Social Security’s Wounded Warriors

Posted November 11, 2016 by Premier Disability Services, LLC® Every Veterans Day, the nation honors the brave men and women who risk their lives to protect our country and the freedoms we cherish. The Social Security Administration honors veterans and active duty members of the military every day by giving them the support they deserve. A vital part of that is administering the Social Security disability program.

For those who return home with injuries, Social Security is a resource they can turn to for disability benefits. The “Wounded Warriors” website (link below) has answers to many commonly asked questions, and shares other useful information about disability benefits, including how veterans can receive expedited processing of disability claims. Benefits available through Social Security are different from those available from the Department of Veterans Affairs and requires a separate application.

An expedited process is available to military service members who become disabled while on active military service on or after October 1, 2001, regardless of where the disability occurs.

Even active duty military members who continue to receive payment while in a hospital or on medical leave should consider applying for disability benefits if they are unable to work due to a disabling condition. Active duty status and receipt of military pay does not necessarily prevent payment of Social Security disability benefits. Although a person cannot receive Social Security disability benefits while engaging in substantial work for pay or profit, receipt of military payments should never stop someone from applying for disability benefits from Social Security.

Learn more by visiting www.socialsecurity.gov/woundedwarriors.

Source: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/consumer-advice/social-security-supporting-our-wounded-warriors/76u2kPxCY34D4FHBejUr4O/

By: Thomas Klint of Premier Disability Services, LLC^®

The Compassionate Allowance List (CAL)

Posted November 4, 2016 by Premier Disability Services, LLC® Social Security has an obligation to provide benefits quickly to applicants whose medical conditions are so serious that their conditions obviously meet disability standards.

Compassionate Allowances are a way of quickly identifying diseases and other medical conditions that invariably qualify under the Listing of Impairments based on minimal objective medical information. Compassionate Allowances allow Social Security to target the most obviously disabled individuals for allowances based on objective medical information that we can obtain quickly. Compassionate Allowances are not a separate program from the Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income programs.

CAL conditions are selected using information received at public outreach hearings, comments received from the Social Security and Disability Determination Services communities, counsel of medical and scientific experts, and research with the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Also, SSA considers which conditions are most likely to meet the current definition of disability.

A list of CAL conditions: https://www.ssa.gov/compassionateallowances/conditions.htm

By: Joyce Trudeau of Premier Disability Services, LLC^®

Why does it take so long to get a Disability Hearing?

Posted October 27, 2016 by Premier Disability Services, LLC® It is no secret that the Social Security Administration (SSA) has a significant backlog of cases right now, and it seems that it is taking the Agency an absurd amount of time to schedule a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). It is estimated that people nationwide are waiting an average of 525 days at the hearing level before appearing before a judge. ALJs oversee the hearing process through the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR). Below are four reasons that it is taking so long to be scheduled for a hearing:

1. ODAR is understaffed. ODAR currently does not have enough workers to handle all their cases. In fact, ODAR is currently operating at a 31% staff deficiency per volume of cases compared to their staffing situation from a decade ago.

2. SSA has a hiring freeze. In spite of the growing backlog, SSA has a hiring freeze that is further impacting wait times. SSA has consistently had to deal with budget cuts that have prevented the Agency from staffing their offices to handle the volume of cases assigned.

3. ODAR has had to change the way that they write decisions. It has become more time-consuming to write a hearing decision. The District Courts have encouraged SSA to add more detail to their hearing decisions to make them tougher to appeal. Thus, the ALJs have to provide more instructions to their writers and inject more details in the decision letters to make them ironclad should an appeal be filed.

4. Duplicate records and last-minute submissions create problems for ODAR. When attorneys or claimants submit the same materials over and over or bombard the ALJ with sizable submissions a few days before the hearing, it creates havoc for the ALJs and their staff. Thus, they have asked all attorneys and claimants to avoid submitting duplicates and have prohibited attorneys from submitting evidence for the final five business days before the hearing.

Are you or a family member applying for benefits? Give us a call. We will answer any questions that you have and will offer a free case evaluation to determine how we can help you through the process. Also you can take look at your individual state hearing information and statistics here.

Source: http://socialsecuritydisabilitynews.blogspot.com/

By: Thomas A. Klint of Premier Disability Services, LLC^®