JOHNSON CITY PRESS: Rep. Harshbarger introduces Social Security benefits bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., re-introduced a bill Thursday to remove the waiting period for terminally ill patients' access to Social Security program benefits, according to a press release.

The bill, called the Immediate Access for the Terminally Ill Act, was also introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. It would allow people with a terminal illness immediate access to benefits through Social Security Disability Insurance. Eligible Americans usually wait five months before payment.

Under the bill, immediate access would come with a 7% reduction in cash benefits. Beneficiaries could also choose to wait five months for full benefits.

The legislation would additionally update the overpayment collection threshold for another insurance program and prohibit people from accessing SSDI and unemployment benefits at the same time.

The bill would save more than $5 billion over about 10 years, according to an analysis from the Social Security Office of the Chief Actuary.

"No one diagnosed with a terminal illness should spend their final months tangled in government red tape," Harshbarger said in a press release. "This legislation ensures timely access to earned benefits while remaining fiscally responsible."

The bill is supported by the National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives and Patients Rising, a national patient advocacy group.

"For patients facing a terminal illness, time is a luxury they do not have," Patients Rising Chief Executive Officer Terry Wilcox said in the release.