Medicare, Medicaid, private health or disability insurance, and Worker’s Compensation may pay for some assistive technology. Funding sources often require a statement of medical necessity for the product or equipment and a prescription from a doctor or other health professional. Public educational institutions may have funding for assistive technologies needed to meet educational goals.  State vocational rehabilitation agencies may provide assistive technology for their clients when it is needed to achieve vocational goals.  Many states have programs to provide adaptive telecommunications equipment for deaf and hard of hearing individuals and others who need adaptive equipment for telecommunications.  For more information about funding assistive technology, contact your state’s Assistive Technology Act Program.  A list of these programs can be found at http://assistivetech.net/webresources/stateTechActProjects.php.

For home modifications, such as installing ramps or renovating bathrooms, funds may be available through vocational rehabilitation agencies, local independent living centers, and local volunteer organizations that offer labor or materials for construction.  To find contact information for your local center for independent living visit http://www.ilru.org/.

Veterans with disabilities may receive assistance for improvements necessary to make a home and essential lavatory and sanitary facilities accessible under the Home Improvements and Structural Alterations (HISA) program. A HISA grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is available to Veterans who have received a medical determination indicating that improvements and structural alterations are necessary or appropriate for the effective treatment of his/her disability. The HISA program is available for both service-connected Veterans and non-service-connected Veterans.

Home improvement benefits up to $6,800 may be provided for a:

• service-connected condition
• non-service-connected condition of a Veteran rated 50 percent or more service-connected

Home improvement benefits up to $2,000 may be provided to all other Veterans registered in the VA health care system. The prosthetics department of the VA may also donate lifting equipment such as chairlifts or vertical porch lifts.  To learn more about the program, visit http://www.prosthetics.va.gov/HISA2.asp.

Businesses doing alterations to improve accessibility are eligible for two federal tax incentives.  The Disabled Access Credit (Internal Revenue Code, Section 44) is available to help small businesses cover ADA-related eligible access expenditures. A small business is one that had either revenues of $1,000,000 or less or 30 or fewer full-time workers in the previous tax year. The credit can be taken to: (1) remove barriers that prevent a business from being accessible to or usable by individuals with disabilities; (2) provide qualified interpreters or other methods of making audio materials available to hearing-impaired individuals; (3) provide qualified readers, taped texts, and other methods of making visual materials available to individuals with visual impairments; and (4) acquire or modify equipment or devices for individuals with disabilities. The credit cannot be taken for the costs of new construction or planned alterations/renovations. The amount of the tax credit is equal to 50% of the eligible access expenditures in a year, up to a maximum expenditure of $10,250. There is no credit for the first $250 of expenditures. The maximum tax credit is $5,000.

A business of any size can take a tax deduction under Internal Revenue Code - Section 190 for the costs of removing architectural or transportation barriers. Businesses can also take a business expense deduction of up to $15,000 per year for costs of removing barriers in facilities or vehicles. These two incentives can be used together by eligible businesses if the expenditures qualify.

Technical guidance is available through the ADA National Network at 1-800-949-4232.

The Regional ADA Centers do not provide direct attorney referrals.  The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) is the nonprofit membership organization for the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Systems and Client Assistance Programs (CAP).  There is a P&A/CAP agency in every state and U.S. territory as well as one serving the Native American population in the four corners region.  Collectively, the P&A/CAP network is the largest provider of legally based advocacy services to people with disabilities in the United States.  To find your local Protection and Advocacy agency and Client Assistance Program in each state, go to - http://www.napas.org/en/ndrn-member-agencies.html . 

Your state or local bar association may also provide a good starting point in the search for legal advice or representation.  To find your local bar association, go to  http://www.americanbar.org/groups/bar_services/resources/state_local_bar_associations.html, or call 1-800-285-2221