Social Security Benefits #1 Myth: Everyone Gets Denied
Kenneth LaVan: “The number 1 myth about receiving Social Security disability benefits is that everyone who applies gets denied. Now, the reason that is a myth and it’s not correct is that, obviously, everyone who applies who applies does not get denied.
Many doctors, nurses and other people that I have given presentations in front of, they seem to have that perception though, because all the people that they have tried to help get approval for Social Security disability benefits have been denied.
Now, the statistics show that about 20% to 40% of the initial applications get approved depending on the geographic region that you live in. And then at the hearing level anywhere from 50% to 75% will apply for a hearing and go in front of an administrative law judge might get approved. And once again that depends on your geographic region.
What I would suggest is if that you have a doctor that wants to help you with your disability claim, ask him to give you evaluations and explain why you’re disabled rather than just state that you are “disabled”.
The evaluations may say something like, “This person has problems sitting or standing for prolonged periods of time”, or “they have problems reaching and grasping with their hands”, ‘or “they may need to take unscheduled breaks throughout the day”.
All of these types of limitations will affect the jobs that you may be able to do and may enable you to receive Social Security disability benefits.”
Social Security Disability Lawyers
Adam Neidenberg: At LaVan and Neidenberg we take cases to the federal district court if the administrative law judge makes errors in law. For example, if the administrative law judge determines that an individual is unable to perform the full range of light work and does not have a vocational expert at the hearing, that is error in law.
The Social Security Administration defines the full range of light work as being able to lift 20 pounds occasionally, 10 pounds frequently. That individual has to be able to stand for up to 6 hours in an 8 hour day. That individual has to be able to sit for up to 2 hours in an 8 hour day. And that individual has to be able to occasionally perform all aspects of postural limitations. If the A.L.J. determines that the individual cannot do that do, and does not have a vocational expert at the hearing, that is a reversible error because there are reductions in the number of jobs that exist at the light level without being able to perform the full range of light-work. That case will automatically be rebranded, that is an error in law.
Working with Disabilities: Stories of Arkansans Who Work
Man’s Voice: Jared Johnson was born with multiple birth defects in a small town in Minnesota. His hometown was not wheelchair accessible at that time. After attending college and playing wheelchair basketball, he was recruited by the Arkansas Rolling Razorbacks, which he now coaches.
Jared also works at the Social Security Administration and knows first hand how a person with disabilities can be employed and not lose his or her benefits.
Mr. Jared Johnson: I think disability is only a barrier when you as an individual that’s disabled let it be a barrier. If you pursue a career or something that physically you’re not going to be able to do, then obviously your chair is going to be a barrier. But if you pursue careers that a person that’s physically disabled can do, then, you know, you just have to be able to prove to yourself and to people that are trying to hire you that you are the best candidate for that position and then when you get that position, you know, do the best you can to pursue your career. Read more
SS Disability Benefits after going back to work?
Interviewer: I used to get Social Security disability benefits. I tried going back to work, but it didn’t work out. Can you start my benefits again, or do I need a file a new application?
Ken Hess: This one is a specialized question for some of our clients where we encourage clients who are on disability to try to return to work. Try to get into that special job where they might be able to work in spite of their condition. If they are able to work and their benefits have to be stopped because they no longer meet the requirements for receiving disability, they get quite a bit of time to work themselves off of Social Security and if they are on SSI their benefit starts to be reduced as their income goes up. So, we do have the ability for putting people back on, if their condition is the same, if they lose their job, and if it’s within five years of last having received Social Security.
So, we do have that provision, clients can contact us. We would start benefits, but we would have to verify that they meet all the requirements for being expedited back into payment.
Waiting for Social Security Disability Benefits? You’re Not Alone.
The Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a program supervised by the Social Security Administration. SSDI is different from all SSA programs and provides benefits to people under full retirement age that can no longer work due to a disability that is predicted to last for more than 12 months.
Allsup, an organization which represents thousands of people in the obtaining of Social Security Disability Insurance procedure, says some people with disabilities are waiting as long as four years for their Social Security disability benefits. And the situation seems to get worse every day.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has a difficult time dealing with the rising number of applications. The SSA Office of Inspector General announced that some people wait one year wait for a review of a case at the initial level, 16 months for level 2, the reconsideration level, and four years for level 3, the hearing.
With more than 765,000 people waiting, the SSA plans to hire more staff in order to deal with those waiting for a hearing. Jim Allsup, CEO of Allsup, said his organization will continue to help people with disabilities receive benefits as quickly as possible.
Social Security Disability: On The Record Appeal and Decision
Thanks Harold for another great video!
