostic equipment for the disability community is a long-overdue step that will help our disabled siblings get the high-quality care they demand and deserve. I’m grateful to the Biden-Harris Administration for heeding our calls to make our healthcare facilities more accessible, and I won’t stop fighting to affirm healthcare as the fundamental human right that it is.”

“Disabled people need the same access to basic medical equipment as everyone else. No one should receive inadequate care because something as simple as an exam table, scale, or mammogram machine is inaccessible. The rule Attorney General Garland signed today will make accessible medical equipment more available and clarify how hospitals and health care clinics can meet their obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Ultimately, this rule will help the 1 in 4 Americans with a disability get the care they need, recover more quickly when they’re sick, and lead healthier lives,” said William Roberts, senior vice president for the Rights and Justice department at the Center for American Progress.

In addition to Rep. Pressley, the April letter was signed by Representatives Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Barbara Lee (CA-12), Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08), James P. McGovern (MA-02), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), and Paul Tonko (NY-20). The April letter also had the strong support of the Center for American Progress’ Disability Justice Initiative.

A copy of the letter can be found here.

Rep. Pressley has been a longtime advocate the disability community and has championed policies that promote disability justice. She is a co-lead of the Reproductive Health Care Accessibility Act, legislation that would eliminate barriers and strengthen access to reproductive health care for people with disabilities.

• On May 23, 2024, Rep. Pressley and Senators Tammy Duckworth and Patty Murray led their colleagues and disability justice advocates in introducing a bicameral resolution calling for equitable access to reproductive and sexual healthcare for people with disabilities, and designating a day in May as “Disability Reproductive Equity Day.”
• On May 2, 2024, Rep. Pressley issued a statement applauding the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) finalized rule that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability. 
• On April 4, Rep. Pressley led her colleagues in urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to strengthen and quickly finalize its proposed rule to improve access to medical diagnostic equipment (MDE) for people with disabilities.
• On December 12, 2023, Rep. Pressley wrote to the Biden-Harris Administration seeking data on the housing needs for aging adults, people with disabilities, and Medicaid beneficiaries.
• On September 29, 2022, Rep. Pressley and Rep. Cori Bush introduced the Reproductive Health Care Accessibility Act, legislation that would eliminate barriers and strengthen access to reproductive health care for people with disabilities.
• On June 25, 2022, Rep. Pressley applauded the passage of H.R. 2543, which included several key amendments championed by Rep. Pressley to advance disability and economic justice.
• On May 24, 2022, in a House Financial Services subcommittee hearing, Rep. Pressley discussed the crisis of Long COVID as a disability justice issue and outlined how the status quo has relegated disabled Americans—including those with Long COVID—to a second-class standard of living.
• On April 14, 2020, Rep. Pressley urged Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker to rescind the Crisis of Care standards that have disproportionately harmed communities of color and the disability community in Massachusetts.
• On March 29, 2022, in a historic committee hearing on Medicare for All, Rep. Pressley highlighted Medicare For All as a disability justice issue and questioned Ady Barkan, founder of Be A Hero and leading advocate for Medicare for All, about how tying health coverage to employment perpetuates deep inequities for people with disabilities.
• On February 25, 2021, Rep. Pressley, Rep. Katie Porter, and their colleagues introduced the Mental Health Justice Act to reduce violence against individuals with mental illness and disabilities.
• On March 30, 2021, she led her colleagues on a letter with 107 of their colleagues to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris calling for an historic investment of $450 billion in home- and community-based services (HCBS) in the Build Back Better infrastructure package.
• On September 18, 2022, Rep. Pressley, Dr. Subini Ancy Annamma, and Villissa Thompson published an op-ed in Teen Vogue in which they called for an end to the policies and systemic injustice that result in the overcriminalization of Black girls with disabilities in schools.
• On July 29, 2020, Rep. Pressley, Rep. Ilhan Omar, and Senators Chris Murphy and Elizabeth Warren unveiled the Counseling Not Criminalization in Schools Act to end the over-policing of K-12 schools and stop the criminalization of students, including those with disabilities.
• In early 2020, she worked with advocates to challenge Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s crisis standards of care and release updated guidelines with input from the disability community.
• On October 11, 2019, Rep. Pressley and her colleagues introduced the Improving Access to Higher Education Act to help improve college access and completion for students with disabilities.

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