Marriage Equality for Disabled Adults Act

Key Points

• This bill eliminates the marriage penalty for Disabled Adult Children (DAC) who receive Social Security benefits based on a parent's work history. Currently, these individuals lose their monthly checks if they get married. The bill removes the requirement that a person must be unmarried to keep receiving benefits.
• The bill stops the government from counting a spouse's income or savings when determining whether a married disabled adult qualifies for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This means getting married would no longer make someone ineligible for help because their spouse earns money.
• Medicaid coverage is protected for married disabled adults. The bill ensures that anyone who would qualify for Medicaid if they were single will keep that coverage after getting married, regardless of which state they live in.
• The bill updates gendered language in existing law, replacing references to "husband and wife" with gender-neutral terms like "two married individuals" and "spouse," aligning Social Security statute language with modern marriage equality standards.
• Congress states that disabled adults should keep all Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security benefits when married, under the same terms as if unmarried. It also says eligibility should not depend on where someone lives in the United States.