HHS Section 504 still due May
- HHS's Section 504 deadline for healthcare providers that receive federal funding remains unchanged and still falls in May 2026. (jacksonlewis.com) - Hospital compliance teams, digital leads and patient-experience officers are specifically named as under near-term pressure. (aha.org) - That creates an immediate procurement opening for services tied to accessible patient communications and documented accommodation processes. (jacksonlewis.com)
Hospitals and clinics that take federal health funding still face a May 11, 2026 deadline to make websites and mobile apps accessible under the Department of Health and Human Services’ Section 504 rule. (hhs.gov) That deadline did not move when the Justice Department issued an interim final rule on April 20, 2026 extending separate Americans with Disabilities Act Title II web and app deadlines for state and local governments. The American Hospital Association said April 22 that the Justice rule “does not address” the Health and Human Services compliance dates. (federalregister.gov) (aha.org) Health and Human Services set the web and mobile-app deadline at May 11, 2026 for recipients with 15 or more employees, and May 10, 2027 for recipients with fewer than 15 employees. The agency says the required technical benchmark is Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 Levels A and AA, the standard commonly called WCAG 2.1 AA. (hhs.gov) Section 504 is the disability-rights law that bars discrimination in programs receiving federal financial assistance. In health care, the May deadline reaches patient-facing web pages, online forms, and mobile apps used by organizations funded through Health and Human Services. (hhs.gov 1) (hhs.gov 2) Health and Human Services published the final Section 504 rule on May 9, 2024, and made it effective July 8, 2024. The rule also updates requirements on effective communication, accessible medical diagnostic equipment, kiosks, integration, and nondiscrimination in medical treatment. (federalregister.gov) (hhs.gov) The American Hospital Association said compliance pressure is landing on hospital legal, compliance, digital, marketing, patient access, patient experience, and information technology teams. Its April 22 notice urged hospitals and health systems to keep preparing because the Justice Department’s extension did not change the Health and Human Services timetable. (aha.org) Jackson Lewis said the unchanged date leaves “healthcare organizations receiving funding through HHS” facing the same May 11, 2026 target even after the Justice Department delayed the ADA Title II schedule. The law firm said that creates near-term work around website remediation, accessible patient communications, and accommodation processes that can be documented. (jacksonlewis.com) Health and Human Services’ guidance says accessible digital content can include basics such as captions for videos and design that works with assistive technology. With May 11 now less than three weeks away, the federal deadline that matters for most hospitals is still the one Health and Human Services set in 2024. (hhs.gov)
