Medicare term used to describe certian beneficiaries:
In 1965-66 Congress also identified another "disadvantaged" group:
elderly individuals (age
72 before 1971) who had not been able to
work
long enough under Social Security to become insured for a benefit.
People
in this group were granted special Social Security benefits paid for
entirely by the general revenues of the Treasury. These were known as
Special Age
72, or Prouty, benefits. Over time, of course, these
beneficiaries will disappear as Father Time claims members of the group."
from the SSA website.
Winston
L. Prouty was the
Maine Senator who initiated the amendment to the
law.
Because of her limited
work history as a homemaker, the widow was considered a prouty
wife and had to reapply for hospital benefits with the CMS office.