Congress Proposes Ending 5-Month Wait for Disability Checks and 2-Year Wait for Medicare
The Stop the Wait Act of 2025 is currently in the House committee stage and has not moved since February 2025. The House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce committees must review the bill before it can proceed, but no action has occurred for about 17 months. Because of this long period of inactivity, the bill is considered stalled.
No action since February 2025
This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.
Reintroduced
Reintroduced from H.R. 883 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
H.R. 883 (118th) →Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
The bill uses ACA affordability thresholds (8.5% of income) to determine which SSDI recipients qualify for immediate Medicare. Some people who currently rely on ACA marketplace plans during the Medicare waiting period would transition to Medicare sooner, potentially reducing the ACA marketplace enrollment pool slightly. For those individuals, the shift to Medicare could mean different provider networks and coverage rules.
Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Covers the re-introduction of the Immediate Access for the Terminally Ill Act by Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Diana Harshbarger, a related policy aimed at removing the five-month waiting period for SSDI benefits for those with terminal conditions.
A seminal investigative report detailing the human cost of the Social Security disability backlog. It revealed that over 10,000 people died in 2017 while waiting for a decision, a statistic frequently cited by sponsors of the Stop the Wait Act.
Professional journalism from a disability-focused news outlet covering the introduction of the Stop the Wait Act. It explains the bill's provisions to require immediate payment after eligibility and phase out the 24-month Medicare wait.
No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Stop the Wait Act of 2025
Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.