It can be hard to keep up with all the legal information that pertains to Medicare and Social Security bills. The following are some recent bills that you should know about.
Social Security insolvency
One of the major issues that the United States is facing today is the insolvency of the Social Security Disability Insurance program (SSDI). SSDI was created for people who are not able to work due to disability so they can have a way to support themselves.
The program has obvious flaws, but one of the major issues is that almost half of the eligibility factors used to determine if someone qualifies for the program are not medically based. In addition, the Social Security Trustees report from 2018 shows that the SSDI trust fund will run out by 2054, along with Social Security benefits for seniors.
The Making DI Work for All Americans Act targets the SSDI’s outdated qualification process that determines disability by requiring Social Security to update the list of jobs that are available. The bill also has Social Security updating their qualifications used to assess eligibility for SSDI.
Dignity in Aging Act
The Dignity in Aging Act of 2019 was introduced by three Democratic and three Republican representatives. The bill would extend the Older Americans Act (OAA) for another five years and increase the funding for the programs by seven percent in 2020. It would also increase six percent each year starting in 2021 and carrying on into 2024. The Education and Labor Committee agreed to send the measure to the full House.
Along with providing more funding for the OAA, the bill would increase the emphasis on services that help older adults deal with social isolation.
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Senator Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA) introduced the Stop the Wait Act. Not only are people forced to wait months to qualify for SSDI, but those with disabilities are forced to wait an additional five months for a disability check.
The Stop the Wait Act would get rid of the waiting periods for people with disabilities. The waiting periods could further harm people’s health by delaying care. In 2017 alone there were more than 10,000 Americans who died while waiting for SSDI benefits to begin.
These Medicare and Social Security bills could greatly change the way older adults and people with disabilities are living in America today and in the future.
