Congress Passes Federal ABLE Act to Help Funding for Persons with Disabilities
Reason for celebration. Not only did Congress act, but it came together to help those with disabilities. The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act cleared the Senate on Tuesday on a vote of 76 to 16, which is the last step on its way to the President. As Gail Russell Chaddok of the Christian Science Monitor observes:
“But the reasons for its success go deeper and point to potential bipartisan paths forward on one of Congress’s most intractable issues: entitlement reform. The aim of the ABLE Act is to remove bureaucratic obstacles to help Americans save their own money to help pay for long-term care. To some activists, that could provide a template for reforming Medicare and Social Security in the next Congress.
The ABLE Act helps people with disabilities save for college and retirement. Under current law, a child diagnosed with a disability can’t have assets worth more than $2,000 or earn more than $680 per month without forfeiting eligibility for government programs like Medicaid. The ABLE Act would allow a tax-free savings account up to $100,000 to pay for disability-related expenses.”