This episode of Quality Matters features Rupa Valdez, Professor at the University of Virginia; Polina Lissin, NCQA Senior Healthcare Analyst; and Elizabeth Ryder, NCQA Assistant Director of Product Management.

Together, they unpack the meaning of disability in health care, the importance of self‑identification and how NCQA is working to improve outcomes for people with disabilities. The conversation bridges academic, policy and real-life perspectives, making a compelling case for why disability is central to quality improvement.

Listen to learn about:

• Disability and Destiny: One in four Americans has a disability. That prevalence understates everyone who will have a disability.
   
• Defining and Measuring Disability: Policymakers and disability advocates agree that people with disabilities should define their own disability status. Measures of population health and quality must adjust accordingly.
   
• NCQA’s Contributions and Innovations: New standards for Health Outcomes Accreditation and the Disability Description of Membership measure in HEDIS 2026 show disability can be a valuable lens for assessing quality.
   
• Designing for Inclusion: From curb cuts in sidewalks to adjustable exam tables, accessibility is a design principle that improves life for everyone—not just those who identify as disabled.

This episode is an essential resource for quality advocates, policymakers, accreditation professionals and others committed to improving care for all. It underscores that disability is not a niche issue but something that affects nearly all of us, eventually. By accounting for disability, health care can be better and more accessible for everyone.

Key Quote:

“The reason to use words like illness and impairment is someone may have a functional limitation but not identify with the term disability. That's common in some groups, like older adults, where having some physical limitation may lead to experiences similar to someone who would identify as being disabled. But that person might not identify with the term disability.

Different people identify with different terms that underlie that same need for accommodation and access. Someone may consider themselves disabled but not have that same limitation—because of technology, the way the physical space has been built or laid out—may not actually experience that functional limitation.

So wording needs to be broad and encompassing to capture the range of experiences within the disability community.”

 -Rupa Valdez, PhD

Time Stamps:

(01:46) Understanding Disability in Health Care

(03:40) Challenges in Measuring Disability Care

(07:30) Addressing Ableist Bias

(12:29) Building Better Standards and Measures for Disability Care

(18:52) Tips on Improving Care for People with Disabilities

Dive Deeper:

NCQA Health Outcomes Accreditation

HEDIS Disability Description of Membership (DDM)

Connect with Rupa Valdez

Connect with Polina Lissin

Connect with Elizabeth Ryder

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