Businesses and other taxpayers stand to gain from an initiative that promotes accessibility.

Lower Taxes

Businesses and citizens pay taxes to support local, state and federal programs and to provide support for people with disabilities who are unable to work, those not working and for the care of dependent seniors. The costs of these programs are high and rising rapidly. Businesses would save hundreds of millions of dollars if better AT or more accessible standard technologies were developed which would reduce program costs by just one percent. Likewise, all taxpayers will also benefit from lower taxes.

In federal fiscal year 2003, the government’s disability-related expenditures under the Supplemental Security Disability Income (SSDI) program will top $63 billion, with an additional $28.4 billion spent on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) matching funds. The federal government also spent $32.5 billion and $39.9 billion on Medicaid and Medicare costs, respectively. Total federal disability-related expenditures are equal to $164 billion annually.²²

Additional state programs cost taxpayers billions of dollars as well. Some states add services above and beyond those mandated by the federal government, so the typical 50 percent match is a minimum figure. There are also a myriad of state programs designed to help people with disabilities access and use AT and related services. Reducing disability-related expenditures benefits everyone and every business that pays taxes.

Reduced Costs of Disability

Companies in the U.S. incur significant costs due to employee disabilities when such disabilities are inadequately accommodated by accessible technologies. Direct costs to the employer include worker’s compensation payments, sick pay and costs for short and long-term disability.²³ Employers also encounter significant indirect turnover costs such as the cost of employee overtime, replacing employees, training and increased supervisory time.

On average, most organizations experience a nine percent decrease in productivity due to employee disabilities. An accessible workplace can enable a company to retain valued employees who acquire disabilities and who might otherwise go on disability leave, thereby reducing hiring and training costs.

Surveys conducted by large insurers and the Washington Business Group on Health place the cost to business of employee disabilities at six to 10 percent of payroll, for a total annual cost in excess of $200 billion annually.²⁴ A similar 1997 study by UNUM Provident Corporate concluded that disability costs the average business 8.6 percent of payroll, an average of $2,860 per employee per year, or more than $340 billion annually.²⁵