Monthly Archives: November 2015

Taxes – IRS Issues Guidance on Some Provisions of Proposed Regulations

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The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2015-81, a guidance on how they intend to respond to public comments by revising three provisions of the proposed regulations under § 529A of the Internal Revenue Code when those regulations are finalized.  Specifically, the guidance addresses concerns raised during the public comment period for the notice of proposed rulemaking for the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act.  The Treasury Department and the IRS note that commenters maintained that the following three requirements for qualified programs in the proposed regulations would create significant barriers to the establishment of such programs: (1) the requirement to establish safeguards to categorize distributions from ABLE accounts, (2) the requirement to request the taxpayer identification number (TIN) of each contributor to an ABLE account, and (3) the requirements for disability certifications, and in particular the requirement to process disability certifications with signed physicians’ diagnoses.  Notice 2015-81 indicates that the Treasury Department and the IRS intend to address these issues in the final regulations in the same manner as indicated as in the Notice and that, pending the issuance of final regulations, taxpayers may rely on the guidance contained in the Notice.  Notice 2015-81 will appear in the Internal Revenue Bulletin (IRB) 2015-49, dated Dec. 7, 2015.

It appears that Notice 2015-81 positively addresses a number of issues raised by advocates in the disability community and by state ABLE administrators.  These decisions are expected to make the program easier to administer and, therefore, less costly to individual ABLE account holders.  Other issues in the proposed regulations still remain outstanding and advocates and state ABLE program administrators look forward to publication of final regulations.

Family Support – RAISE Act passes Senate Committee

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The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committeeunanimously passed the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act (S. 1719) on November 18.  The Arc supports this bipartisan legislation to implement the bipartisan recommendation of the federal Commission on Long-Term Care which requires the development of a national strategy to support family caregivers.  The bill would create an advisory body to bring together relevant federal agencies and others from the private and public sectors to advise and make recommendations.  The advisory body would identify specific actions that government, communities, providers, employers, and others can take to recognize and support family caregivers.  Advocates are encouraged to thank their Senators who serve on this committee.

Education – Conference Committee Approves ESEA Reauthorization Framework

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On November 19, a House and Senate conference committee approved an agreement for a bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, also known as No Child Left Behind).  The Committee passed the measure by a vote of 39-1 that would scale back the federal role in education for the first time since the early 1980s.  Below is a synopsis of the sections of the agreement that are most relevant to students with disabilities:

  • Repeals adequate yearly progress (AYP) and replaces it with a statewide accountability system. States are required to improve student learning in the state’s lowest performing 5 percent of schools, high schools with high dropout rates, and schools in which any group of students is consistently underperforming.
  • Maintains important information about student performance.  The agreement maintains annual, statewide assessments in reading and math in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school, as well as science tests given three times between grades 3 and 12.
  • Improves accountability for learning outcomes for all students. The framework sets high standards for students with disabilities by putting in place a state-level participation cap of one percent of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who can take the alternate assessment aligned to alternate academic achievement standards.

The bill text is expected to be publicly released on Nov. 30. Read the conference summary.

Health Care – Legislation Introduced to Protect Access to Complex Rehabilitative Technology

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Legislation has been introduced in the House and Senate to prevent Medicare from changing the way it pays for some complex rehabilitative technology (CRT).  CRT includes individually configured, manual and power wheelchair systems, adaptive seating systems, alternative positioning systems, and other mobility devices that require evaluation, fitting, design, adjustment, and programming.  The House bill (H.R. 3229) was introduced by Representative Lee Zeldin (R-NY) and the Senate bill (S. 2196) by Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) and Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) with Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Thad Cochran (R-MS) as original co-sponsors.  In January 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services plans to apply competitive bidding to CRT accessories which will likely create access problems for people with disabilities.  For more information and to take action to support the legislation, take action now!

Health Care—Open Enrollment Begins November 1st

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Now is the time for individuals who are uninsured or looking for affordable health insurance to investigate the private health insurance plans available through state marketplaces (to find your state information visit the health care website). During “open enrollment”, a person can purchase private health insurance through the marketplace in each state. There may also be financial assistance to help with health care costs available for low and moderate income. It is also important for people who currently have insurance through the marketplace, to look at the plan and determine if it will continue to meet the needs of the person, or select a better plan. Individuals who do not take action will be automatically re-enrolled in the current plan. Re-enrollment is also an important opportunity for people to report any changes in income.

Social Security – Joint Economic Committee Holds Hearing on Social Security Disability Insurance

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Last week, the Joint Economic Committee held a hearing on “Ensuring Success for the Social Security Disability Insurance Program and its Beneficiaries.” Witnesses were Patrick O’Carroll, Jr., Inspector General of the Social Security Administration; Mark Duggan, the Trione Director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and the Wayne and Jodi Cooperman Professor of Economics at Stanford University; and Rebecca Vallas, Director of Policy for the Poverty to Prosperity Program at the Center for American Progress. Visit the Joint Economic Committee web site for testimony and to view archived video of the hearing.

Family Support – Lifespan Respite Reauthorization Bill Introduced in the House

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Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Rep. Gregg Harper (R-MS), co-chairs of the House Bipartisan Disability Caucus, introduced the Lifespan Respite Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3913) on November 3. The bill would reauthorize the Lifespan Respite program through 2020 at an authorization level of $15 million per year (an amount well above its present $2.3 million annual appropriation). This program implements statewide systems of coordinated, community-based respite for family caregivers caring for individuals regardless of age or type of disability. Read a summary of the bill here.

Budget & Appropriations – Congress Passes Budget Deal

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Late last week, Congress passed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (HR 1314) providing a measure of relative budgetary stability after months of uncertainty. President Obama signed the measure today. The legislation suspends the debt limit until March 15, 2017 and contains a number of provisions that are relevant to the disability community:

  • Reallocating Social Security payroll taxes on a temporary basis, to allow Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) to pay full promised benefits until the third quarter of 2022. This action will prevent the 20% cut in SSDI that had been projected at the end of 2016. The legislation also includes a number of provisions that seek to enhance payment accuracy and program administration, and authorizes a demonstration project that would test a new SSDI benefit offset to test ways to end the SSDI “cash cliff” for beneficiaries attempting to work.
  • Raising the spending caps on discretionary programs. The caps on defense and non-defense discretionary (NDD) accounts will be raised by $80 billion above the sequester level for fiscal year 2016 and fiscal year 2017. Many disability-related programs (such as housing, education, and employment) fall under the NDD funding category which will increase by approximately 5% for both fiscal years.
  • Limiting the expected increase in 2016 Medicare Part B premiums for the 30% of beneficiaries not already protected from the increase.
  • Repealing a provision of the Affordable Care Act that required employers with more than 200 employees to automatically enroll new employees in a health insurance plan if one is offered. This provision had not yet been implemented.

Read a section-by-section analysis of the bill here.

Social Security – Joint Economic Committee to Hold Hearing on Social Security Disability Insurance

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On Wednesday, the Joint Economic Committee will hold a hearing on “Ensuring Success for the Social Security Disability Insurance Program and its Beneficiaries.” Witnesses will include Patrick O’Carroll, Jr., Inspector General of the Social Security Administration; Mark Duggan, the Trione Director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and the Wayne and Jodi Cooperman Professor of Economics at Stanford University; and Rebecca Vallas, Director of Policy for the Poverty to Prosperity Program at the Center for American Progress. Visit the Joint Economic Committee web site for more information.