Stop the Wait Act of 2025

Bill: 119-hr-930
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Doggett, Lloyd [D-TX-37]
Introduced: 2025-02-04
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: Disability assistance

Health care coverage and access

Medicare
Latest action: action_date: 2025-02-04
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.

Summaries:
action_date: 2025-02-04
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><strong>Stop the Wait Act of 2025</strong></p><p>This bill phases out the initial waiting period for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and eliminates the waiting period for certain disabled individuals to become eligible for Medicare.&nbsp;</p><p>Under current law, individuals generally must wait five months after the onset of disability to begin receiving SSDI benefits. The bill would gradually reduce this waiting period before eliminating it entirely in the year 2030.&nbsp;</p><p>Further, the bill would eliminate the 24-month waiting period for certain disabled workers and other individuals to become eligible for Medicare. Under current law, individuals under the age of 65 may generally enroll in Medicare after they have been eligible for SSDI or Social Security child’s, widow’s, or widower’s benefits by reason of disability for 24 months. The bill would eliminate this waiting period for individuals for whom the annual cost of certain medical insurance would exceed a specified percentage of their household income (i.e., those who cannot afford minimum essential coverage). Medicare eligibility for these individuals must be available retroactively to the first month that an individual qualified for SSDI or Social Security child’s, widow’s, or widower’s benefits by reason of disability.&nbsp;</p>

