Title: ALS Disability Insurance Access Act of 2017
Policy area: Social Welfare

Summary:
ALS Disability Insurance Access Act of 2017
This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the five-month waiting period for disability insurance benefits for individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (a progressive neurodegenerative disease, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord). Under current law, individuals must wait five months after becoming disabled before their disability insurance benefit payments can begin.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1171 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1171

  To amend title II of the Social Security Act to eliminate the five 
month waiting period for disability insurance benefits for individuals 
               with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 16, 2017

  Mr. Moulton (for himself, Mr. King of New York, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. 
 Blumenauer, Mr. Cicilline, Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Mr. Cohen, Mr. 
Conyers, Mr. DeFazio, Ms. DelBene, Mr. Engel, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Heck, 
 Mr. Jones, Mr. Keating, Mr. Kilmer, Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New 
   Mexico, Mr. MacArthur, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Peters, Ms. Pingree, Mr. 
Pocan, Miss Rice of New York, Mr. Richmond, Mr. Ruppersberger, Mr. Ryan 
    of Ohio, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Walz, and Mr. 
   Swalwell of California) introduced the following bill; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title II of the Social Security Act to eliminate the five 
month waiting period for disability insurance benefits for individuals 
               with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``ALS Disability Insurance Access Act 
of 2017''.

SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF WAITING PERIOD FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH AMYOTROPHIC 
              LATERAL SCLEROSIS (ALS).

    (a) In General.--Section 223 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
423) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter following 
                subparagraph (E), by striking ``or (ii)'' and inserting 
                ``(ii) in the case of an individual who has been 
                medically determined to have amyotrophic lateral 
                sclerosis (ALS), for each month beginning with the 
                first month during all of which the individual is under 
                a disability and in which the individual becomes 
                entitled to such insurance benefits, or (iii)''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting ``or (iii)'' 
                after ``clause (ii)''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to applications for disability insurance benefits 
filed after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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