Principal Attorney
The year 2020 was one for the record books for a number of reasons. We saw the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. We went through a contentious presidential election. Now, in 2021, we still face many of the same challenges we did in 2021, but we have a new presidential administration leading the nation. President Biden ran on a platform that included overhauling disability policy. While he has pushed much of the weight of his presidency thus far to addressing the Coronavirus pandemic, his disability plan looms in the wings for when the time is right to bring his proposed changes to light. Here, we will take a look at some of the key aspects of President Biden’s disability plan.
What Is President Biden’s Disability Plan?
Among other things, President Biden’s disability plan focuses on Social Security disability program reform. The backlog that has developed in processing claims has become shockingly long, especially when you consider the fact that there disabled individuals in critical need of financial support that are in this waiting line. As of now, it can take up to two full years from the submission of an application to be granted a hearing date.
To address some of the backlogs that have developed in Social Security, President Biden plans to budget more money for the SSA. The SSA is overworked and understaffed. The number of disability benefits applicants has increased, but the budget of the SSA has been significantly cut. Staff numbers have been reduced by half. A budget increase for the SSA will help the SSA bring on new hires to help with the increased workload and reduce processing times.
President Biden’s plan also plans to make a concerted effort to ensure equality for disabled individuals. To achieve this goal, the intention is to take steps to ensure access to high-quality and affordable health care. Furthermore, President Biden plans to develop more competitive employment opportunities for people with disabilities as well as working to ensure that students with disabilities can access the programs and support they need to successfully achieve educational and professional goals.
Some other key aspects of President Biden’s disability policy plans include:
- Appointing a director of disability policy to the Domestic Policy Council. This would help ensure that disability issues are given due attention at the top levels of government as well as being integrated within broader policy talks.
- Reversing more recent orders put through by the Trump Administration could risk the funding of SSDI and SSI. This includes the payroll tax deferrals that were granted last year. Furthermore, the President has made it clear that disability benefits such as SSDI and SSI will stay put. In fact, the President wants to expand these programs because so many Americans rely on them.
President Biden’s disability policies also include paying specific attention to how the pandemic has impacted those with disabilities and how to curb the heightened rate of infection and the significant mortality rate among group care facilities.
Riverside Disability Attorney
Individuals with disabilities face so many challenges. Accessing benefits is just one of them. Talk to the attorneys at Disability Advocates about how to get approved for Social Security disability benefits. Contact us today.
