Als Disability Insurance Access Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. DOGGETT. Madam Speaker, I join today in support of the ALS Disability Insurance Access Act to ensure that individuals diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) receive the financial support they need and for which they have already qualified. I congratulate Congressman Moulton and Senator Whitehouse on their successful leadership for this important effort of which I have been a cosponsor.

For individuals who are determined to have a sufficiently severe disability to quality for Social Security Disability Insurance, the security that Social Security is intended to provide can come with a cost--two years without health insurance. This waiting period--which should really be called a suffering period--must be eliminated. Two unjustified delays prolong the suffering. The first, a five-month delay to receive any disability payment even though the recipient has already qualified. The second, is a two-year delay to access Medicare coverage for which they already qualified.

This means that the millions of individuals with disabilities in this waiting period may not be able to access necessary medical treatments and medications. This only makes existing health complications worse and increases overall health care spending. Many die waiting their turn for health coverage. In 2018 alone, about 16,000 workers with disabilities died during the 5-month waiting period and about 56,000 workers with disabilities died waiting for Medicare coverage.

These waiting periods only serve to harm the health of individuals with disabilities and delay the support they need. In addition to this bill for individuals with ALS, other colleagues have offered legislation to end the waiting periods for individuals with metastatic breast cancer, Huntington's Disease, and other life-threatening illnesses. I support all of these efforts. We must provide a healthy foundation for all individuals with disabilities, who already arc experiencing unique health challenges.

I hope that this ALS bill represents a step forward in the eventual approval of the bipartisan Stop the Wait bill, H.R. 4386, that I introduced to eliminate the onerous waiting periods for Social Security Disability Insurance and Medicare. This bill now has 50 House cosponsors. and Senator Bob Casey has introduced companion legislation. Having recognized the suffering of these waiting periods for Americans with ALS, I urge Congress to consider the suffering of all those subject to waiting periods and pass long-overdue reforms to Stop the Wait. We must ensure individuals with disabilities have access to health care when they need it. Social Security cannot truly provide health care security, until all individuals with disabilities have guaranteed access to prompt Medicare coverage. Let's Stop the Wait for all of them.

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