Proposed changes to health survey worry disability advocates

The federal government is planning to dramatically shrink its most influential health survey, the National Health Interview Survey, which has been conducted annually since 1957. Officials say the 2028 questionnaire will have about 200 to 225 questions, down from the current 490 for adults, as part of an effort to cut costs and address declining response rates. The survey currently costs $40 million a year and involves around 30,000 households, with interviews often taking an hour or more.

The planned redesign aims to reduce interview time to about a half-hour by shifting to online or paper invitations, with only a smaller second round of in-person follow-ups by Census Bureau staff. Advocates and researchers warn that cutting questions on memory, fatigue, arthritis, mobility, and use of aids like wheelchairs, canes, and hearing aids could lead to significant undercounting. As many as a quarter of wheelchair users and more than a third of people who are blind or deaf might be misclassified as not disabled.

Scott Landes, a Syracuse University sociology professor who researches people with disabilities, said, “We just won’t know any of that anymore.” Officials note the changes are still being finalized and may not be as severe as earlier proposals suggested. The redesign is also tied to budget constraints, hiring challenges, and the Census Bureau’s reconfiguration of data collection platforms for the 2030 census. A public comment period runs through October 20.

Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal