People with disabilities are vulnerable. They carry high risk for poor health and health outcomes. As a group, they experience social disadvantages such as poverty, underemployment and unemployment, isolation, and discrimination at a higher rate than the general population. They also face multiple barriers to quality health care and report poorer health status than people without disabilities. This Special Issue will explore the key health disparities and barriers to health care experienced by people with disabilities, and explore the legal, ethical, and social issues they raise. It will investigate the legal requirements of the Americans with Disabilities and other antidiscrimination laws as they apply to health and health care, the implications of health care reform efforts affecting people with disabilities, and other uses of law and policy to promote health determinants, such as access to education and work opportunities, a life in a community, and full participation in society for people with disabilities
