From the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette:
The U.S. Senate voted 96-1 Wednesday to speed up disability benefits for Americans who are diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis -- commonly referred to as ALS.
The bill's sponsor, U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., worked closely with U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., to secure passage of the measure, which would waive the five-month waiting period that delays patients' access to Social Security Disability Insurance.
The legislation now heads to the other side of the Capitol. The House version of the bill, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., already has more than 300 co-sponsors, including all four of Arkansas' congressmen. ...
The House Majority Leader has announced that this bill will be brought to the House floor next week.
This bill would be great for ALS patients but NO ONE should be subjected to this five month waiting period. Why give ALS patients relief from this waiting period but not patients with terminal cancer?
My clients ask me why this five month waiting period exists. They always give me a blank look of incomprehension when I tell them the only reason that five month waiting period is in the Social Security Act is to save money. There's no other explanation.
I think the passage of the bill offers an opportunity to open the door to eliminating the waiting period for all recipients. I have already sent a message to my senator, and encourage everyone to do the same.
ReplyDeleteAt a minimum, it should be removed for all terminal prognoses. The act applies to disabling impairments lasting at least 12 months OR expected to result in death. I disagree with the waiting period generally, but it makes no sense to apply a waiting period under that circumstance. I get it's statutory, and Congress would need to change it.
ReplyDeleteI am asked this question about the 5 month waiting period all the time. It makes no sense, other than a money grab, and it just sours clients towards Social Security and the govt in general. It should be eliminated.
ReplyDeleteHopefully the Stop the Wait Act, which eliminates the 5 month waiting period for all along with eliminating the 24 month Medicare waiting period will get some traction in the next Congress. All eyes on Georgia! If the Ds get back control of the Senate, there is a chance it could happen.
Yes. I personally asked the former SSA commish Astrue TWICE these 2 questions at NOSSCR conferences:
ReplyDelete1. The 5-month waiting period
2. The 2 years and 5 months waiting period (so basically 24 months from the date of entitlement) for Medicare for SSD.
You were right just blank, no answers. The SSA cannot/will not claim it is about saving money. But it certainly is. Why is SSI claimants need not wait for Medicaid?
The ACB nomination pretty much means Obamacare or ACA is done soon. Soooo those middle class claimants will probably not have health care for 29 months even if disabled. Congress must eliminate this Medicare waiting period.
Just ridiculous.
I think SSA's waiting periods are in hopes the claimant will die before they have to pay out. 2 years for Medicare is ridiculous, although, some states provide medicaid until that kicks in, at least California and Montana did. The "blankness" behind this leads me to believe they don't want to tell people they hope they die before coverage waiting periods are over. Good way to save money there! That's just my opinion though, but it is shared by others.
ReplyDeleteNot sure why the animus against the agency regarding the 5 month waiting period. It's a law, section 223(c)(2) of the Social Security Act and as such, it's up to Congress to change those rules. The "they" you need to be mad at are those 535 folks sitting in Congress.
ReplyDeleteOne reason for the waiting period is to cut down on claims that should never be filed--people who are disabled but will only be out of work a month or two. Also people who file early and are approved but go back to work within the waiting period are reopened to denials, as their disabilities did not even keep them from working 5 months, much less a year. Would those, who probably should not have ever been approved, get a trial work period and EPE as well?
ReplyDeletere: anon@8:55pm,
ReplyDeleteExactly. The only change to the benefit waiting period that has occurred since the inception of the program was the 1972 amendments which reduced the original 6 month waiting period back to the current 5 months. Really big improvement, that was.
In the end, Congress has no intention to ever reduce the waiting period for the common person. Sure, they might do it for special limited cases like ALS where they can get maximum publicity for minimal effort and minimal financial loss; otherwise, they just don't give a damn. Oh, they'll give it the proper lip service to get the soundbites, but it won't go anywhere. It never does. Just look at all the Congressional outrage over collection of old debts and what has been done about that.
And, before some of you jump on the "it is the fault of the Republicans" bandwagon, the Democrats have held the White House and majorities in both houses of Congress multiple times in the past and not once did they bother to do anything that really benefited Social Security recipients. Not once.
What I expect to happen is that Biden will give a blanket order to freeze any pending agency rulemaking. Beyond that, he'll have the pandemic to deal with on top of a delayed transition. And, if the Democrats don't win both outstanding Georgia Senate seats, he'll be a lame duck subject subject to the whims of McConnell. And, given Republican electoral gains in the House this year, there is a very real threat that they could take back the House in the 2022 midterms and make his presidency a waste of time.
anon@3:40pm,
ReplyDeleteEliminating the waiting period is a totally separate thing from the 12 month duration requirement of the law which I can guarantee you wouldn't be touched.
The 5 month waiting period is not an impediment at all to those who file claiming non-severe medical impairments. Those folks would file and in fact will continue to file claim after claim regardless of whether the waiting period is eliminated or even if it was a year instead of 5 months. For that class of filer, getting on the public dole is a lifetime ambition and that isn't going to change if Congress were to actually do its job for once.
The system would just have to do its best to deal with them just as it does now.
Issues related to beneficiary return to work would be relatively simple to work out.
I always assumed the five month waiting period was the result of successful lobbying by the Short Term Disability Insurance industry.
ReplyDeleteanon@9:31am,
ReplyDeleteIt very well could have been influenced by that. The elected officials in Congress have always done their best work when some masked person stands behind them shoving money up their backsides.
The House Ways and Means Committee wanted a reduction to 5 months, while the Senate Finance Committee actually tried to reduce it down to 4 months.
In the end, the House reduction ended up in the final bill that was passed.
Shouldnt be a waiting period or 24 month for Medicare.
ReplyDelete