In this powerful episode of IDD Health Matters, Dr. Craig Escudé sits down with longtime civil rights attorney, disability advocate, and former Acting Administrator of the Administration for Community Living, Alison Barkoff. Now serving as the Hirsch Health Law and Policy Professor at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, Alison shares her personal journey rooted in her experiences as a sibling of a person with an intellectual disability—and how that shaped her life’s mission to advance health equity, civil rights, and inclusion for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

Together, they explore:

• The historic update to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act—modernizing anti-discrimination protections in healthcare for the first time in nearly 50 years.

• The hard truths about ableism, medical bias, and discriminatory crisis standards of care exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The urgent need to incorporate clinical care curricula into medical and health professional training to eliminate health disparities for people with IDD.

• The challenges of navigating a fragmented service system—and why it's still worth the fight.

Alison also shares her top three calls to action for improving the lives of people with IDD: building personal connections, embracing inclusive healthcare reform, and confronting the systemic complexity with commitment and compassion.

If you're a healthcare professional, policymaker, or advocate looking to better understand the intersection of disability rights, healthcare, and public policy—this is an episode you don't want to miss.

🔗 Learn more about Alison Barkoff’s work and resources mentioned in the episode in the show notes.