I am writing in response to your request for an estimate of the financial effects on Social Security of H.R. 2135, “ Promoting Opportunity for Disability Benefit Applicants Act , ” introduced on April 30. This Bill would allow the Commissioner of Social Security to provide information on appropriate public or private entities that provide employment services, vocational rehabilitation services, or other support services to applicants for disability benefits under Title II or Title XVI who are denied benefits based on an adverse determination of disability. ...
We conclude that enactment of this Bill would most likely have a very small net effect on Title II, Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI), benefit cost and Title XVI, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), cost ...
Except not for the reason Charles keeps harping on, i.e., most SSDI/SSI applicants are irretrievably disabled in the first place so telling them about vocational support services would be futile. The letter actually refutes that assertion, and says that some people would be put back to work. However some of these people would later become disabled (it's simply a risk of working, or living, for that matter) and when they do, some proportion of them would now be DIB-insured by virtue of the work found through vocational services and thus eligible for higher benefits.
ReplyDeleteAnd the letter goes on to say that another offsetting factor is that vocational services also help some actually disabled people file more effective applications for disability, thus helping them to get benefits. What's wrong with that - other than that it would come out of a Republican-designed plan?