CDC’s planned overhaul of health survey threatens data on disabled Americans
The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics proposes removing disability questions from the National Health Interview Survey, raising fears of major undercounting of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
In August, the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics released a proposal to revamp the National Health Interview Survey, reducing its length from 482 to 150 questions and eliminating several disability-related items, including those on hearing aids, fatigue, cognition and mobility devices. The redesign would affect roughly 25,000 households receiving mailed questionnaires, with the adult form seeing the greatest cuts.
Disability advocates, including The Arc’s CEO Katy Neas and scholar Jean Hall, contend the cuts will dramatically undercount people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, a group that faces markedly higher rates of chronic illnesses. A recent CDC-coauthored paper suggests the new survey could miss up to 75 % of this population. While the Department of Health and Human Services declined comment, it indicated cost reduction motives. Critics also link the proposal to broader policy trends they view as hostile to disabled communities, noting past actions under the Trump administration.
Why it matters
Accurate data on disabled Americans is essential for shaping health policies that address their disproportionate disease burden.
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