People with disabilities deserve financial security, housing stability, and access to essential care. However, the current disability benefits system fails to provide a livable wage. In 2025, the average Social Security Disability payment is only $1,485 per month—far below the actual cost of living. Many disabled individuals cannot work due to chronic or genetic conditions, yet they are forced to survive on insufficient income, leading to homelessness, unsafe housing, and lack of access to necessary medical treatments.
Some Of the Problems
Unlivable Benefits: $1,485/month does not cover basic necessities such as rent, mortgage, property insurance, property taxes, utilities, food, healthcare, and transportation.
Housing Crisis: Limited resources exist for home repairs yet wait times of 5+ years leave many disabled individuals in unsafe, mold-infested homes.
Restricted Healthcare Access: Many individuals with rare genetic conditions must travel out of state to see specialists, but disability benefits do not cover these costs. Additionally, many insurance companies deny coverage for out-of-state medical care, leaving patients without life-saving treatment and life improving treatment.
Lack of Accessibility: Disability benefits do not account for necessary accommodations such as mobility aids, home modifications, or medical equipment. Everyone is different and many disabilities change month to month. Some can only get a new mobility aid every five years.
Not everyone has someone in their life that can help them with their needs. They are doing it alone.
Our Needs
Increase Disability Benefits to a Livable Wage: Disability payments should reflect the true cost of living in each state.
Expand Housing Assistance Programs: More funding and reduced wait times for home repairs and accessibility modifications.
Ensure Healthcare Access for Rare Conditions:
Require insurance companies to cover out-of-state specialists for rare genetic and chronic conditions.
Provide travel assistance for individuals who must leave their home state for medical care.
Improve Accessibility to Essential Resources: Increase funding for disability-related support services, transportation, and assistive technologies.
Why This Matters
No one should have to choose between rent and medical care or live in unsafe conditions due to long waitlists and lack of financial support. People with disabilities deserve dignity, security, and the right to a livable income and accessible healthcare.
Yes it has become increasingly difficult but I don’t know how we fix it fairly & equitably. This goes for social security as well. I am just below your average. I own my home but the lot rent and insurance is half my check. We always get screwed on the COLA (2.9%). There is nothing that I must have that didn’t go up at least 10-40%. My daughter & husband make over $100k, well off imo, but covid gave $500/mo./child to every family. Disabled & elderly got nothing. Healthcare is another issue. Most of us have high expenses because we are disabled. Most of us are very frugal but are getting priced out by the “new world order”. There are many, many issues. Best wishes
My wife has a genetic disorder (Huntington’s Disease), and she get no Disability at all since she has not worked enough years, but she is now unable to work. For us, is not necessary the money but Medicaid would help. Changes must be made for people who ha e real disabilities and not just minor stuff were parents put their little children on it and smooch their entire life of government.
The federal government declared me disabled in 2017, at 60 years of age, because of degenerative spine disease and osteoarthritis. I was forced to take early retirement at 56, to care for my husband with dementia. I was told when I first applied that our SS benefits, basically the same as SSDI, are calculated using a percentage of the highest quarterly pay of our working lives. Everyone should create an accout with the Social Security Administration to track their earnings income, to understand how much they qualify for if they become disabled, (they used to send out paper statements every few years, but they no longer do that). That being said, it would not be fair for someone to recieve more than what they qualify for. Unfortunately, SSI is designed to be temporary, to help those who struggle to make ends meet, and is not based on how much they pay into SS. Many people who recieve these payments have not paid enough into the system, to match the amount they recieve. This has helped to deplete our social security system, along with government beurocrats dipping their hands in and stealing from US citizens. We only have a right to collect what we pay into the system.