Sponsors (86)
The bill speeds SSDI income and Medicare Part A coverage for disabled individuals—improving access to care and reducing uncompensated costs—while increasing near‑term federal spending and creating administrative and eligibility-complexity burdens during the transition.
People with disabilities under 65 will get income and hospital coverage much sooner: the SSDI waiting period is phased down and eliminated by Jan 1, 2030 and Medicare Part A becomes effective immediately (retroactive to first month of entitlement), improving access to care and reducing medical debt and reliance on emergency public assistance.
People applying for SSDI on or after Jan 1, 2029 will avoid the prior multi-month delay, reducing short-term income disruption for applicants and beneficiaries.
Hospitals and health systems will likely receive Medicare payments sooner (including retroactive Part A coverage), lowering uncompensated care and improving hospital cash flow.
Taxpayers and federal trust funds will face higher near‑term costs because SSDI outlays and earlier/retroactive Medicare Part A enrollments increase spending, which could pressure other program budgets or require offsetting revenue.
SSA, CMS and related state partners will incur implementation and administrative burdens (identifying eligibles, applying retroactive/special enrollment rules), risking transitional service slowdowns and additional agency costs.
Phased transitional rules and linking Medicare eligibility to the ACA 8%/8.5% minimum coverage threshold may create confusion and edge cases for applicants trying to determine eligibility timing and benefit amounts during 2025–2029.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Phases down and eliminates SSDI waiting periods (fully removed Jan 1, 2030) and waives the 24‑month Medicare Part A waiting rule for certain disabled non‑elderly people with special enrollment rules.
Official title: To amend titles II and XVIII of the Social Security Act to eliminate the disability insurance benefits waiting period for individuals with disabilities, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 4, 2025 by Lloyd Alton Doggett · Last progress February 4, 2025
Eliminates and phases out the multi-month waiting periods that delay access to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) cash benefits and Medicare Part A for many non‑elderly disabled people. The bill shortens the SSDI waiting period in gradual steps for applications filed 2025–2029 and fully removes it for applications filed on or after Jan 1, 2029 (effective Jan 1, 2030), and it also waives the 24‑month Medicare Part A waiting requirement for specified disabled people who lacked minimum essential coverage under ACA thresholds, with special enrollment and transitional rules.