Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul announced a new final rule Tuesday, Feb. 24 changing an agency disability rule that was introduced in 1978 and has remained unchanged. The change has been opposed by many.
The commissioner described the rule change as an “update.” But last year leading Congressional Democrates described it as “harmful” and “unjustified.”
According to a Feb, 24 press release from Commissioner Saul, “The new regulation, ‘Removing the Inability to Communicate in English as an Education Category,’ updates a disability rule that was more than 40 years old and did not reflect work in the modern economy. This final rule has been in the works for a number of years and updates an antiquated policy that makes the inability to communicate in English a factor in awarding disability benefits.
“It is important that we have an up-to-date disability program,” Commissioner Saul said. “The workforce and work opportunities have changed and outdated regulations need to be revised to reflect today’s world.”
However, top Democrats signed a letter dated May 6 letter to the acting Social Security commissioner opposing the rule change, calling it “uninformed and unsupported. They said, ” We write today to express our strong opposition to the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, “Removing Inability to Communicate in English as an Education Category” (84 Fed. Reg. 1006, February 1, 2019). In it, SSA makes a harmful and unjustified attempt to deny Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits to older workers with long-term or fatal medical impairments who are severely limited in their functional capacity and who cannot communicate in English. We request that SSA withdraw this proposed rule.” The letter was signed by ” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA), House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman John B. Larson (D-CT), House Ways and Means Worker & Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Danny K. Davis (D-IL), Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Senate Finance Social Security Subcommittee Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
“In the five-step application process for the disability insurance program, the language eligibility requirement can be considered only if the applicant reaches the final step and is at least 45 years old,” according to the Washington Post.
“Social Security is required to consider education to determine if someone’s medical condition prevents work, but research shows the inability to communicate in English is no longer a good measure of educational attainment or the ability to engage in work,” according to Saul. “This rule is another important step in the agency’s efforts to modernize its disability programs.”
“In 2015, Social Security’s Inspector General recommended that the agency evaluate the appropriateness of this policy,” he said. “Social Security owes it to the American public to ensure that its disability programs continue to reflect the realities of the modern workplace. This rule also supports the Administration’s longstanding focus of recognizing that individuals with disabilities can remain in the workforce.”
Not all agree on the need for the rule change.
“A coalition of more than 300 nonprofit disability, senior and women’s groups that oppose cuts to Social Security said that although the agency has discussed this proposal for a few years, they think it is moving forward now because of the immigration views of President Trump and his administration,” according to the Washington Post.
Altman argued that the proposal is unnecessary, as the SSDI and SSI application processes are already complex and finding employment with a disability is already difficult enough.
“It’s not only that you cannot work in your job, it’s that you cannot work in any job economy,” Altman told Splinter News. “If you can do the job anywhere, you can’t get disability.”
In their letter, the Congressional senators and representations noted, “In the vast majority of cases, the inability to communicate in English is not a factor of eligibility. In 2016, out of roughly 500,000 Social Security Title II disability benefit allowances at the initial level, SSA awarded benefits to only 2,487 people based on illiteracy or inability to communicate in English — or just half of one percent of all Title II disability awards. Moreover, SSA provides no data on what fraction of these awards were due to illiteracy, as opposed to inability to communicate in English, since the guidelines combine these two limitations into a single factor.”
“SSA’s plan to deny benefits in these rare situations is uninformed and unsupported,” they said. “In the proposed rule, SSA offers no meaningful evidence that the nationwide job prospects for older, severely disabled workers with very limited functional capacity who are unable to communicate in English have improved.”
The rule will be effective on April 27.
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