Mission

The CCD Health Task Force works to ensure access to high quality, accessible, affordable health care for people with disabilities and complex conditions of all ages that meets their individual needs and enables them to be healthy, live as independently as possible, and participate in the community. We work to promote access to comprehensive coverage and eliminate discrimination, disparities and inequities for people with disabilities within and across health care payers, providers, and systems. We recognize that racist and ableist structures, policies and practices have caused and continue to cause disproportionately worse outcomes for Black, Indigenous and other people of color with disabilities. And just as race and disability discrimination intersect, social determinants of health and compounding inequities related to age, size, national origin, immigration status, language, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation, can further reduce access to care and community for people with disabilities. Our advocacy prioritizes recognizing such inequities and championing policies that will reduce and eventually eliminate them.

Co-chairs

• Caroline Bergner
  American Speech Language Hearing Association
  301-296-5677

• Michael Lewis
  American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)
  202-289-7661 phone 
  202-289-7724 fax 

• David Machledt
  National Health Law Program (NHELP)
  540-447-9438 phone  

• Greg Robinson
  Autistic Self Advocacy Network
  202-891-6500 phone 

ACTIVITIES

Health Task Force Letter from Aging and Disability Organizations re Medicaid Community Engagement Implementation The undersigned members of the Health and Long-Term Services and Supports Taskforces of the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities (CCD), the Disability and Aging Collaborative (DAC), and allied organizations are writing to provide feedback on implementation of the new community engagement requirements enacted by the budget reconciliation act of 2025 (H.R. 1). Congress intended to exempt people with disabilities and their caregivers from the community engagement requirements. (October 10,  2025) - Download [ PDF ] Health Task Force DAC/CCD Letter in Support of Repealing the Health Provisions of HR1 - September 2025 The undersigned 355 organizations who are members of the Disability and Aging Collaborative (DAC), the Health and Long Term Services and Supports Taskforces of the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities (CCD), and allied organizations write to urge the swift passage of the Protecting Healthcare and Lowering Costs Act of 2025 to repeal all of the health care provisions in H.R. 1 and make permanent the enhanced Advanced Premium Tax Credits for purchasing marketplace health insurance plans and similar legislation to repeal the harmful cuts to Medicaid included in H.R.1. (September 26,  2025) - Download [ PDF ] Health Task Force CCD_DAC Statement re HR 1 WASHINGTON, D.C. – July 18, 2025 – The Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities (CCD) Health and Long Term Services Task Forces and the Disability and Aging Collaborative (DAC) express profound disappointment in the final passage of HR 1, the budget reconciliation bill, signed into law on July 4. This legislation represents an unprecedented and devastating attack on the healthcare and long-term services and supports that people across America, including millions of people with disabilities and older adults, rely upon. (July 18,  2025) - Download [ PDF ] Health Task Force LTSS and Health TF - Medicaid FAQ Some answers to frequently asked questions about Medicaid, Medicaid’s funding structure, and the proposed changes included in the Senate’s proposal for budget reconciliation. (June 20,  2025) - Download [ PDF ] Health Task Force CCD Health Task Force Co-Chair Sign-on Response to RFI from NIH The Health Task Force co-chairs of the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities (CCD) appreciate the opportunity to submit comment as part of the Request for Information (RFI) on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Strategic Plan for Disability Health Research (“the Strategic Plan”). (March 12,  2025) - Download [ PDF ] Health Task Force Annual Report - Health Task Force (January 13,  2025) - Download [ PDF ]