Why You Need a Diagnosis or Opinion from a Licensed Medical Professional

Posted April 25, 2025 by Premier Disability Services, LLC®

To determine if you have a severe physical, cognitive, or psychological impairment, Social Security needs to see a diagnosis or opinion from a licensed doctor, psychologist, or other health care professional that’s supported by objective evidence (“medically determinable,” in Social Security lingo).

Social Security will only accept information about whether you have an impairment from medical providers with a high of level training, called “acceptable medical sources.”

Who Is an Acceptable Medical Source?

Acceptable medical sources are health care providers with advanced education who Social Security trusts to decipher signs and laboratory findings to diagnose disorders.

Traditionally, Social Security only gave weight to diagnoses by licensed physicians and psychologists, but today, the agency recognizes that primary care is increasingly being provided by physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners, and that these medical professionals have the training required to diagnose the existence of many types of impairments.

Social Security now considers the following types of providers to be acceptable medical sources, although the agency limits the types of impairments that some of the providers can diagnose, as follows:

• doctors with an M.D. or D.O. degree
• licensed psychologists
• certified school psychologists, only for intellectual disorders, learning disabilities, and borderline intellectual functioning
• licensed physician assistants, only for impairments within their licensed scope of practice
• licensed advanced practice nurses or nurse practitioners, only for impairments within the licensed scope of their practice
• licensed optometrists, only for visual disorders (or in some states, only for measurement of visual acuity and fields)
• licensed podiatrists, only for foot and ankle disorders (or in some states, only for foot disorders)
• licensed or certified speech-language pathologists (SLPs), only for speech and language disorders, and
• licensed audiologists, only for hearing loss, auditory processing disorders, and balance disorders that are within their licensed scope of practice

Does Social Security Consider Opinions from Other Sources?

Social Security won’t consider a diagnosis from a chiropractor, acupuncturist, physical therapist, or social worker. In other words, their opinions can’t be used to prove that you have a medically determinable impairment.

However, Social Security can consider evidence from these other providers to help determine how severe your impairments are and how your impairments limit your activities of daily living.

Still, Social Security usually gives the most weight to medical specialists with the most training in and experience with your condition. For instance, if you have cancer, it’s best to submit records from an oncologist that show your diagnosis, supported by objective medical evidence, as well as a prognosis for your recovery.

Source:

20 C.F.R. 404.1502

Why You Need Objective Evidence of Your Disability

Posted April 24, 2025 by Premier Disability Services, LLC®

Before the Social Security Administration (SSA) will consider you for disability benefits, you need to show you have a diagnosis of a severe impairment that keeps you from working. After Social Security determines you’re not currently doing “substantial gainful activity” (working a significant amount), the next step is for Social Security to decide if you have a severe impairment that will last for a year or more.

What Is a Medically Determinable Impairment?

Before Social Security can determine if your impairment is severe, the agency needs to see that it’s “medically determinable,” meaning that your doctor must provide evidence that you have a physical or psychological “abnormality” that’s causing your limitations.

Physical abnormalities are conditions that are causing harm to you physically, such as cancer, heart disease, or back conditions. Psychological abnormalities are conditions causing harm to your cognitive or mental health, such as bipolar depression, PTSD, or substance use disorders.

The disability claims examiner who works for Disability Determination Services (a state agency that makes the initial disability decision for Social Security) will want to see that you have medical records with solid medical evidence documenting your condition. In other words, the SSA won’t approve disability payments based on symptoms alone, without confirmation by clinical or laboratory findings. For instance, chronic pain without a related diagnosis that would likely cause such pain won’t qualify for disability benefits.

Signs, Symptoms, and Laboratory Findings

The SSA needs to see signs, symptoms, and laboratory findings of your impairment to consider you for disability benefits:

• Signs include outwardly visible manifestations of your impairments that the doctor can see and record, such as a poor range-of-motion test or the inability to speak clearly or follow instructions.
• Symptoms are self-reported by you, things that you experience yourself and tell your doctor or Social Security about.
• Laboratory findings include blood tests, X-rays and other imaging, IQ tests, and other objective medical evidence.

Social Security will only accept a diagnosis of a medically determinable impairment from someone with a high of level medical training. Social Security calls these health care professionals “acceptable medical sources.”

Source:20 C.F.R. 404.1521

Payment Dates for SSDI and SSI

Posted March 26, 2025 by Premier Disability Services, LLC®

Approved for benefits and wondering when you’ll receive your disability check each month? The date you’ll receive your monthly disability payments depends on whether you’re receiving SSDI or SSI, or a combination of the two. If you’re receiving SSDI alone, your payment date depends on your birthday. If you get SSI, your payment date is around the beginning of the month.

SSDI Disability Payment Dates

The date you receive your SSDI payment depends on when your birthday falls:

• If your birthday is on the 1st–10th of a month, you’ll receive your direct deposit on the second Wednesday of every month.
• If your birthday is on the 11th–20th of a month, you’ll receive your direct deposit on the third Wednesday of every month.
• If your birthday is on the 21st–31st of a month, you’ll receive your direct on the fourth Wednesday of every month.

If you receive benefits based on a family member’s work record, your payment date is based on their birth date.

SSI Disability Payment Dates

SSI benefits are paid on the 1st day of each month. If the 1st is on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, your benefits will be deposited on the banking day before. For example, if the 1st is a Sunday, you should receive your check the Friday before (assuming that Friday isn’t a legal holiday).

Note that your payment that comes on the 1st of the month is actually your benefit from the prior month. For example, a March 1st check would actually be for the SSI benefits from February.

SSI checks come out early several times a year. Since January 1 is a holiday, SSI payments for January are usually paid on the last day of December that isn’t a holiday. For instance, the SSI payment for January 2025 was deposited on Friday, December 31, 2024. The SSI payment for January 2026 will be deposited on December 31, 2025 (with the cost-of-living adjustment).

SSI and SSDI Combined Payment Schedule

If you’re receiving SSI and SSDI payments at the same time, your SSDI payment date will be on the 3rd day of the month and your SSI payment will be on the 1st day of the month (with the exception of weekends and legal holidays). If the 3rd of the month falls on a Monday, you should see the deposit on Monday morning.

If you’d like to change the date of your Social Security payment, you might be able to move it to one based on your birthday (see the SSDI payment schedule section, above).

How Long Does It Take to Get Your First Check?

If you’ve just been approved for disability, you’re probably wondering when you’ll receive your first check. The Social Security Administration (SSA) says it should take about a month, but some disability applicants have to wait two months or more (from the date of the award letter) to get their first payment.

If you’re entitled to back payments, you should receive a direct deposit for your back pay one or two months following your approval. You may receive it before or after you receive your first monthly payment. Learn more about how much your monthly payments and back pay will be.