Sponsor
Mike Lee
Senator · R-UT
Senator · R-UT
The bill speeds and clarifies access to SSDI for some (notably certain terminally ill individuals) and adds beneficiary protections, but it reduces some monthly payments, cedes certain medical-listing decisions to the political process, raises privacy and administrative burdens, and poses fiscal and equity risks.
People with qualifying incurable terminal illnesses can begin receiving SSDI the first month they're entitled, providing much earlier cash support when needs are greatest (though at a reduced rate).
Clearer, more transparent rules about which conditions qualify (SSA rulemaking and a public review process) give patients and clinicians better predictability about eligibility.
Allowing SSA to obtain timely information from federal and state agencies and publishing eligibility rules can speed determinations and reduce administrative delays for claimants.
Shifting additions to the Compassionate Allowances list to require congressional review risks politicizing and delaying medical determinations, creating uneven access and geographic or political disparities for people with severe or emerging conditions.
Terminally ill claimants who choose the expedited option receive only 93% of their otherwise applicable SSDI and that election is irrevocable, permanently reducing monthly income for vulnerable people at the end of life.
People who receive both unemployment benefits and SSDI may lose SSDI payments for months before retirement age, cutting income when they may need it and pushing some to rely on other safety‑net programs.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Permits immediate (first-month) SSDI at 93% for qualifying terminal illnesses, requires congressional approval for Compassionate Allowance additions, bars SSDI for months with unemployment compensation, and allows partial overpayment recovery down to 10%.
Official title: 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 Mike Lee · Last progress January 15, 2026
Allows people diagnosed with certain incurable, terminal illnesses to elect to receive Social Security disability benefits immediately (waiving the usual waiting period) at 93% of the normal benefit, requires Congress to approve any additions to the SSA Compassionate Allowance list, bars paying disability benefits for months when a claimant receives unemployment compensation, and gives the Commissioner more flexibility to recover overpayments by permitting partial reductions down to 10% of a payment when full withholding would defeat the purpose of the program. The bill sets deadlines for SSA rulemaking and limits which conditions qualify for immediate access, and it authorizes SSA to obtain unemployment data from state and federal agencies to verify eligibility.