I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2770 

To waive the 24-month waiting period for Medicare eligibility for individuals 

disabled by Huntington’s disease. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 15, 2019 

Mr. PASCRELL (for himself, Mr. KINZINGER, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. SCHIFF, Ms. 

NORTON, Mr. COHEN, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. 

PETERS, Mr. TONKO, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mrs. BEATTY, 

Mr. MASSIE, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. 

DELBENE, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CICILLINE, Miss 

RICE of New York, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. KING of Iowa, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. 

DEFAZIO, Mr. KILMER, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. SERRANO, 

Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. CLAY, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, 

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. RODNEY

DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. GOLDEN, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. 

GARAMENDI, Mr. COOPER, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. SMITH of 

New Jersey, Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, 

Mr. ZELDIN, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, Mr. HILL of Arkansas, Mr. POCAN, Mr. 

BEYER, and Mr. COOK) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To waive the 24-month waiting period for Medicare eligibility 

for individuals disabled by Huntington’s disease. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Huntington’s Disease 

3 Parity Act of 2019’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress makes the following findings: 

6 (1) Huntington’s disease is a progressive degen7 erative neurological disease that causes total phys8 ical and mental deterioration. In the United States, 

9 approximately 30,000 individuals are affected by 

10 Huntington’s disease, along with another 200,000 

11 individuals who are genetically ‘‘at risk’’. There is no 

12 effective treatment in terms of halting or slowing the 

13 progression of the disease. 

14 (2) Clinical indicators of Huntington’s disease 

15 include— 

16 (A) loss of ability to control bodily move17 ments; 

18 (B) loss of ability to think or act quickly, 

19 inability to learn new material, and loss of 

20 memory; and 

21 (C) behavioral or psychological problems, 

22 including personality changes, irritability, mood 

23 swings, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive behavior, 

24 inability to concentrate, decreased motivation, 

25 and severe depression. 


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1 (3) Adult-onset Huntington’s disease typically 

2 results in the development of symptoms in individ3 uals between 30 and 50 years of age. Late-onset 

4 Huntington’s disease is characterized by develop5 ment of symptoms after 50 years of age and is usu6 ally associated with a milder course of the disease. 

7 Juvenile Huntington’s disease affects individuals 

8 who have yet to attain 19 years of age and pro9 gresses at a more rapid rate. 

10 (4) Because of the incapacitating nature of 

11 Huntington’s disease, individuals living with this ill12 ness, including those in the early stages of the dis13 ease, are unable to retain employment. As a result, 

14 many such individuals rely solely on Social Security 

15 Disability Insurance. 

16 (5) After qualifying for Social Security Dis17 ability Insurance, individuals with Huntington’s dis18 ease must wait another 24 months before receiving 

19 benefits under the Medicare program, despite the 

20 fact that such individuals often become incapacitated 

21 before reaching the age-eligibility requirement under 

22 the Medicare program of 65 years of age. 

23 (6) In 2000, the Centers for Medicare & Med24 icaid Services waived the 24-month waiting period 

25 requirement for people disabled by amyotrophic latVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2770.IH H2770

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1 eral sclerosis (‘‘ALS’’), a degenerative neurological 

2 condition that is similar to Huntington’s disease. 

3 (7) In light of the significant cognitive, behav4 ioral, and physical incapacitation faced by individ5 uals with this disease, there is an urgent need for 

6 the removal of the 24-month waiting period for cov7 erage under the Medicare program for such individ8 uals, similar to the existing exemption for individ9 uals who have been diagnosed with ALS. 

10 SEC. 3. WAIVER OF 24-MONTH WAITING PERIOD FOR COV11 ERAGE UNDER MEDICARE PROGRAM FOR IN12 DIVIDUALS DIAGNOSED WITH HUNTINGTON’S 

13 DISEASE. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 226(h) of the Social Secu15 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 426(h)) is amended, in the matter pre16 ceding paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or Huntington’s dis17 ease (HD)’’ after ‘‘amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)’’. 

18 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

19 subsection (a) shall apply to benefits under title XVIII of 

20 the Social Security Act with respect to items and services 

21 furnished in months beginning after the date of the enact22 ment of this Act. 

Æ 


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