How Demographic Data Can Strengthen Equity and Efficiency: The 21st Century Assistive Technology Act

The 21st Century Assistive Technology Act in December 2022 reauthorized federal funding for state programs to spread awareness and provide assistive technology services to the public. This article analyzes the effectiveness of the act in the areas of equity, efficiency, and savings. The article uses comparative and textual analysis of the bill and its past iterations and descriptive statistical analysis of disability demographics and program data to conduct this analysis. The article finds that the act improves equity for certain groups with higher rates of disability yet leaves out other groups, achieves cost-efficiency across most states, and creates substantial cost savings for consumers. The act does address some gaps in assistive technology among older adult and veteran populations yet does not explicitly increase representation for gender, LGBT, rural, or other demographic groups with higher prevalence of disability. This article recommends that policymakers utilize demographic figures to improve the equity and efficiency of funding allocation, increase the representation of LGBT, rural, and other groups with higher disability prevalence within the design and implementation process, and remove states’ ability to opt out of providing certain activities such as financing to improve the effectiveness of the act and savings for individuals.