Recommendations on Standards for the Design of Medical Diagnostic Equipment for Adults with Disabilities, Advisory Committee Final Report

BENEFITS AND COSTS: OVERVIEW

Based on our analysis, we determined that transfer surface height requirements lower than 19 inches would increase the cost of designing and manufacturing examination tables, reduce the rate of adoption of accessible equipment, and increase the health provider’s cost of purchasing accessible equipment.

While we estimate that adopting a lower-range requirement of 19 inches, health care providers will experience a 24 percent price increase. This means that a $5,000 adjustable-height examination table purchased today would cost approximately $6,200 after the Access Board adopts the requirements for knee-crutches and transfer supports because health care providers will need to retrofit existing tables and chairs with the required equipment. The price of that same table would be 39 percent higher than the cost of today’s examination tables if the height standard were lower than 19 inches.