Accessibility Statement

1. Our commitment

CartoChrome is a public healthcare-access platform. Access to healthcare information should itself be accessible — that includes people who use screen readers, keyboards only, voice control, switch devices, or who need reduced motion and higher contrast.

We are working toward conformance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA published by the W3C. AA is our minimum bar; we aim higher where we can, particularly on color contrast, keyboard operation, and motion sensitivity.

2. Current conformance status

CartoChrome is in partial conformance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Partial conformance means some parts of the content do not fully conform to the accessibility standard. We are actively remediating known gaps.

We have not yet commissioned a third-party audit. The statement below reflects our own ongoing review. If an external audit produces findings, we will update this page.

3. What works today

Keyboard navigation: The site header, primary navigation, footer, and most pages are operable by keyboard alone. Dropdown menus open on Enter or Space, close on Escape, and return focus to the trigger.

Skip link: A visible skip-to-content link appears at the top of every page when focused, letting keyboard and screen-reader users bypass the header.

Focus visibility: A brand-teal 2-pixel focus ring appears around any interactive element that receives keyboard focus. We do not suppress the browser's focus indicator.

Landmark structure: Each page includes a banner (header), primary navigation, main content region, and contentinfo (footer) landmark to aid screen-reader navigation.

Reduced motion: If your operating system requests reduced motion, our entrance animations, card-hover lifts, and draw-on effects are disabled.

Color contrast: Body text, navigation, and interactive controls meet or exceed the AA 4.5:1 ratio on white backgrounds. The red-to-teal choropleth palette is designed to be distinguishable for common forms of color-vision deficiency.

4. Known gaps we are working on

Interactive map: The MapLibre GL choropleth and provider clusters are not yet fully keyboard-navigable or screen-reader-readable. A user with a screen reader cannot currently explore scores by panning. We are building an alternate data-table view of the same underlying data so every value visible on the map is also reachable as structured text. In the meantime, every ZIP, city, county, state, provider, facility, and condition score on the map is also available as a standalone page at a direct URL, linked from search and rankings pages.

Dynamic cluster markers: Map markers surfaced through clustering do not expose accessible names or roles. This is covered by the same remediation as the map itself.

Third-party embeds: Some embedded widgets and content (for example payment checkout) rely on third-party code whose accessibility we do not fully control. We review vendors for WCAG conformance claims but cannot guarantee them.

Complex data visualizations: Charts on condition and ranking pages provide numeric tables nearby but do not yet have full aria-describedby summaries.

Forms: Most forms have labels and error messaging, but a small number (legacy claim flows) still need improved error-association via aria-describedby.

5. Navigating the site with assistive technology

Skip the header: Press Tab from the top of any page to reveal the Skip to main content link.

Open a navigation menu: Tab to Scores, Find Care, Research, or For Business, then press Enter or Space. Tab through the menu items. Press Escape to close; focus returns to the menu button.

Close the mobile menu: Press Escape, or tap the close (X) button. Focus returns to the menu toggle.

Access methodology: If the interactive map is not usable with your assistive tech, the underlying formula and data sources are documented at /methodology/, and every score has a standalone page with a plain-text summary.

6. Report an accessibility issue

If something on CartoChrome blocks you from accessing information you need, please tell us. We take accessibility reports seriously and will respond within five business days.

Email: accessibility@cartochrome.com

Please include the URL you were on, the device and assistive technology you were using (for example, macOS Safari with VoiceOver, or Windows Chrome with NVDA), and a description of what went wrong. We may follow up for clarification.

If your issue is urgent or time-sensitive (for example, you are trying to find a provider and cannot), please say so in the subject line so we can prioritize it.

7. Standard and legal context

The standard we aim for is WCAG 2.1 Level AA. We monitor draft WCAG 2.2 and 3.0 work and intend to track the latest stable version.

For United States federal context, we align to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act as revised in 2018, which incorporates WCAG 2.0 Level AA (and effectively 2.1 AA for new procurements).

This statement does not itself create a legal warranty. It describes the standard we are working toward, the gaps we know about, and how to reach us.