36 CFR Part 1195 Proposed Accessibility Standards for Medical Diagnostic Equipment NPRM - Preamble

M201.1 Enforcing Authority

The proposed standards do not include scoping requirements that specify the minimum number of types of accessible diagnostic equipment required in different types of health care facilities because Section 510 of the Rehabilitation Act authorizes the Access Board to issue only technical criteria. Other agencies, referred to as an enforcing authority in the standards (see defined terms in M102.1), may adopt the standards as mandatory requirements for entities subject to their jurisdiction. An enforcing authority can be a federal, state, or local government agency that enforces laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability, or regulates health care facilities. As discussed above under Department of Justice Activities Related to Health Care Providers and Medical Equipment, DOJ issued an ANPRM in July 2010 announcing that it was considering amending its regulations implementing Titles II and III of the ADA to specifically require health care providers to acquire accessible medical equipment and that it would consider adopting the standards issued by the Access Board. DOJ also indicated its intention to include in its ADA regulations scoping requirements that specify the minimum number of types of accessible medical equipment required in different types of health care facilities.