CDC Proposal Would Cut Disability Questions From Health Survey
CDC has proposed a major redesign of its National Health Interview Survey, set to take effect in 2028, shifting from in-person interviews to a "sequential mixed-mode" approach with shorter, simplified questionnaires. Many detailed topics fielded annually would be dropped, including a question asking whether a physician diagnosed the respondent with an intellectual or developmental disability or autism; only "foundational measures" based on the Washington Group Short Set on functional status would remain. Disability advocates, including The Arc's CEO Katy Neas, warn the change could worsen undercounting of people with disabilities and disrupt longitudinal tracking of disability prevalence, health outcomes, and funding decisions. The proposal, dated Aug. 20, is open for public comment until Oct. 19.
States, researchers, and advocacy groups relying on NHIS data to justify disability-related Medicaid funding, HCBS waiver design, and eligibility policy could lose a key longitudinal data source starting in 2028.
LTSS · Behavioral Health
You might also like