Disabilities

Veterans suffering from certain medical conditions became eligible for "presumptive" VA disability benefits last year. But the claims they're filing have added to the agency's huge backlog.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals approved a joint motion from the parties to dismiss the case. The motion and the dismissal did not explain the reasons.

Health care-related measures in the proposal are targeted to combat the opioid epidemic, boost mental health programs and assist the elderly, veterans and people with disabilities.

Federal regulators have yet to issue rules to implement a 2017 law designed to lower the cost of hearing devices. However, changes in the industry are offering consumers relief.

The law ends the practice of confining students with disabilities to a room by themselves. Another bill signed Monday allows for higher payments to parents of infants born with a brain injury.

iCanBike Tampa Bay recruited more than 50 volunteers to assist riders — many of them children and young adults — on a one-on-one basis.

Advocates praised lawmakers' decision to beef up funding for the program, which helps developmentally disabled people select needed services, but worry about a shortage of providers unless there are pay increases, which wasn't part of the budget proposal.

The measure would prevent doctors from performing abortions that women seek because of tests showing that fetuses will have disabilities.

When schools shut down last spring to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the closures were especially difficult for families of children with disabilities or severe medical conditions. Then came perhaps an even tougher dilemma: what to do when schools reopened in the fall.

Without federal tracking, no one knows how many people in disability group housing have fallen ill or died from the virus. And few states are prioritizing them for vaccination.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2016 figures, 8.6% of Floridians under 65 have a disability. That demographic has a lower turnout than voters without disabilities.

The state says it is backing off a requirement that facilities for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities test staff members for COVID-19 every two weeks.