CCD Lays Out Its Agenda

Groups are already laying out their agendas for what they expect to be a Democratic party ascendancy to come next year. The Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) is the major umbrella group representing just about all groups of any consequence who advocate on behalf of the disabled. The CCD has issued a Statement of Principles on work incentives and other issues affecting Social Security's disability programs. I am sure that the CCD would be happy to get any of this enacted this year -- and it is possible that a little could be enacted this year -- but mostly this is the CCD agenda for the next Congress and the next President. This deserves close attention. In my opinion, much of this is likely to become law if Democrats capture the White House as well as larger majorities in both Houses of Congress, something which looks likely at the moment.

Here are what I think of as the major points from CCD's statement of principles:

1. No change in Social Security's definition of disability, nor anything designed to force disabled people back to work, such as time limited benefits;
2. An increase in the earnings limits for Supplemental Security Income (SSI);
3. Changing work incentives in Title II of the Social Security Act so that the disabled lose one dollar for each two dollars they earn;
4. An indefinite presumptive disability status for those whose disability benefits end due to return to work;
5. Allowing health insurance expenses to count as Impairment Related Work Expenses;
6. Improving the ability of child SSI recipients to make the transition to work;
7. Eliminating the five month waiting period for Disability Insurance Benefits;
8. Improving Ticket to Work;
9. Improving tracking of earnings for disabled people who return to work to help avoid large overpayments;
10. Eliminating the 24 month waiting period for Medicare;
11. Allow premium fee access to Medicare for beneficiaries who return to work;
12. Allow individuals to get on Disabled Adult Child (DAC) benefits despite some work activity after becoming 22 years of age;
13. Exempt DAC recipients from the family maximum if they live outside the family home;
14. Eliminate the DAC marriage penalty;
15. Improve the minimum benefit;
16. Repeal the seven year prescribed period for disabled widows and widowers; and
    
17. Increase disabled widows benefits

I cannot understand why the CCD does not want to pull the plug on Ticket to Work. It is nothing but a bottomless money pit. Merely sounding like it would be a good idea does not make it a good idea.

I cannot understand why CCD would talk about improving disabled widows and widowers benefits, but not mention ending the actuarial reduction in disabled widows and widowers benefits. Is it possible that CCD does not understand the actuarial reduction? I know that the phrase "actuarial reduction" sounds like it must be something impossibly complicated. Let me make it simple. The younger the disabled widow or widower is when he or she goes on benefits, the less he or she receives in disabled widow or widower benefits. Does it make sense to penalize people for becoming disabled at an earlier age?