HAROLD: Well greetings YouTube subscribers and YouTube friends, I want to talk to you briefly about a policy that the Social Security Administration implemented that I think you need to know about, especially if you’re filing for Social Security disability and have been denied and you are going to have a hearing before an administrative law judge.
The wait time from the time that you’re denied your claim to the time that you appear before an administrative law judge can be a year, up to two years, I mean it’s a long time.
And many of you, many people who are trying to get their disability benefits, are struggling with this process and struggling waiting for the hearing.
If you have compelling new medical documentation, compelling medical information, something to share that’s new or that’s different from when you originally applied, or you want to have another review of your disability claim before it goes to a hearing, there is something called an on-the-record appeal and decision.
It’s called on-the-record appeal and decision. Now, according to Social Security policy, this should be done without the claimant or without a claimant’s attorney asking for this.
And I have a wonderful, wonderful positive feeling about the good folks at the Social Security Administration and with the folks that work at the DDD and the DDS offices across the country, the state offices where these decisions are made. Read more
Social Security Disability: Your Tax Dollars at Work
JUDGE JUDY: What do want disability for?
CHRISTOPHER CASEY: Learning disability. When I’m out on a job, I can’t properly be as quick as normal people can. That’s when all this bicker backer started. I’m slow.
JUDGE JUDY: But you just worked and you want money. You can’t do that. How much money do you collect from Social Security?
JUDGE JUDY: $762, your Honor.
JUDGE JUDY: A month?
CHRISTOPHER CASEY: Yes.
JUDGE JUDY: And how long have you been collecting $762?
CHRISTOPHER CASEY: Since June 13th of 2003. That’s when all this bicker backer started.
JUDGE JUDY: How old are you?
CHRISTOPHER CASEY: 28.
JUDGE JUDY: What did you do before that?
CHRISTOPHER CASEY: Before I got on Social Security?
JUDGE JUDY: Yes.
CHRISTOPHER CASEY: I had jobs.
JUDGE JUDY: Doing what?
CHRISTOPHER CASEY: I worked at Burger King, and I worked for a temp agency. I worked for them for quite a while.
JUDGE JUDY: And you worked him in semi-construction, whipping up carpet, doing manual labor, right?
CHRISTOPHER CASEY: Yes, your Honor.
JUDGE JUDY: Does your Social Security disability permit you to make money on the side?
CHRISTOPHER CASEY: They don’t care. If you get it in a check –
JUDGE JUDY: They don’t care?
CHRISTOPHER CASEY: If you get it in a check, then they take it from your Social Security check for what you make.
JUDGE JUDY: But if you get it in cash?
CHRISTOPHER CASEY: If you get it in cash, then they’re not worried about it.
(LAUGHTER)
CHRISTOPHER CASEY: I had… I had…
JUDGE JUDY: No, it’s not that they’re not worried about it. If you get it in cash, they don’t know about it.
CHRISTOPHER CASEY: That’s when all this bicker backer started.
SPEAKER: Judge Judy continues in a moment. Read more
Compassionate Allowances
The Social Security Administration is launching a new initiative called Compassionate Allowances. The goal of this new program is to expedite the processing of benefit claims from people with the most severe disabilities and illnesses.
The goal of the program is to reduce the wait time for approval for the most vulnerable members of society from months down to days. The current list of disabilities and illness which are covered by the program consists of 25 cancers and 25 diseases. The list is not all inclusive and is expected to grow overtime. For example the SSA has been conducting hearings on stroke and other brain injuries, indicating they are considering this area for inclusion in the Compassionate Allowances initiative.
It appears that Compassionate Allowances is being developed as a replacement for or enhancement of the Quick Disability Determination program (QDD). The QDD was originally created to make the approval process faster for disabled people using readily available information about the applicant and computer generated models about their disability.
