From Daily Kos: Trump has more cruel plans for his 'forgotten people' in rural America
By JOAN McCARTER
Impeached President Donald Trump swore in a tweet on Saturday that "We will not be touching your Social Security or Medicare in Fiscal 2021 Budget." He reiterated Monday in a meeting with Republican governors: "We’re not touching Medicare. […] We're not touching Social Security." Which is, of course, a lie. A disproportionate number of those Republican governors represent the people that will be disproportionately hit by Trump's proposed cuts to the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program. That's rural people predominantly living in red states who would be subjected to onerous, often insurmountable barriers to maintaining the modest SSDI payments they get every month.
The average payment is about $1,200 for people who are not yet of retirement age but can no longer work because of a mental or physical impairment. The Social Security Administration conducts reviews of all beneficiaries on the basis of three categories: the people who are only temporarily disabled, people who might improve, and people who are not expected to improve. The reviews ensure that people are still qualified to receive help and require doctors visits, documentation, and no small amount of hassle. Some reviews are as frequent as twice a year, and some are once every seven years. The administration is proposing to add a new classification of "Medical Improvement Likely," and is aiming it at older workers who are not longer able to work in their fields, or about 1 million people. Many of them can work part-time or in odd jobs. Most, however continue to live below the poverty line, even with SSDI help.