Disability Affirmative Action Requirements for the U.S. HHS and Academic Medical Centers

Medical professionals exert enormous influence over the lives of persons with disabilities by providing medical care and by generating medical research and medical information about them that form the basis for policies and practices that affect their everyday lives. Yet persons with disabilities remain substantially underrepresented within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' workforce, among academic medical centers' employees, and in the health professions. The U.S. HHS and academic medical centers appear to be noncompliant with their obligations to engage in disability affirmative action under sections 501 and 503 of the Rehabilitation Act. This essay describes these requirements and contrasts them with medical leaders' "well-being" agendas. It also describes ongoing medical research on "burnout" being conducted on medical employees and further enabled through the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act. The essay calls for a wholesale change in approaches to persons with disabilities within the health and medical professions.