Opinion ID: 338364
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Prior Receipt of State PTD Benefits

Text: 24 First, the plaintiff and all of the members of the class were by definition recipients of disability benefits under the state PTD program. They had a protected property interest in the continued receipt of those benefits which could not be terminated without the protections of due process. See Mathews v. Eldridge, supra, 96 S.Ct. at 901. See also Buckles v. Weinberger, 398 F.Supp. 931, 938 (E.D.Pa.1975); Saurino v. Weinberger,396 F.Supp. 992, 998-99 (D.R.I.1975). The SSI program is basically a continuation and extension of the prior federal-state programs. 8 Buckles v. Weinberger, supra, 398 F.Supp. at 938-40; Saurino v. Weinberger, supra, 396 F.Supp. at 1000-02. The program was a part of the basic restructuring of the national welfare system. H.R.Rep.No.92-231, 3 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News, p. 4989 (1972). Comparison of the state PTD program with the SSI program supports this conclusion. The intended beneficiaries are the same under both programs and the disability eligibility requirements are similar. Compare 42 U.S.C. § 1382c(a)(3) with Missouri Division of Welfare Regulation 95 (1967). In addition, Congress's inclusion of the grandfather clause indicates that the SSI program was designed to replace the state PTD program. See Ryan v. Shea, 525 F.2d 268, 270 (10th Cir. 1975). Finally, in a notice to the plaintiff concerning the institution of the SSI program the Secretary indicated to the plaintiff that the SSI program was designed to replace the state program. 9 25 The continuing nature of the SSI program provides a basis for concluding that a protected property interest exists. The plaintiff had a protected property interest in the receipt of state PTD benefits, and the protections of due process may not be obviated by the transfer of the over-all administration of the program to the federal government. Saurino v. Weinberger, supra, 396 F.Supp. at 1002; Brown v. Weinberger, 382 F.Supp. 1092, 1097 (D.Md.1974), aff'd mem., 529 F.2d 514 (4th Cir. 1975). See also Lyons v. Weinberger, 376 F.Supp. 248, 260 (S.D.N.Y.1974).