[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6640 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6640
To secure the rights and dignity of marriage for Disabled Adult
Children, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 6, 2023
Mr. Panetta (for himself and Ms. Lofgren) introduced the following
bill; which was 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
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To secure the rights and dignity of marriage for Disabled Adult
Children, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Marriage Equality for Disabled
Adults Act''.
SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF MARRIAGE RESTRICTION FOR DISABLED ADULT
CHILDREN.
(a) In General.--Section 202(d) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 402(d)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ``was unmarried and'';
(2) by amending paragraph (1)(D) to read as follows:
``(D) the month in which such child dies;''; and
(3) by striking paragraph (5).
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 202(s)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
402(s)(2)) is amended by striking ``(d)(5),''.
SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF RULES TO DETERMINE MARITAL RELATIONSHIPS.
(a) In General.--Section 1614(d) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1382c(d)) is amended by striking ``except that'' and all that
follows through the end of the subsection and inserting ``except that
if two individuals have been determined to be married under section
216(h)(1) for purposes of title II they shall be considered (from and
after the date of such determination or the date of their application
for benefits under this title, whichever is later) to be married for
purposes of this title.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Title XVI of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 1611(e)(3)--
(A) by striking ``a husband and wife'' each place
it appears and inserting ``two married individuals'';
and
(B) by striking ``such husband and wife'' and
inserting ``such married individuals'';
(2) in section 1614(b)--
(A) in the first sentence, by striking ``the
husband or wife of'' and inserting ``married to''; and
(B) in the second sentence, by striking ``husband
and wife'' and inserting ``married''; and
(3) in section 1631(b)(1)(A)(i), by striking ``husband or
wife'' and inserting ``spouse''.
SEC. 4. INCOME AND RESOURCE DEEMING RULES.
Section 1614(f) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382c(f)) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(5) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this subsection, for
purposes of determining eligibility for, and the amount of,
benefits for a married individual who is entitled to a child's
insurance benefit based on a disability under section 202(d),
or for the spouse of such an individual, the income and
resources of the one spouse is deemed to not include any income
or resources of the other spouse.''.
SEC. 5. RETENTION OF MEDICAID FOR CERTAIN MARRIED INDIVIDUALS.
Section 1634 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1383(c)) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(e) In the case of a State that exercises the option under
section 1902(f), any individual who--
``(1) is a married individual who is entitled to a child's
insurance benefit based on a disability for any month under
section 202(d) or the spouse of such an individual; and
``(2) would be eligible for medical assistance under the
State plan approved under title XIX if the individual were
unmarried,
shall remain eligible for medical assistance under such plan for so
long as the individual satisfies the criteria described in paragraphs
(1) and (2).''.
SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the United States Congress that--
(1) Disabled Adult Children, if married, should remain
eligible for all Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security
benefits under the same terms as they would if unmarried,
regardless of State of residence or State Medicaid law;
specifically, this legislation should not impact a Disabled
Adult Child's eligibility for any Medicaid services for which
they were eligible when unmarried;
(2) regardless of marital status, eligibility of Disabled
Adult Children to receive Federal Medicare, Medicaid, and
Social Security benefits should not be impacted by any
``holding out'' status as defined in section 1382c(d) of title
42, United States Code; and
(3) Disabled Adult Children's eligibility for Social
Security Disability Insurance benefits should not be
conditioned on geographic location or residency in the United
States.
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