[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 110 (Wednesday, July 23, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1571-E1572]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     INTRODUCTION OF THE WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES OPPORTUNITY ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 23, 2003

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the ``Workers with 
Disabilities Opportunity Act of 2003'' with Representative Matsui (D-
CA) and 34 other colleagues. This bill will remove a persistent 
employment barrier facing Social Security beneficiaries with 
disabilities who want to attempt to return to work--the fear of losing 
their health insurance. Right now, these workers lose their Medicare 
health insurance coverage if they remain in the workforce more than 8.5 
years. This legislation would make Medicare coverage permanent for 
them.
  There is a glaring problem with the American workforce today. There 
are a disproportionately small number of workers with disabilities in 
it. According to the Census Bureau's 2002 report, only 24 percent of 
American adults with disabilities are employed compared to 77 percent 
of other Americans. The National Organization on Disability reports 
that despite major advances in disability services and technologies, 
less than 1 percent of Social Security Disability Insurance enrollees 
leave the rolls each year to return to work. When the non-working 
adults with disabilities were asked in the National Health Interview 
Survey why they were discouraged from working over one-fifth of them 
replied that it was out of fear of losing their health insurance. With 
this piece of legislation we can remove this barrier.
  People who receive Social Security disability insurance benefits risk 
losing the health insurance coverage they currently have if they return 
to work. While you may think that their job's health benefits may cover 
what they need, many employers do not offer health insurance and even 
if they do, the treatments workers with disabilities require may well 
not be covered by a standard employer-provided plan. This puts many 
Social Security beneficiaries in a dilemma. They must choose between 
staying at home and keeping their health insurance or going to work and 
losing it. There is no question about it; this Hobson's choice is 
keeping disabled Americans out of the workforce.
  Some of you may ask: ``Well, what about existing law?'' The answer is 
that existing law does not do nearly enough. Under current law, 
Medicare coverage only extends for 8.5 years after a Social Security 
beneficiary returns to work. While this may sound like an adequate 
amount of time to become integrated into the workforce, keep in mind 
that people with a physical or mental disability often require ongoing 
care. Their health, often their lives, and certainly their ability to 
sustain work, depend on that care.
  The Workers with Disabilities Opportunity Act is critical for 
removing the fear of returning to work for the millions of Americans 
with disabilities. We had bipartisan support for the original House 
version of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act that 
extended Medicare coverage to 8.5 years for workers with disabilities. 
We hope to have bipartisan support for making this improvement

[[Page E1572]]

complete. Furthermore, this piece of legislation is supported by the 
Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, which is made up of a 
coalition of national disability organizations including the American 
Association on Mental Retardation, National Alliance for the Mentally 
Ill, Paralyzed Veterans of America, The Arc of the United States, and 
United Cerebral Palsy. Let's work together to give Americans with 
disabilities the opportunity to succeed in the workplace by providing 
permanent Medicare coverage. Let's give Americans with disabilities a 
real ticket to work instead of pulling the rug out from underneath them 
after eight and a half years.

  If this bill becomes law millions of Americans will no longer be 
afraid of going back to work. Enacting this small piece of legislation 
can have a tremendous impact on the lives of American with 
disabilities. We need to give Americans with disabilities a chance to 
become permanent, active members of the workforce. Americans with 
disabilities deserve the opportunity to succeed and we can give it to 
them by making their Medicare coverage permanent. I urge my colleagues 
to join us in support of this important legislation.

                          ____________________