Progress on Medical Access and Equal Wages
by Justin Young
From the Editor: John Paré told the convention that Justin Young is sometimes called the smartest member of the government affairs team because he has associates, masters and doctorate degrees. Here is what Justin told the convention about progress on his areas of focus:
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines progress as “a forward or onward movement to an objective or goal.” Over the past year, we have made progress in the areas of nonvisual access to medical devices, accessible prescription labels, and ending the payment of subminimum wages.
On March 1, 2023, Representative Jan Schakowsky from Illinois, along with thirty-two initial cosponsors, introduced H.R. 1328, the Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act. The bill authorizes the FDA to adopt nonvisual access standards for class II and III medical devices with digital interfaces. Some examples include continuous glucose monitors, insulin pumps, and CPAP machines. By adopting these new nonvisual accessible standards, it would ensure we are able to independently, safely, and accessibly operate our medical devices. Between the months of March through May, as a direct result of our hard work, we have gained an additional sixteen cosponsors, bringing the current count to forty-eight. This is significant because for the 117th Congress, which is a two-year cycle, we had a total of sixty-five. I know we can meet and exceed that number in the 118th Congress. We are working diligently to ensure there will be a companion bill in the Senate this Congress.
Along with having access to medical devices, we must also be able to correctly identify prescription medicine. Several affiliates have done work to ensure that pharmacies are required to provide accessible prescription drug labels. In 2023, the states of Maryland and Hawaii passed laws mandating that prescription drug labels are nonvisually accessible. Additionally, the State Boards of Pharmacy in Washington and Florida are working on regulations to adopt guidelines for accessible prescription labeling. Furthermore, Tennessee, which passed a law on accessible prescription labeling last year, has begun the implementation process.
Along with making progress on accessible medical devices and prescription labeling, we are also making progress on eliminating the practice of subminimum wages both at the federal and state levels. On February 27 and 28, 2023, the Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act was introduced in the United States Senate and House of Representatives respectively. The Senate bill is S. 533, and the House bill is H.R. 1263. This bill will phase out, over a five-year period, Section 14C of the Fair Labor Standards Act, ensuring we all have the right to a fair wage. It is time to eliminate this antiquated and discriminatory practice. In addition to the introduction of the Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act, the AbilityOne Commission adopted a policy that went into effect on October 19, 2022, which prohibits subminimum wages on AbilityOne contracts. At the state level, there has also been progress to eliminate subminimum wages. On April 12, 2023, the Virginia Governor signed HB1924, which phases out the payment of subminimum wages completely by 2030, making it the seventeenth state to eliminate or limit the use of subminimum wages. There have also been efforts in Minnesota, Illinois, and Kentucky to end subminimum wages over the past year. It is past time for us to earn a fair wage for the work we perform. With the strong determination of the National Federation of the Blind, we will achieve our goal of living the lives we want as valued and respected members of society.