I know that this article has nothing to do with computers but I thought
that some of you might be interested in reading it.

Edwin
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1998 10:37:26 -0500
From: Michael Muehe <[log in to unmask]>
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Subject: Globe editorial on Work Incentives bill

A BOSTON GLOBE EDITORIAL

Getting the disabled back to work

Medicare and Social Security provide assistance to 9 million
people too disabled to work. The programs can also provide an
unintended disincentive for people to go back to work. This flaw
can be corrected if an item to be included in President Clinton's
next budget becomes law.

The Clinton plan is modeled on one proposed by Senators Edward
Kennedy and James Jeffords, a Vermont Republican, too late in the
last session for passage. It recognizes that disabled people
often depend on Medicare and Medicaid for the care that improves
their condition to the point where they can consider reentering
the work force.

But once they start earning income, they often lose medical
benefits, and the positions they take often lack comparable
insurance. Given this choice, few people return to work.

Jeffords and Kennedy propose to remove this barrier by offering
Medicare and Medicaid to disabled people who get jobs. Medicare
benefits would expire only after 10 years, while Medicaid
insurance would continue at the discretion of the states, which
administer that program, as long as the worker defrays part of
the cost.

Massachusetts has for the last nine years kept some disabled
workers under Medicaid protection. The Jeffords-Kennedy plan
would allow the state to expand this program, called
CommonHealth.

The impact on the federal budget would be minimal - $1.2 billion
over five years, mainly for administrative costs. In addition,
the senators would set up a demonstration project to allow some
disabled people to keep $1 worth of Social Security benefits for
every $2 they earn. This experiment would determine whether cash
payments might entice more people to return to work then the
continuation of medical insurance alone.

Parts of this proposal bear a resemblance to those that lost out
to more Draconian prescriptions for revamping the welfare system.
The Jeffords-Kennedy plan offers an opportunity to try them out
in a setting that lacks the passion of the welfare controversy.
Whether on its own or part of the budget, the plan deserves
approval next year.

This story ran on page A26 of the Boston Globe on 12/02/98. c
Copyright 1998 Globe Newspaper Company.


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