Title: ALS Disability Insurance Access Act of 2019
Policy area: Social Welfare

Summary:
ALS Disability Insurance Access Act of 2019
This bill eliminates the five-month waiting period for disability benefits under the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program 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 may begin.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 578 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 578

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 27, 2019

 Mr. Whitehouse (for himself, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Tillis, Mr. 
  Reed, Mr. Blunt, Mr. King, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Brown, Mrs. Capito, Mr. 
Coons, Mr. Rubio, Ms. Harris, Ms. McSally, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Wicker, Mr. 
Sanders, Ms. Murkowski, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. 
Rounds, Mr. Tester, Mr. Kennedy, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Cassidy, Ms. Warren, 
Ms. Collins, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Markey, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Booker, Mr. 
Merkley, Ms. Rosen, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Jones, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Cardin, Mr. 
 Van Hollen, and Ms. Sinema) introduced the following bill; which was 
          read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


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

    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 2019''.

SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF WAITING PERIOD FOR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY 
              INSURANCE BENEFITS FOR DISABLED INDIVIDUALS WITH 
              AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS (ALS).

    (a) In General.--Section 223(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 423(a)(1)) is amended 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, 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)''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment 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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