Political Quotes

“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.…”