H.R. 930

119 HR 930 IH: Stop the Wait Act of 2025
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-02-04
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 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.
 .