COVID–19 Recovery for Seniors and People with Disabilities Act of 2020

Bill: 116-s-3740
Sponsor: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA]
Introduced: 2020-05-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Administrative remedies
Aging
American Samoa
Appropriations
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Caribbean area
Community life and organization
Computer security and identity theft
Consumer affairs
Department of Health and Human Services
Disability and paralysis
Disability assistance
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Employee benefits and pensions
Executive agency funding and structure
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Food assistance and relief
Foreign language and bilingual programs
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Government information and archives
Guam
Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Higher education
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Inflation and prices
Intergovernmental relations
Lawyers and legal services
Marriage and family status
Medicaid
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Medicare
Northern Mariana Islands
Poverty and welfare assistance
Puerto Rico
Railroads
Social Security Administration
Social security and elderly assistance
State and local finance
Student aid and college costs
Transportation employees
U.S. territories and protectorates
Virgin Islands
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2020-05-14
text: 

COVID-19 Recovery for Seniors and People with Disabilities Act of 2020

 
This bill modifies Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs for older adults and individuals with disabilities, including by revising eligibility criteria and administrative procedures and by providing supplemental appropriations for certain legal and translation services.
 
Among other changes, the bill permanently increases relevant income thresholds and asset limits that apply to SSDI, as well as temporarily suspends certain waiting periods that apply to SSDI, SSI, and Medicare coverage to address the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) emergency. The bill also establishes a special Medicare enrollment period and temporarily suspends asset tests used to determine eligibility for certain low-income subsidy programs under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. In addition, the bill delays the application of a reduced federal matching rate under Medicaid for certain personal care services that require an in-home visit.
 
Additionally, the Social Security Administration (SSA) shall not conduct most disability reviews, collect overpayments, suspend benefits, or undertake specified administrative actions during the COVID-19 emergency. The SSA and the Department of Education must also develop a process to automatically discharge the student loan debt of certain SSDI beneficiaries who have medically determined physical or mental impairments that are unlikely to improve. 
 
In addition, state agencies may modify practices to achieve contactless delivery of food packages to supplement the diets of older, low-income individuals under the Commodity Supplemental Food Program.
 
The bill also provides funds for the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to each carry out national campaigns to educate the public about COVID-19 scams.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-05-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2020-05-14
text: Introduced in Senate