Immediate Access for the Terminally Ill Act

On January 15, 2026, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced S.3648 in the 119th Congress. The bill was read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance. A companion bill, H.R. 7104, was introduced in the House and referred to the Ways and Means Committee. Both are in early legislative stages with no further action recorded. The bill amends title II of the Social Security Act to allow SSDI beneficiaries with incurable terminal illnesses on the SSA's Compassionate Allowances list to elect immediate benefit receipt, foregoing the standard five-month waiting period. The mechanism is an opt-in benefit acceleration in exchange for a reduced monthly benefit amount. The bill does not authorize or appropriate any new federal funding — it only changes the timing and structure of existing SSDI payments. No contracts, grants, tax credits, or procurement changes are created. The insurance companies (CVS, HUM, CI, MOH) are not directly obligated by this bill. SSDI is a federal entitlement program, not a commercial insurance product. Managed care plans such as Medicare Advantage or Medicaid managed care are not implicated. The bill specifically prohibits concurrent receipt of SSDI and unemployment insurance, which affects individual beneficiaries, not corporate entities. The market data shows significant recent gains in HUM and MOH (+39.58% and +46.47% over 30 days respectively), but these moves are attributable to broader managed care sector dynamics — likely Medicare Advantage rate announcements or earnings reports — not this early-stage bill. No causal link exists between S.3648's legislative status and managed care stock performance. The bill remains in committee with only one introduction action and one referral action. It has no hearings, markups, or votes scheduled. The sponsor, Sen. Lee, is not a committee chair or ranking member on the Finance Committee. Legislative velocity is low. No further actions are expected in the near term without broader SSDI reform momentum.