# 119-s-3648: Immediate Access for the Terminally Ill Act

119-s-3648, Immediate Access for the Terminally Ill Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT] (R-UT); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3648
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-3648
- Congress: 119
- Title: Immediate Access for the Terminally Ill Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-01-15
- Sponsor: Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT] (R-UT)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Social Welfare
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Would let certain terminally ill people start Social Security disability benefits immediately, skipping the usual waiting period.** It also adds Congressional approval over which illnesses qualify and tightens rules on unemployment overlap and benefit recoveries. - Terminally ill people and their families would get faster access to benefits when the illness is on the Compassionate Allowance Conditions List. Those conditions must have no known cure and an average life expectancy of no more than 5 years and benefits would be set at 93 percent of the usual amount. - Workers who are also entitled to unemployment compensation would have Social Security disability benefits set to zero for any month before retirement age that they receive unemployment. The Commissioner could use data sharing with states to check eligibility. - Current beneficiaries facing overpayment collections would face a new floor on withholding. The Commissioner could reduce payments to collect overpayments but never take less than 10 percent of a payment.

## Provisions PRIA read

- Limits on Social Security overpayment seizures: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Social Security Commissioner would be allowed to reduce overpayment collections by less than a full seizure when a full reduction would defeat the law's purpose. In those cases, the Commissioner would have to leave at least 10 percent of the recipient's monthly OASDI payment. This r…
- Disability checks stop with unemployment: cost, high. If enacted, your Social Security disability payment for any month before you reach retirement age would be reduced to zero when you are also entitled to unemployment compensation for that same month. The SSA would get unemployment records from federal agencies or state administrators to check eligi…
- Congress must approve Compassionate Allowances: cost, low. If enacted, no disease or medical condition could be added to the SSA Compassionate Allowance list unless Congress passes a law approving that specific addition. This would move the decision from the agency to Congress. This would slow or stop some additions to the list.
- Immediate benefits for terminally ill: mixed, medium. If enacted, you would be able to elect to start Social Security disability benefits in the first month you qualify if your condition is on a new Compassionate Allowance list. That election would be made when you file and would be irrevocable. Your monthly benefit would be 93 percent of the amount o…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5653: Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026
- 119-s-4952: Protecting American Taxpayers Act
- 119-s-1801: International Nuclear Energy Act of 2025
- 119-s-1249: Drone Integration and Zoning Act
- 119-s-62: America First Act
- 119-s-4280: SAFE Act

## Sources
- [119-s-3648 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/3648)

## Related
- [119-s-5653: Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5653)
- [119-s-4952: Protecting American Taxpayers Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4952)
- [119-s-1801: International Nuclear Energy Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1801)
- [119-s-1249: Drone Integration and Zoning Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1249)
- [119-s-62: America First Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-62)
- [119-s-4280: SAFE Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4280)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3648 (as of 2026-04-21).