The Medicare Rights Center on Friday asked the Senate Finance Committee to hold a hearing on federal policy that requires a 24-month waiting period before people with debilitating disabilities can begin Medicare coverage.

In the letter to Finance Chairman Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, and ranking Democrat Max Baucus of Montana, Medicare Rights Center President Robert Hayes said, “How long can Congress close its eyes to the misery of Americans who played by the rules, paid their taxes and suddenly find themselves unable to work because of severe disability?” The group’s letter to Grassley come at the one-year anniversary of introduction of legislation (S 1217) sponsored by Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., that would phase out the waiting period for disabled individuals as well as individuals with life-threatening conditions.

Jill Gerber, a spokeswoman for Grassley, said the “very ballpark estimate” for making such a change is $250 billion over the next decade. “Unfortunately it’s very hard to find that kind of money for a policy change —the bill sponsors don’t have an offset themselves,” Gerber said.

In a statement, the Medicare Rights Center said there are about 1.2 million people with disabilities affected by the waiting period, with at least 400,000 without health coverage. According to a study by the Commonwealth Fund, 4 percent of people waiting for coverage die each year.

Source: Congressional Quarterly