Policy on the Move: Savings for PWD

By Mindy Ragan Wood/Editor

An Oklahoma House bill filed in 2025 is back in play to protect a specialized savings account for people with disabilities.

Under the Oklahoma Able Program, Stable accounts allow a person with disabilities, as defined by the Social Security Administration, to save money without losing their SSI benefits. When the account holder dies, Medicaid can file a lien on the account.

State Rep. Ellyn Hefner, D-Oklahoma City, authored HB1837 to prevent Medicaid from clawing back Stable funds.

State Rep. Ellyn Hefner, D-OKC

“If you have a child, an adult child with a job, you should have an Able account,” said Hefner, whose legislative focus often includes policy for the disability and neurodivergent community.

The tax-advantaged account can be used for qualified expenses like transportation, travel and vacation accommodations, housing, health and wellness services, personal support devices and services, and even legal fees.

Hefner, who is also a financial advisor, said the clawback can put people off from using a Stable account. She hopes this bill will change that.

“This clawback, it’s not comforting words to make you want to put money into it,” she said. “As an advisor, I’d have to tell people about that if they want to save. I’d have to bring up this clawback and it makes people not want to do it.”

Several states have eliminated or limited clawback power, including California, Colorado, Mississippi and Virginia.

The bill passed the House and now goes onto the Senate for consideration. Track the progress of the bill here, and watch for updates at Oklahoma Divergent.