The Medicare Rights Center (Medicare Rights) appreciates the opportunity to comment on the proposed Rules Regarding the Frequency and Notice of Continuing Disability Reviews. Medicare Rights is a national, nonprofit organization that works to ensure access to affordable health care for older adults and people with disabilities through counseling and advocacy, educational programs, and public policy initiatives. Medicare Rights provides services and resources to three million people with Medicare, family caregivers, and professionals each year.
Medicare Rights strongly opposes this proposed rule. Applicants and beneficiaries are already burdened by complex and arcane rules that lead to far too many people losing or never gaining the benefits they need and for which they qualify. Rather than finalizing this rule, which would exacerbate a punitive and error-prone application and review system, we urge the Social Security Administration (SSA) to instead streamline these processes and eliminate the backlog of applications and review. No additional reviews can ethically be added while the backlog exists.
On our National Consumer Helpline, we hear from people with disabilities who need Medicare and who are struggling to access Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) benefits. In addition, we hear from those who have the benefit but worry about losing it, or used to have the benefit and need to regain it…
