Sponsor
Diana Harshbarger
Representative · R-TN
Representative · R-TN
The bill speeds access to benefits and adds beneficiary protections for some terminally ill and overpayment cases, but it does so by permanently reducing some payments, adding new coordination rules and administrative burdens, and creating a congressional bottleneck that may slow care-driven updates to expedited disability listings.
People with terminal diagnoses can choose to begin SSDI immediately (no 5-month wait), giving near-term income when they need it most while the program establishes clear eligibility criteria for such cases.
OASDI beneficiaries facing SSA overpayment recoupment will keep at least 10% of their monthly benefit and the Commissioner has flexibility to avoid actions that would defeat Social Security's purpose, reducing immediate hardship for retirees and disabled beneficiaries.
The bill creates a predictable, periodically updated Compassionate Allowance listing process via formal rulemaking so applicants and clinicians have clearer, more consistent guidance about which conditions qualify for expedited handling.
People who elect immediate SSDI receive a permanent ~7% smaller monthly benefit, lowering lifetime income for beneficiaries and potentially reducing survivor benefits.
Requiring congressional approval for Compassionate Allowance additions will likely slow updates, politicize medical prioritization, create backlogs, and delay faster disability decisions for people with rapidly progressing or newly recognized serious conditions.
Linking SSDI payments to receipt of unemployment compensation can reduce SSDI income for months a claimant gets unemployment, shifting income loss onto disabled workers and increasing appeals and disputes.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Creates an option for certain terminally ill SSDI applicants to receive benefits immediately at 93% of the normal amount, requires congressional approval for future Compassionate Allowance additions, bars SSDI payment during months with unemployment compensation pre-retirement, and adjusts overpayment recoupment rules.
Official title: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to allow disabled individuals with incurable terminal illnesses listed on the Compassionate Allowance list to receive disability insurance benefits without a waiting period, to prohibit concurrent receipt of disability insurance benefits and unemployment insurance, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 15, 2026 by Diana Harshbarger · Last progress January 15, 2026
Allows certain disabled Social Security beneficiaries diagnosed with incurable terminal illnesses to choose immediate SSDI payments (waiving the normal 5-month waiting period) in exchange for a permanent 7% reduction in their monthly benefit, creates a congressional approval requirement before the agency can add new conditions to the Compassionate Allowances list, bars SSDI payments for months a claimant is receiving unemployment compensation, and gives the SSA Commissioner more flexibility (but not less than 10%) when recouping overpayments from OASDI benefit payments.