ALS Association

 


 

Congressional Champions to Re-Introduce Legislation to Waive 5 Month SSDI Wait

Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Representatives Seth Moulton (D-MA-6) and Peter King (R-NY-2) will soon introduce legislation to waive the five month waiting period before an individual could receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and Medicare. The waiting period begins after a claimant has been approved. This legislation, spearheaded by the ALS Association, is a top priority for people living with ALS and will be introduced during the week of February 13.

Advocacy: Stay Tuned for Action Alerts.

Once the bills are introduced and have been assigned new bill numbers, members of the ALS community will be asked to contact their Senators and Representatives to co-sponsor the bill. The new bills will be identical to the Senate bill (S. 2904) and the House bill (H.R. 5183) introduced in the last Congress. There were 20 original co-sponsors for S. 2904 and 55 original co-sponsors for H.R. 5183. (Use the hotlinks above to see if your member was a co-sponsor or for more information about the bills.)

Legislative Process:

Before a bill can become law, it must pass both the House and Senate and be signed by the President. Securing co-sponsors for legislation is critical in helping move a bill from introduction to passage and support from the ALS Community will be very important. The other key factor is how a bill is “scored” or how much a new program will cost. The ALS Association is working with Members of Congress to secure a “score” that will make it easier to pass the bill.

Additional Background:

The Social Security Administration (SSA) pays disability benefits under two programs: the SSDI and SSI. Entitlement to SSDI is based on work on which FICA taxes are paid. People with ALS who qualify for SSDI also qualify for Medicare but there is a five month waiting period that begins after a claimant has been approved. Eligibility for SSI is based on financial need. In most states, individuals who qualify for SSI also qualify for Medicaid.

The ALS Association was instrumental in winning new rules that went into effect in 2003 that make it easier for people living with ALS to quality for SSDI and adding ALS to special list of conditions that automatically qualify for “presumptive disability” payments under Supplemental Security Income (SSI).