tv_txt: I 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 930 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 4, 2025 Mr. Doggett (for himself, Mr. Fitzpatrick , Ms. Ansari , Ms. Barragán , Mr. Beyer , Mr. Bishop , Ms. Bonamici , Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania , Ms. Brownley , Mr. Carson , Mr. Casar , Ms. Castor of Florida , Mr. Castro of Texas , Ms. Chu , Mr. Cleaver , Mr. Cohen , Ms. Crockett , Mr. Crow , Mr. Davis of Illinois , Mrs. McClain Delaney , Ms. DeLauro , Mrs. Dingell , Ms. Escobar , Mr. Espaillat , Ms. Leger Fernandez , Mr. Fields , Mrs. Fletcher , Mr. Garamendi , Mr. García of Illinois , Ms. Garcia of Texas , Mr. Golden of Maine , Mr. Goldman of New York , Mr. Gottheimer , Mr. Green of Texas , Mr. Grijalva , Mrs. Hayes , Ms. Hoyle of Oregon , Ms. Jayapal , Mr. Johnson of Georgia , Mr. Khanna , Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania , Mr. Lynch , Mr. Magaziner , Mrs. McBath , Ms. Meng , Ms. Moore of Wisconsin , Mr. Norcross , Ms. Norton , Ms. Ocasio-Cortez , Mr. Panetta , Ms. Pingree , Mrs. Ramirez , Mr. Raskin , Ms. Salinas , Ms. Sánchez , Ms. Scanlon , Ms. Schakowsky , Mr. Sherman , Ms. Sherrill , Mr. Soto , Mrs. Sykes , Mr. Takano , Mr. Thompson of Mississippi , Ms. Titus , Mr. Tonko , Mrs. Trahan , Mr. Turner of Texas , Mr. Veasey , Ms. Velázquez , Ms. Wasserman Schultz , Ms. Waters , Mrs. Watson Coleman , Ms. Williams of Georgia , and Ms. Wilson of Florida ) introduced the following bill; which was 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 A BILL To amend titles II and XVIII of the Social Security Act to eliminate the disability insurance benefits waiting period for individuals with disabilities, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Stop the Wait Act of 2025 . 2. Elimination of disability waiting period for social security disability insurance benefits (a) Elimination of waiting period for disability insurance benefits 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)— (i) by striking disability insurance benefit (i) for each month and all that follows through , or (iii) and inserting disability insurance benefit ; and (ii) by striking , but only if and all that follows through under such disability ; and (B) in paragraph (2), by striking as though he had attained age 62 in— and all that follows through such disability insurance benefits, and inserting as though the individual had attained age 62 in the first month for which the individual becomes entitled to such disability insurance benefits, ; and (2) in subsection (c)— (A) in the subsection heading, by striking Definitions of Insured Status and Waiting Period and inserting Definition of Insured Status ; (B) by striking For purposes of this section and all that follows through in any month if— and inserting For purposes of this section, an individual shall be insured for disability insurance benefits in any month if— ; (C) by striking paragraph (2); (D) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively (and adjusting the margins accordingly); (E) in paragraph (2) (as so redesignated)— (i) by redesignating clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respectively; and (ii) in subparagraph (C) (as so redesignated), by striking clause (i) and inserting subparagraph (A) ; and (F) in the matter following subparagraph (C) (as so redesignated), by striking subparagraph (B) of this paragraph each place it appears and inserting this paragraph . (b) Phase-Down of waiting period for disability insurance benefits For purposes of applications for disability insurance benefits filed on or after the date of enactment of this Act and before January 1, 2030, section 223(c)(2) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 423(c)(2) ) shall be applied by making the following substitutions: (1) For applications filed in calendar years 2025, 2026, or 2027, substitute three for five and fifteenth for seventeenth each place it appears. (2) For applications filed in calendar year 2028, substitute two for five and fourteenth for seventeenth each place it appears. (3) For applications filed in calendar year 2029, substitute one for five and thirteenth for seventeenth each place it appears. (c) Effective date The amendments made by subsection (a) shall take effect on January 1, 2030, and apply with respect to applications for disability insurance benefits filed on or after January 1, 2029. (d) Conforming amendments Effective January 1, 2030: (1) Section 223(a)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 423(a)(1)(A) ) is amended by striking (c)(1) and inserting (c) . (2) Section 7(d)(3) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 ( 45 U.S.C. 231f(d)(3) ) is amended by striking 223(c)(1) and inserting 223(c) . 3. Medicare eligibility for certain individuals during waiting period for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits (a) Elimination of waiting period for certain individuals without minimum essential coverage (1) In general Section 226 the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 426 ) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (j) (1) For purposes of applying this section in the case of an eligible individual described in paragraph (2), the following special rules shall apply: (A) Subsection (b)(2) shall be applied as if there were no requirement for any entitlement to benefits, or status, for a period of 24 months prior to receiving such benefits or status. (B) The entitlement under such subsection shall be available retroactively to the first day of the first month (rather than twenty-fifth month) of entitlement or status. (C) Subsection (f) shall not be applied. (2) For purposes of applying this section, an eligible individual is an individual, with respect to a month— (A) who has not yet attained the age of 65; (B) who is entitled to benefits described in subparagraph (A) of subsection (b)(2); and (C) with respect to whom section 5000A(e)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 would apply if the reference to 8 percent in such section were a reference to 8.5 percent . . (2) Conforming amendments Section 1811 of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1395c ) is amended— (A) at the end of paragraph (2), by striking and ; (B) by striking the period at the end and inserting , and ; and (C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: (4) eligible individuals (as described in section 226(j)(2)). . (b) Special enrollment period and coverage application for certain individuals without minimum essential coverage Section 1837 of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1395p ) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (o) (1) In applying this section in the case of an eligible individual who is entitled to benefits under part A pursuant to the operation of section 226(j), the following special rules shall apply: (A) The initial enrollment period under subsection (d) shall begin on the first day of the first month in which the individual satisfies the requirement of section 1836(a)(1). (B) In applying subsection (g)(1), the initial enrollment period shall begin on the first day of the first month of entitlement to disability insurance benefits referred to in such subsection. (2) In applying this section in the case of an individual who became entitled to benefits under part A, but had not been entitled to such benefits for a period of 24 calendar months as of the date of enactment of the Stop the Wait Act of 2025, and is entitled to such benefits pursuant to the application of section 226(j), the initial enrollment period under subsection (d) for such individual shall begin on the first day of the first month following the date of enactment of the Stop the Wait Act of 2025 and shall end seven months later. .