If you’re a healthcare executive or marketing leader still thinking ADA compliance is a checkbox on the IT team’s list, think again. In 2025, accessibility isn’t just about avoiding lawsuits — it’s a marker of brand integrity, patient trust, and operational excellence.
It’s time to flip the narrative. Website accessibility is no longer a “nice to have.” It’s the digital front door to your hospital, your brand, and your reputation — and it’s wide open to scrutiny from regulators, plaintiffs, and patients alike.
Let’s unpack why ADA compliance matters more than ever in healthcare marketing, what you need to watch for, and how smart organizations are turning it from a liability into a leadership opportunity.
The Rise in ADA Lawsuits: Healthcare’s Wake-Up Call
Since 2019, there has been an average 13% year-over-year increase in lawsuits related to web accessibility. That’s not a trend. That’s a reckoning.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys are targeting industries with public-facing websites that serve essential services — like healthcare. The logic is simple: if someone can’t access basic health information or schedule an appointment online due to visual, hearing, or mobility impairments, that’s a violation of civil rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The financial implications are staggering. The legal fees alone can cripple small systems and create unnecessary public relations firestorms for larger ones. But the real damage? The erosion of trust in your brand. So why are so many healthcare brands still underestimating the risk?
The Quiet Cost of Inaction
The Department of Justice has been increasingly vocal — and active — about holding organizations accountable for digital accessibility. And while the recent rollback of certain ADA-related guidance documents was framed as deregulation, don’t let it fool you. The core requirements of the ADA haven’t changed.
In fact, they’ve become the floor — not the ceiling — of expectation.
Here’s what’s at stake:
- Brand risk: No one wants to be the next headline.
- Legal risk: Settlements and compliance plans cost more after a lawsuit.
- Patient loyalty: Accessibility is inclusion. If patients can’t navigate your site, they’ll find a provider whose site they can.
- Reputation in the market: Investors, board members, and community leaders are watching. Accessibility is a leadership issue.
What Does Accessibility Actually Look Like?
Here’s where the conversation gets practical. Accessibility is not an aesthetic — it’s a set of functional, technical, and content standards designed to create equal access for people with disabilities.
Healthcare marketers don’t need to become accessibility experts overnight. But you do need to know what good looks like.
Some of the most important requirements include:
- Screen reader compatibility: Websites must function properly with screen readers, which translate text and interface elements into speech for visually impaired users.
- Alternative text: All meaningful images must have descriptive “alt text” to provide context and meaning.
- Logical structure: Content must use proper headings, lists, and labels to support navigation for assistive technologies.
- Form accessibility: Appointment request forms, newsletter signups, and other user interactions must be navigable and usable via keyboard.
- Color contrast and font size: Visual content should be legible for users with low vision — including seniors, one of the fastest-growing digital patient segments.
Bottom line: If your website is hard to use for people with disabilities, it’s hard to use — period. Accessibility improves UX for everyone.
Technology Is Not the Problem — It’s the Solution
The good news? You don’t need a full web rebuild to become compliant. Today’s technology has made it more cost-effective than ever to implement and maintain digital accessibility.
From AI-assisted screen reader compatibility to user-triggered accessibility widgets and plug-ins, many issues can be identified and remediated without redoing your entire digital infrastructure.
At ab+a, we guide healthcare systems through proactive accessibility audits, identifying opportunities to bring your digital presence in line with WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards — the industry benchmark for ADA compliance.
Here’s what a typical accessibility audit with us includes:
- A technical scan to identify code-level barriers
- A content review of images, forms, navigation, and structure
- A priority roadmap to help your team triage what matters most
- Plain-language recommendations your developers can actually use
Think of it as your accessibility action plan — practical, executable, and tied directly to brand experience and risk reduction.
Beyond the Website: Accessibility Across the Marketing Ecosystem
Many healthcare leaders assume ADA compliance is just about websites. That’s a costly misconception.
Accessibility must be built into every single digital touchpoint, including:
- Patient portals and appointment scheduling tools
- Email campaigns and newsletters
- Video content and webinars (with captions and transcripts)
- Mobile apps and telehealth platforms
- PDFs, brochures, and digital signage
Each of these represents a moment of truth for your brand. Each of these either builds trust — or breaks it.
Don’t Just Check the Box — Champion the Cause
Let’s be honest — compliance is the stick. But inclusion is the carrot.
Healthcare brands have an opportunity to lead with empathy and innovation by baking accessibility into every patient touchpoint. This isn’t just about websites. It’s about every digital asset, from patient portals to email marketing to PDFs and mobile apps.
Think of accessibility not as red tape, but as brand equity.
It signals that you care about every patient — including the 1 in 4 Americans living with a disability. It tells patients, families, and caregivers that your brand meets them where they are. And it sets a tone for your culture — one where equity and inclusion are not just values on a slide deck, but realities embedded in the user experience.
What Leading Health Systems Are Doing Right Now
The most forward-thinking healthcare organizations aren’t waiting for a complaint or lawsuit. They’re moving fast, and smart.
Here’s how they’re approaching accessibility:
- Embedding accessibility into brand governance: Making it a standard in RFPs, creative briefs, and vendor evaluations.
- Training content teams: So your writers, designers, and developers know how to build accessibly from day one.
- Auditing regularly: Accessibility isn’t a one-and-done fix — it requires ongoing attention.
- Partnering strategically: Working with agencies that understand both compliance and the nuances of healthcare marketing.
Sound like a lot? It doesn’t have to be. That’s why we’re offering a free accessibility audit to qualified healthcare systems ready to get ahead of the curve.
Building the Business Case: From ROI to ROR (Return on Reputation)
Still on the fence? Let’s do the math.
Improving your site’s accessibility can reduce bounce rates, improve SEO, and expand your total addressable market — including older adults and users with temporary impairments. Google also rewards accessible content, giving your site a natural lift in search rankings.
But beyond clicks and conversions, accessibility is a trust multiplier.
It demonstrates operational maturity. It signals patient-centered design. It builds goodwill in an environment where healthcare consumers are more empowered — and more skeptical — than ever before.
And that, in a world of rapid digital transformation, is priceless.
Final Word: Make the Move Before You’re Forced To
If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that patients are watching. Regulators are watching. The public is watching.
What you do now says everything about the kind of healthcare brand you want to be.
Let us help you take the first step — confidently, strategically, and with your reputation intact.
Contact ab+a advertising for a free accessibility audit and discover how we can help you make your healthcare legally compliant, future-ready, and truly inclusive.
Ready to lead? Let’s talk
