State agency backs disability waiver for terminally ill

[The Straight Story]

State agency backs disability waiver for terminally ill

By THOMAS J. SHEERAN
Associated Press Writer
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CLEVELAND (AP) -- A state agency that handles Social Security disability claims has asked Ohio's congressional delegation to back a proposal that would allow terminally ill patients to receive payments quickly.

The seven-member Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission, which handled 169,392 disability claims in Ohio last year, endorsed the bill proposed by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and called for his Ohio colleagues on Capitol Hill to support the measure, which would waive a five-month waiting period for such patients.

"Terminally ill beneficiaries deserve their money as soon as they are approved," said John M. Connelly, executive director of the commission. "The long waiting period is an unnecessary hurdle to jump."

The five-month wait reflects a standard back-to-work benchmark and is meant to avoid paying benefits to those who don't have a long-term disability, U.S. Social Security Administration spokeswoman Carmen Moreno said Friday.

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