Section 504, the ADA and Section 1557: which applies to a healthcare website
Section 504 applies to providers that take Medicare or Medicaid and sets a standard, WCAG 2.1 AA, with a date; the ADA covers every practice open to the public but sets no technical standard for websites. Section 1557 requires accessible health technology without naming a standard, so a site that meets WCAG 2.2 AA answers all three.
Written by the nextwebsite.co team, and last checked on November 9, 2026.
Three laws, one website
A healthcare practice's website can fall under three federal laws at once. They overlap, but only one of them gives a website standard with a date.
Section 504: the standard and the date
The HHS Section 504 rule applies to providers that receive federal financial assistance, such as Medicare and Medicaid. It requires websites and mobile apps to meet WCAG 2.1 AA, from 11 May 2027 for providers with 15 or more employees and from 10 May 2028 for smaller ones1. HHS's Office for Civil Rights enforces it, and patients can also sue under Section 504 directly; the 2026 extension didn't change that2.
The ADA: lawsuits, without a dated standard
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act covers businesses open to the public, including private practices, whether or not they take Medicare. The Justice Department's position is that this includes websites, but it hasn't set a technical standard for private businesses3. Most website accessibility lawsuits are brought under the ADA, and more than 5,000 were filed in 20254.
Section 1557: health programs online
Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act bars discrimination in health programs that receive federal financial assistance. Its 2024 rule requires health programs offered through websites, apps and other technology to be accessible to people with disabilities, but HHS chose not to adopt a specific standard or a safe harbor in that rule, pointing to its Section 504 rulemaking instead5.
What this means in practice
- If you take Medicare or Medicaid, Section 504 gives you a standard (WCAG 2.1 AA) and a date. Meeting it is also the strongest answer under the ADA and Section 1557.
- If you don't, the ADA still applies, and courts and settlements usually measure websites against WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 AA4.
- Either way, one piece of work answers all three: a site, booking and forms that meet WCAG 2.2 AA, which includes 2.1 AA6, tested by machine and by a person, with a dated record.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Ask a healthcare compliance lawyer about your own situation.
Checklist
- Check whether you take Medicare or Medicaid, which brings in Section 504 and Section 1557.
- Build and test the site, booking and forms to WCAG 2.2 AA, which includes 2.1 AA.
- Test by machine and by a person with a keyboard and a screen reader.
- Publish an accessibility statement and keep a dated record.
Check your own site
The free scan checks your pages for the accessibility problems a machine can find, and marks the checks that need a person. It takes under a minute.
Or run just this check: the accessibility checker.
Read next
- Healthcare websites and the HHS Section 504 rule: the deadlines
Providers that take Medicare or Medicaid must make their websites meet WCAG 2.1 AA. The deadlines are May 2027 and May 2028.
- ADA website compliance for small businesses: what the law says in 2026
The ADA applies to business websites, but names no technical standard. What that means in practice, the lawsuit numbers, and what to do.
- Why accessibility overlays don't make you compliant
Overlay widgets promise one-line compliance. The FTC fined one vendor $1 million for that claim, and sites with widgets still get sued.
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