WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), a co-sponsor of the ALS Disability Insurance Access Act, applauded passage of the bipartisan legislation that would eliminate the five-month waiting period before Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) patients can receive Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. 

“ALS is a life changing, debilitating disease for the individual, and those who are suffering with ALS deserve the proper social security disability insurance benefits as soon as they get their diagnosis,” said Senator Tillis. “I am proud to be a co-sponsor of this commonsense legislation so those suffering from ALS will no longer have to worry about a five-month waiting period before receiving necessary insurance benefits as their disease quickly progresses. This legislation is past due for the nearly 30,000 people who are currently suffering from this disease and I applaud my colleagues on passing this legislation out of the Senate.”

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a neurodegenerative disease affecting the ability of the brain to control muscle movements. Individuals with ALS progressively lose the ability to speak, walk, and breathe. Treatment options remain limited and can only slow the rate of degeneration.

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