Sponsors (85)
The bill speeds financial support and hospital coverage for people with disabilities—reducing immediate hardship and coverage gaps—but increases federal entitlement costs and creates implementation and transitional risks that could strain agencies and providers.
People with disabilities will receive SSDI payments sooner by eliminating the multi‑month waiting period (phased improvements 2025–2029; full elimination effective 2030), improving short‑term income support.
People with disabilities under age 65 gain immediate Medicare Part A entitlement from the first month of disability (instead of waiting 24 months), providing earlier hospital coverage.
Eligible individuals can get retroactive Medicare Part A entitlement to the first month of disability (rather than the 25th), reducing out‑of‑pocket hospital costs and unpaid medical bills for many low‑income or newly disabled people.
Taxpayers and federal budgets will face higher costs because eliminating the SSDI waiting period and expanding earlier Medicare entitlement increases SSDI and Medicare outlays.
SSA, the Railroad Retirement Board, and CMS may face increased workloads and implementation demands during the transition, risking processing delays, backlogs, and temporary service disruptions for claimants.
Applicants who file around the effective dates may face confusion and uncertainty from transitional substitutions and new timing rules, potentially delaying benefits or causing coverage timing errors for some claimants.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Removes SSDI multi‑month waiting periods and ends the 24‑month Medicare delay for many disabled people, phases in reductions through 2029, with full elimination effective Jan 1, 2030.
Introduced February 4, 2025 by Lloyd Alton Doggett · Last progress February 4, 2025
Eliminates the multi-month Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) waiting period and removes the 24‑month Medicare delay for many disabled people under age 65, while phasing in reductions for applications filed between enactment and Jan 1, 2030. The bill changes SSDI insured‑status rules, makes full elimination effective Jan 1, 2030, and creates special Medicare Part A enrollment rules and retroactive entitlement for newly eligible individuals who meet an affordability test.