Social Security forecasts that disability benefits would be reduced by $2.6 billion through 2029 if a proposed rule change, which is backed by President Donald Trump’s Administration, is enacted. The proposed rule change would increase the medical reviews of disabled workers, resulting in an increase of people being kicked off benefits, but Democratic lawmakers and the public are fighting back.
The proposed rule change would add a new classification to Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs), which Social Security uses to determine if a disabled worker is still entitled to disability benefits based on medical evidence. This new classification, “Medical Improvement Expected,” would increase the frequency of CDRs for some disabled workers and result in many people being denied disability benefits.
A Newsweek story posted January 28, 2020 reports that more than 140 members of Congress signed a letter sent to Trump urging the Administration to remove the proposed rule change because it would negatively impact the most vulnerable Americans who need the disability benefits they receive to survive. It’s not only lawmakers and Social Security advocates who oppose the proposed rule change, but also a large faction of the American public. A rally opposing the proposed rule change was held in Washington D.C. January 28 and many of the more than 115,000 comments offered from the public are in opposition to the proposed rule change.
The letter from lawmakers sent to Trump contends that there is no justification given for this proposed rule change.
“All that appears certain is that the proposed rule would significantly increase time and paperwork burdens on people with disabilities, cause many people with disabilities to lose access to essential benefits sooner than they otherwise would have and significantly increase SSA’s administrative costs,” the letter stated.
One other consequence of the proposed rule change would be the extra time and resources Social Security, which is already understaffed, would need to complete the CDRs as directed by the proposed rule change. Social Security is already behind on CDRs and the proposed rule change would only exacerbate the matter. Comments on the proposed rule change closed January 31, 2020.
