[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1339 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1339

   To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide that the 
 waiting period for disability benefits shall not be applicable in the 
    case of a disabled individual suffering from a terminal illness.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 16, 1993

Mr. Swift (for himself, Mrs. Unsoeld, Mr. Kildee, and Mr. Neal of North 
  Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide that the 
 waiting period for disability benefits shall not be applicable in the 
    case of a disabled individual suffering from a terminal illness.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) the first 
sentence of section 223(a)(1) of the Social Security Act is amended, in 
clause (ii) thereof--
            (1) by inserting ``(I)'' immediately after ``but only if'', 
        and
            (2) by inserting ``or (II) he has a terminal illness (as 
        defined in subsection (e)),'' immediately after ``the first 
        month in which he is under such disability''.
    (b) Section 223 of such Act is further amended by adding at the end 
thereof the following new subsection:

                    ``Definition of Terminal Illness

    ``(e) As used in this section, the term `terminal illness' means, 
in the case of any individual, a medically determinable physical 
impairment which is expected to result in the death of such individual 
within the next 12 months.''.
    Sec. 2. The amendments made by this Act shall be effective with 
respect to applications for disability insurance benefits under section 
223 of the Social Security Act filed--
            (1) in or after the month in which this Act is enacted, or
            (2) before the month in which this Act is enacted if--
                    (A) notice of the final decision of the Secretary 
                of Health and Human Services has not been given to the 
                applicant before such month, or
                    (B) the notice referred to in paragraph (1) has 
                been so given before such month but a civil action with 
                respect to such final decision is commenced under 
                section 205(g) of the Social Security Act (whether 
                before, in, or after such month) and the decision in 
                such civil action has not become final before such 
                month;
except that no monthly benefits under title II of the Social Security 
Act shall be payable by reason of the amendments made by this Act for 
any month before the month in which this Act is enacted.

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