Currently Social Security Disability (SSDI) consigns a person to permanent poverty. All apartments/housing require 3x the rent in income, plus large deposits. I would need to find an apartment for roughly $450/mo which does not exist anywhere I know of. Low income housing in every state we have lived has up to 10 year wait list and is not that much less per month than market rate apartments. The wait is similar with Section 8. It took 2 years for me to get approved for SSDI, we lost our house, spent all of our savings trying to stay afloat and pay my medical bills. Once on SSDI you are put on Medicare. The cost of Medicare is taken out of your SSDI, it is getting more and more expensive every year, I believe it is currently $174. The COLA usually only covers the increase in Medicare cost. We had our rent double in 2022, car insurance went up over $100/month, not to mention groceries and utilities, gas etc. We are drowning. I cannot work due to my medical condition. I do not currently qualify for Medicaid, when we did briefly we received $14/mo EBT for 3 people. I cannot afford to go to the doctor. The amount people get for Social Security Disability needs to be adjusted for the real world we live in or changed completely to something else.
I wrote up something similar 
Enhancing Workforce Participation Among Disabled Americans by Reforming SSDI Income Caps
I hope we can actually get this done, as it would be huge for Disabled Americans
ABSOLUTELY! Please help people with disabilities prosper! If we can work and are willing and able, we shouldn’t be limited in our income! We pay taxes too!
I’m so happy someone addressed this! I wanted to, but didn’t know where to begin. We are falling through the cracks here! I need Medicare, due to my disability, but did not take part B, because I cannot afford the premiums! It has been 13 years, and finally, I was approved for help with premiums, by my state. I didn’t have enough time in on my job to qualify for disability payments from them, OR retirement benefits or insurance, so that measly little benefit is all I have to live on, for the rest of my life! Got the retirement from my job in a lump sum, and had to be penalized with a $1K tax, for early withdrawal. Cola does not keep up with the cost of living. SNAP is only $23.00 a month. That may feed me 1 day. People should not have to live like this in the USA. I don’t know how to word a proposal, but agree, something needs to be done to help us be able to live without poverty.
I’m disabled and I receive only $920 per month from SS ( used to be $850 all the time until a few months ago) and I get $240 in good stamps. My rent is $650 and the rest of the $920 goes on bills (phone, internet, transportation, etc), which leaves me with only $240 per month for food! That’s only $60 per week! And I’m 6’4 and 210 lbs! And forget about owning a car or eating expensive organic foods! And if I can’t eat healthy expensive foods then how can I ever get better? I’m forced to eat cheap frozen food full of GMO and pesticides! It’s like living in a third world country for me with this much money. I’m not asking for a lot. Just a slight increase in the SS benefits for people so they can at least afford to eat food that will not kill them slowly! That’s is all! Thank you!
Do like other countries have and have a doctor give the applicant a 1 page form to start the person disability that day. Then start the investigation and if fraud is found they pay back with interest and are jailed. I am also on disability. It took over 2 years to receive and we had to use my husband’s 401K to survive which was to get us theough retirement. And now that I receive it, I find that the government takes $174 out each month for Medicare! Why does a disabled person have to pay for Medicare?
I agree. The way this is currently set up restricts disabled people to a life of poverty. I have posted a proposal to increase asset allowance and create a safety net to work (when possible). This would be life-changing for many people.