Immediate Access for the Terminally Ill Act

The Immediate Access for the Terminally Ill Act would allow people receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) who have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses to receive their benefits sooner than usual. Currently, SSDI beneficiaries must wait five months after becoming disabled before receiving payments. This bill would permit those with qualifying terminal conditions to start receiving benefits the month after their disability begins, but they would accept a 7% reduction in their monthly benefit amount as a tradeoff for the earlier access to funds.

The bill would require the Social Security Administration to maintain a list of qualifying terminal illnesses based on conditions from the existing Compassionate Allowances list. These conditions must have no known cure and a life expectancy of five years or less. Congress would need to approve each medical condition added to the list, which would be updated every five years. Additionally, the bill includes two other provisions: it would prohibit people from receiving unemployment benefits and SSDI simultaneously, and it would allow the Social Security Administration to collect overpayments from beneficiaries at a reduced rate, as long as the collection amount is at least 10% of their monthly benefit.