This is from an article By ANDREW BRIDGES Associated Press Writer (USA)

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal rules used to determine who's disabled are nearly
50 years old and need to be updated to reflect economic, medical and
technological advances, a government panel says.

Many Americans with disabilities are willing and able to work but remain
thwarted from seeking jobs by Social Security Administration guidelines that
discourage economic independence, according to the National Council on
Disability report being released Wednesday.

...

``Our nations current disability benefit programs are based on a policy
principle that assumes that the presence of a significant disability and
lack of substantial earnings equate with a complete inability to work,''
council chairman Lex Frieden wrote President Bush in submitting the report,
which assesses efforts to promote employment among the disabled.

Also, federal efforts to make it easier for the disabled to work have had
little effect since few people are aware of the incentives and how they
affect access to benefits and health care, the report found. And the months
and years it can take beneficiaries to convince Social Security that they
are disabled and cannot work can leave them leery of enrolling in any
employment or training program that might jeopardize their benefits,
including Medicaid or Medicare, it said.

``We will be looking carefully at the recommendations,'' Social Security
Administration spokesman Mark Lassiter said.

...

``The bottom line, from my perspective, is the biggest programs that serve
people with disabilities are from an era when expectations were not as great
as they are today,'' said Andrew Imparato, president of the American
Association of People with Disabilities. There was no expectation that the
disabled would ever want to buy a home, have a career or start a family,
Imparato said.

``We still more significant reforms of some of these big programs,''
he added.

...

``The current eligibility criteria ignore the incredible advances in
medicine and technology that enable many individuals with severe
disabilities to lead independent and economically self-sufficient lives,''
the report said.

A 2005 GAO report found federal disability programs were ``neither well
aligned with 21st century realities nor are they positioned to provide
meaningful and timely support for Americans with disabilities.''

The National Council on Disability is an independent federal agency made up
of 15 members appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. It
advises both the president and Congress.

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For more, see:

National Council on Disability:
http://www.ncd.gov/

For a press release on the report see:
http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/news/2005/r05-503.htm

For a copy of the report, see:

http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2005/ssa-promoteemployment.htm


Also see
American Association of People with Disabilities:
http://www.aapd-dc.org/

And
http://tinyurl.com/7n5c6