Wednesday, February 15, 2023

A Christian nation

More than 7 million Americans with disabilities receive monthly payments from the Supplemental Security Income program, which has strict eligibility requirements that Congress hasn’t adjusted for decades.

Beneficiaries give the government permission to monitor their bank accounts, and an application form on the Social Security Administration’s website asks if the applicant buys all their own food separately from household members or if somebody from outside the house helps them.

[...]

The current rule discourages friends and family members from helping people with severe disabilities, said Jennifer Burdick, a legal aid lawyer with Community Legal Services of Philadelphia.

[...]

The maximum SSI benefit is $914, but it can drop by a third, or $304, if someone else pays for a beneficiary’s food or rent.

[...]

The proposed change likely reflects the priorities of President Joe Biden — under his Republican predecessor, the Social Security Administration pursued cuts to disability benefits.

   HuffPo
Tell me again...who was "his Republican predecessor?"
Under the proposed rule, rent help could still cause a benefit reduction, but food help wouldn’t.

“We expect that these changes will simplify our rules, making them less cumbersome to administer and easier for the public to understand and follow,” the Social Security Administration said in its proposal.
Oh Hell yeah, the important thing is that the agency be less burdened.
The change won’t take effect immediately; by law, the Social Security Administration has to wait for the public to comment and then respond to the feedback.

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