Opinion: I introduced the ADA 35 years ago. Now Congress needs to act to ban a practice that devalues disabled lives
Former Rep. Tony Coelho, who introduced the Americans with Disabilities Act 35 years ago, urges Congress to ban all federal programs from using QALYs.
Thirty-five years ago, I was proud to introduce the Americans with Disabilities Act in the House of Representatives, because I know firsthand what it is like to be devalued due to a disability — by society, potential employers, even my parents and my church. My epilepsy came with the added stigma of old Catholic doctrine that I must be possessed.
As I get older, there is more to do to manage my quality of life. Yet some measures used to value health care exacerbate the stigma that suggests my age and disability make me less worthy of care. Since passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, I have joined the disability community in fighting against Medicare’s use of such measures that devalue disabled lives. We scored major victories when such laws passed as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). But they can still be used in other programs to make decisions.
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