Today marks the 14th anniversary of Olmstead v. L.C., possibly the most important Supreme Court decision on disability policy in my lifetime (OK at in Austin’s or Aaron’s at least). Because of that decision, my brother-in-law and hundreds of thousands of others are able to live on a human scale within their own communities.
This year marks the 23rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. ADA hasn’t been in the news so much of-late. In ratifying and extending America’s broad consensus regarding the rights of disabled citizens, ADA is one of the most important and worthy—if not entirely successful—social policy initiatives in recent history.
Over at healthinsurance.org, I sat down for a long-form conversation with the distinguished disability law scholar Sam Bagenstos to discuss ADA’s legacy, the impact of health reform for the disability community, and related matters.
Some issues will be familiar to TIE readers—such as the importance of ACA’s Medicaid expansion. Other issues are less familiar, and less subject to the usual partisan frame. For example we discuss why ADA had a disappointing impact on labor force participation rates among the disabled, and how federal disability programs might be modified to raise employment among people with disabilities.
I think this is worth a look.