List of Conditions (current as of 3/11/2009)
Acute Leukemia
Adrenal Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
Alexander Disease (ALX) – Neonatal and Infantile
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Anaplastic Adrenal Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
Astrocytoma – Grade III and IV
Bladder Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable
Bone Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable
Breast Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable
Canavan Disease (CD)
Cerebro Oculo Facio Skeletal (COFS) Syndrome
Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) – Blast Phase
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) – Adult
Ependymoblastoma (Child Brain Tumor)
Esophageal Cancer
Farber’s Disease (FD) – Infantile
Friedreichs Ataxia (FRDA)
Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), Picks Disease -Type A – Adult
Gallbladder Cancer
Gaucher Disease (GD) – Type 2
Glioblastoma Multiforme (Brain Tumor)
Head and Neck Cancers – with distant metastasis or inoperable or uresectable
Infantile Neuroaxonal Dystrophy (INAD)
Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC)
Kidney Cancer – inoperable or unresectable
Krabbe Disease (KD) – Infantile
Large Intestine Cancer – with distant metastasis or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome (LNS)
Liver Cancer
Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL)
Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD) – Late Infantile
Niemann-Pick Disease (NPD) – Type A
Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer – with metastases to or beyond the hilar nodes or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
Ornithine Transcarbamylase (OTC) Deficiency
Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) – Type II
Ovarian Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable
Pancreatic Cancer
Peritoneal Mesothelioma
Pleural Mesothelioma
Pompe Disease – Infantile
Rett (RTT) Syndrome
Salivary Tumors
Sandhoff Disease
Small Cell Cancer (of the Large Intestine, Ovary, Prostate, or Uterus)
Small Cell Lung Cancer
Small Intestine Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) – Types 0 And 1
Stomach Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
Thyroid Cancer
Ureter Cancer – with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent
Does Social Security discriminate? A question for the poor and middle class
In a world where state-sponsored equality rules, one would think getting what you are entitled to would be easy. But actually, it has become quite difficult. The Social Security Administration, one of the oldest and most relied upon government agencies, has a bias when it comes to social classes.
People with disabilities are one of the groups that need Social Security the most. Many of them are poor. But it has become quite difficult for these individuals to get Social Security benefits. To qualify for benefits, those with a disability must first obtain proof of their disability as well as proof that they are unable to work. Many people with disabilities who apply for Social Security benefits are at the poverty level and cannot afford to support themselves without government assistance. However, if Social Security overpays them, they are asked to repay that money. If they are unable to do so, an overpayment begins to accrue.
If you are unable to pay back this overpayment, the money owed will continue to add up until you are asked to repay a lump sum. A lot of disabled people are denied Social Security benefits, because they are too able-bodied. If you can walk, you may run into this problem. At the same time, you may be unable to work, because no one is willing to hire you. Even still, you may not qualify for benefits.
On the same token, the middle class suffers as well. A lot of people in the middle class need Social Security benefits, but are denied for one reason or another. If you are unable to work, you probably need money. If Social Security says your spouse makes too much money, you may be disqualified from receiving benefits. In some cases, you may not be eligible for benefits at all, if you are married.
It is quite easy for some people to receive benefits. Welfare mothers with several children generally do not have a hard time qualifying for benefits and may begin receiving them right away. However, for disabled people to receive benefits, they must wait months, even as much as years, for Social Security to approve their claim. And even then they may be disqualified for one reason or another.
What if you receive Social Security benefits but also decide to work to earn some extra money? You will be asked to report your earnings information to the SS administration. As a result, Social Security will reduce your benefits amount, because you are making money from a source outside of the organization. The more you work, the less you get.
Some people say that every US citizen should get all the money they need. It costs the government almost nothing to print new money, and they have been doing it for their own needs for many decades, so why should this essential ingredient of everyday life be denied to average citizens for the most spurious and bureaucratic of reasons?
SS Administration Moves to Digitally Process Disability Payments
The digital age has modernized a lot of things from phones, to computers, to appliances and even cars and in some ways, it has made life easier. A lot of people expect everything to be done in a snap and some do deliver while some don’t. One of the latest organizations that can be added to the roster who utilizes high tech gadgets is the Social Security Administration.
February 2009 is the much awaited date when Social Security will collaborate with a number of healthcare providers such as Kaiser Permanente, Med Virginia and the North Carolina Healthcare Information and Communications Alliance to modify the procedure of a person requesting for their disability claims. This innovative method is anticipated to be a faster way of redeeming funds since it is said to do the job in minutes rather than in several months.
This alliance with various healthcare providers is a part of the Federal Government’s motivation to create a network for nationwide health information with the objective to digitally link up purchasers, contributors and those who supports the importance of not only health but healthcare as well.
The SSA’s Senior Adviser, Debbie Somers, said that nowadays the handling of a disability claim usually takes 2 to 3 months and it takes that long because waiting for the medical records to be released takes quite some time.
The Industry Standard interviewed Jeff Odell, VP of Marketing and Business Development at Med Virginia, and according to him this new process “is truly revolutionary.” He also said that the old course of action is a lengthy and painstaking process and that with this new electronic system, the work can be cut in seconds instead of having to wait for weeks. “We are confident that more providers will want to take this same approach,” Odell said. “Doing so helps their patients by expediting the disability determination process while lowering the administrative burden.”
Hopefully it will lighten the load of not only those who process the papers and the records but those who are anticipating their SS payments as well. Change is good but efficiency and satisfaction is always better.
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