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

Bill: 116-hr-7830
Sponsor: Rep. Davis, Danny K. [D-IL-7]
Introduced: 2020-07-29 in the House
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Congressional oversight
Debt collection
Disability assistance
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Medicaid
Poverty and welfare assistance
Social security and elderly assistance
Veterans' pensions and compensation

Summary:
action_date: 2020-07-29
text: 

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

 
This bill restricts the recovery by the Social Security Administration (SSA) of certain overpayments of benefits made between March 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020. The bill also specifies that an individual who received Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or similar payments from a state, for any month during that period shall not be deemed ineligible for Medicaid coverage for that month on the basis that the individual is later determined to be ineligible for SSI or similar payments.
 
Specifically, the SSA shall not recover any overpayments of Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits, SSI benefits, or benefits for certain World War II veterans made during this period, unless the overpayments resulted from fraud or the misuse of benefits by a representative payee. For actions underway to recover overpayments, including those initiated before March 2020, the SSA must also notify individuals of their opportunity to request a reduction or suspension of adjustments to their benefits or a suspension of certain installment payments during the specified period. Additionally, the SSA must report on the time frame for resuming overpayment processing and collection activities.
 
Beginning in March 2020, the SSA has operated under modified work processes in response to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2020) emergency, including the suspension of certain procedures for identifying changes to eligibility status and adjusting benefits to account for them. However, in August 2020, the SSA issued an interim final rule concerning the resumption of these procedures, which included a simplified waiver process for beneficiaries who incurred an overpayment between March 1, 2020, and September 30, 2020.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-07-29
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support.
action_date: 2020-07-29
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Social Security.
action_date: 2020-07-29
text: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2020-07-29
text: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2020-07-29
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2020-07-29
text: Introduced in House