Implementation and analysis of Public Law 98-460--section 1619 (the Social Security Disability Benefits Reform Act of 1984).

The following is a reprint of the report to Congress on section 1619 of the Social Security Act prepared by the Department of Health and Human Services in response to a provision of the Social Security Disability Benefits Reform Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-460). It also includes some of the report's appendix material. In addition to calling for an evaluation of the provision's effectiveness, that legislation extended the temporary authority of the provision through June 30, 1987. Section 1619 was originally enacted in 1981 as a demonstration project to remove work disincentives to supplemental security income (SSI) recipients by providing special benefits to those who work despite disabling impairments. It extends cash and Medicaid benefits to individuals whose earnings are too high to permit eligibility for regular SSI payments (section 1619(a)), and provides Medicaid coverage to persons whose earnings are high enough to preclude eligibility for regular SSI payments and special payments under section 1619(a), but which may not be sufficient to provide for adequate medical care (section 1619(b)). Before these provisions were enacted, SSI recipients who were disabled could lose SSI eligibility and Medicaid protection if they engaged in substantial gainful activity. As of August 1985, 2.6 million blind and disabled individuals were on the regular SSI eligibility rolls. Of these, 132, 155--or 5 percent--had at least some earnings. Average earnings for the SSI disabled working population in 1985 were $112 a month, compared with $475 a month for individuals covered by section 1619(a) and $674 monthly for those covered by section 1619(b).