Health Care Worker and First Responder Fairness Act
Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.
Health Care Worker and First Responder Fairness Act
This bill exempts from the Social Security Retirement Earnings Test (RET) wages earned through work as a health care professional or first responder during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the RET, benefits are reduced for beneficiaries who are younger than full retirement age if they earn wages in excess of a specified annual limit.
Further, the Social Security Administration may issue waivers to individuals employed as health care professionals or first responders during a declared public health emergency in which there is a shortage of health care workers. Wages earned by individuals granted waivers during a public health emergency are exempt from the RET.
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
- Introduced in House Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML
Cite this page
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 6543: Health Care Worker and First Responder Fairness Act. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-6543/
"H.R. 6543: Health Care Worker and First Responder Fairness Act." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-6543/.
H.R. 6543, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-6543/.
[H.R. 6543: Health Care Worker and First Responder Fairness Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-HR-6543/)