What happened in this Health story?

The CDC has proposed cutting disability-related questions from its National Health Interview Survey, a change that advocates say will leave Americans with disabilities significantly undercounted in federal health data for years to come.

What is a key fact in this story? (1)

**The CDC's** National Center for Health Statistics proposed in August cutting the National Health Interview Survey from 482 questions to 150, stripping out items on hearing aids, fatigue, cognition, and mobility supports like wheelchairs and scooters — even though more than a quarter of Americans have a disability.

What is a key fact in this story? (2)

**HHS** declined to explain why specific disability questions were removed, telling outlets only that the redesign was driven by a push to lower data collection costs.

CDC Cuts Disability Questions From Annual Health Survey — SkimNews

By STAT News · Summarized & edited by Kapil Samant · 2026-10-01

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The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics proposed in August cutting the National Health Interview Survey from 482 questions to 150, stripping out items on hearing aids, fatigue, cognition, and mobility supports like wheelchairs and scooters — even though more than a quarter of Americans have a disability.
HHS declined to explain why specific disability questions were removed, telling outlets only that the redesign was driven by a push to lower data collection costs.
The redesign would worsen existing undercounting of Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities, potentially missing roughly 75% of that population according to a recent paper co-authored by CDC statisticians.
CDC division director Stephen Blumberg acknowledged in a 2025 memo that the redesign 'does not provide the desired depth of information' on disability, chronic conditions, and other topics mandated by the survey's authorizing legislation.
The cuts run counter to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s stated goal of reducing chronic disease, even though adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities face significantly higher rates of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
A 2024 study using NHIS data found that people with a 'self-care disability' — those who have difficulty dressing or bathing — had the highest mortality rates of any group tracked by the survey.

Why it matters: If finalized, the redesign will erase critical data on the Americans with the worst health outcomes — a 2024 NHIS study found people with self-care disabilities had the highest mortality rates of any tracked group. The cuts directly undermine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s stated goal of reducing chronic disease, since intellectual and developmental disability populations face elevated rates of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.