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Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a crucial safety net that millions of Americans have paid into throughout their working lives. That’s the good news. The bad is that current policy imposes a rigid five-month exclusion period before they can start receiving their benefits.
For many disabled workers, the impact of this policy has been catastrophic. The Government Accountability Office estimates more than 100,000 Americans have died while waiting for SSDI decisions, and thousands more have suffered financial ruin.
Leaving disabled workers without income at the very time that medical bills and financial pressures are mounting is simply wrong. Fortunately, Sen. Susan Collins has developed a common-sense solution.
Collins recently introduced the We Can’t Wait Act, a bipartisan bill that will allow eligible Americans to choose to receive their benefits immediately. In return, their monthly payment will be reduced by a modest amount in order to preserve the SSDI Trust Fund’s solvency.
Providing flexibility for people facing life-altering disabilities is fair, fiscally responsible, and is simply the right thing to do.
Thank you to Sen. Collins for her steadfast support of disabled workers and for advancing this critically important reform!
Kim Moody
Chief Executive Officer
Disability Rights Maine
Augusta
