Special Needs Alliance Applauds Introduction of the Childhood Disability Benefits Fairness Act

H.R. 9846 would close a Medicaid eligibility gap facing adults with disabilities who never received SSI before qualifying for Social Security child’s insurance benefits

MT. SINAI, NY / ACCESS Newswire / August 7, 2026 / The Special Needs Alliance (SNA) today applauded Representative Debbie Dingell (D-MI-06) for introducing H.R. 9846, the Childhood Disability Benefits Fairness Act, a bill SNA helped develop to fix a longstanding gap in Medicaid eligibility for adults with disabilities. Rep. Dingell introduced the bill on July 22, 2026; it has been referred to the House Committees on Ways & Means and Energy & Commerce.

Under current law, an individual must receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) before receiving Social Security’s Childhood Disability Benefits (CDB) in order for that CDB income to be disregarded when determining Medicaid eligibility. This sequencing requirement creates an unintended trap: adults with disabilities whose parents died young, retired, or became disabled themselves before the individual could qualify for SSI can be hit with a Medicaid “spend down” they would otherwise not owe, simply because of the order in which their benefits began.

H.R. 9846 would amend Section 1634(c) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1383c(c)) so that individuals entitled to child’s insurance benefits are treated as receiving SSI for purposes of Medicaid eligibility, regardless of whether they actually received SSI first. The fix would apply to Medicaid eligibility determinations and redeterminations made on or after the bill’s enactment.

“We’re grateful to Congresswoman Dingell for tackling a problem we see every day in Michigan and that families face nationwide. Adults with disabilities are losing Medicaid, or being turned away entirely, because of a technicality in how their Social Security benefits are counted. The Childhood Disability Benefits Fairness Act fixes that, and real people will get the services they need,” said a Michigan-based SNA member attorney.

“Our members see it regularly: adults with disabilities denied Medicaid because of when their benefits started, not what their needs are. The Childhood Disability Benefits Fairness Act closes this unfair gap and has the support of state and national disability advocacy groups alike. We commend Congresswoman Dingell and urge Congress to move this bill forward without delay,” said Robert F. Brogan, CELA, President of the Special Needs Alliance.

H.R. 9846 currently has no cosponsors. SNA is urging its members and the broader disability advocacy community to contact their Representatives, particularly members of the Ways & Means and Energy & Commerce Committees, and ask them to cosponsor the bill.

About the Special Needs Alliance

The Special Needs Alliance comprises more than 150 attorneys across 45 states, each invited to membership based on demonstrated excellence in disability and public benefits law. SNA members provide legal counsel on special needs trusts, ABLE accounts, government benefits, guardianship and alternatives, and estate and life planning to help people with disabilities lead lives of dignity and purpose. For more information, visit www.specialneedsalliance.org.

Media Contact:
Jihane Davidow, Executive Director,
jihane@specialneedsalliance.org

SOURCE: Special Needs Alliance

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