Meredith Lee, PRME Division

Department of Medical Assistance Services

600 East Broad Street, Suite 1300

Richmond, VA 23219

Re: Public Comments -  Draft Telehealth Services Provider Manual Supplement

disAbility Law Center of Virginia (dLCV) is the designated protection and advocacy (P&A) agency for the Commonwealth of Virginia. See, Va Code § 51.5-39.13. As the designated P&A, dLCV establishes annual goals with input from the public. One of our goals is to ensure people with disabilities have equal access to healthcare.

Unfortunately, people with disabilities regularly encounter accessibility barriers when seeking healthcare. These barriers include physical accessibility and effective communication issues, among other things. The use of telehealth modalities during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond has reduced access barriers in some respects and created altogether new barriers in others.

To combat these barriers, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services recently released “Guidance on Nondiscrimination in Telehealth: Federal Protections to Ensure Accessibility to People with Disabilities and Limited English Proficient Persons.” This guidance can be accessed online at https://www.ada.gov/telehealth_guidance.pdf.

We ask that you take proactive steps to ensure Virginia Medicaid’s fee-for-service and managed care providers are familiar with and in compliance with this important federal guidance. This should include updating your provider manual to more explicitly reference relevant federal civil rights requirements related to assistive technology, effective communication, and reasonable modifications.

If you have questions regarding these comments, please contact Robert Gray, Director for Compliance and Quality Assurance, at robert.gray@dlcv.org or 804-662-7188.

Sincerely,

Colleen Miller

Executive Director