Disability for Crohn’s Disease and Other Digestive Disorders

Among the most debilitating cases that come to us are those involving Crohn’s disease, colitis, or inflammatory bowel syndrome. About a million Americans are affected with these and other digestive disorders. Severe digestive disorders can also result from a myriad of other diseases and even the side effects of certain medications. Prominent symptoms include abdominal pain and cramps, diarrhea, loss of appetite, and nausea. Crohn’s can also affect other organ systems and cause additional symptoms such as malnutrition, weight loss, fever, fatigue, anemia, neurological symptoms, inflammatory arthritis, skin rashes, oral ulcers, and vision problems.

Crohn’s disease primarily strikes the young, but it can occur at any age. Although many people with this condition are able to lead happy productive lives, some can only function within severe limitations. When prescriptions and dietary changes stop working, there simply is no cure for Crohn’s. Less severe digestive disorders also have varying degrees of management and cure.

When we gather evidence to prove such a case, we work to gather detailed information from medical providers. Some cases are difficult to prove empirically, so we must show exactly how this condition prevents the patient from working full-time. Experience has shown us that people are rather reluctant to discuss symptoms like incontinence and loss of bowel control. Any psychological aspect of the disorder should also be developed into viable medical evidence through testing and treatment. The emotional impact of such diseases should not be ignored.

Remember, a few good days now and then is not the same as being consistently “available” for full-time work – one must be able to work predictably, on a sustained basis, for 40 hours a week, otherwise, disability benefits should be granted.

If you or someone you know is unable to work due to a medical condition, please contact us for a free evaluation of your claim!

Written by: Joyce Trudeau of Premier Disability Services, LLC®

President Biden Proposes Increasing Social Security Budget

President Joe Biden’s 2022 budget could give the Social Security Administration a $1.3 billion — or 9.7% — boost in funding. In total, the president is calling for $14.2 billion for the agency for fiscal year 2022.

The proposed increase comes as the Social Security Administration expects to pay more than $1.2 trillion in both Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits to more than 74 million beneficiaries in 2022.

If approved, the extra money could help the administration improve one key area — customer service — as it regroups from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The money would allow the Social Security Administration to pursue a host of improvement efforts, Social Security Administration Commissioner Andrew Saul said in the agency’s budget overview.

Among the areas the administration would address include wait times and backlogs, community outreach to vulnerable populations, and technology upgrades, he said.

“The President’s budget will allow us to begin recovering from the coronavirus pandemic disruptions, building on the lessons we learned to become a stronger and more responsive agency,” Saul said.

One advocacy group — the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare — says that more money would be crucial to help improve the administration’s ability to serve current beneficiaries and benefit applicants.

“Our concern for a long while has been that customer service just hasn’t really kept up the way that it should,” said Dan Adcock, director of government relations and policy at the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

The group’s concerns about Social Security customer service date back to before the pandemic, according to Adcock.

Among the problems people face include long waits on the Social Security Administration’s 800 number, a backlog of disability insurance cases under review and the closure of many field offices.

While the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these issues, the funding Biden is proposing could help alleviate those concerns.

The money could help reduce the hearings backlog, bringing the annual average processing time for a decision down to 270 days in fiscal year 2022 from 386 days in fiscal year 2020, according to the Social Security Administration’s estimates.

Read more here: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/07/how-bidens-budget-plan-could-improve-social-security-customer-service.html

Contact our office today if you or anyone you know would like to learn more about qualifying for Social Security Disability benefits.

By: Joyce Trudeau of Premier Disability Services, LLC®

Manipulative Limitations in a Disability Claim

Nearly every job requires full and complete use of the hands. Anyone who has “manipulative limitations” caused by injury or pain needs to be aware that this can be an important component of a disability claim. While more obvious in situations involving a condition such as carpal tunnel syndrome or a specific hand injury, this limitation can also be important even when it is not the major disabling condition.

Social Security law says that in order to do even unskilled, sedentary work a person must have good use of both hands and the fingers – this is called “bilateral manual dexterity” in the regulations. Any significant limitation in a person’s ability to handle, pick up and finger small objects is important in the disability decision. Many claimants have conditions that restrict the amount of lifting they can do. Anyone person who can lift and carry even 10 pounds for most of the day may still be found capable of sedentary work, under Social Security regulations. The addition of a manipulative limitation, particularly of the dominant hand, can be enough to tip the scale in favor of the claimant.

More general medical conditions such as arthritic impairments, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue may also include hand, arm, and/or shoulder pain. Often when Social Security is collecting information on these illnesses from a claimant, the entire focus is on lifting, standing and sitting limitations. Careful medical record development of limitations on use of the hands is very helpful in the decision-making process. Soliciting this information from treating medical sources can also be extremely important. These limitations may sometimes be viewed as a minor problem in the context of some larger disease process. As such, medical case records often do not specifically mention them.

When the right questions are asked of the medical provider, however, a clearer picture may emerge. Does the person have pain in the dominant hand? Does stiffness prevent full use of the hand, particularly for small motor tasks such as writing? Is the pain increased by repetitive use? Although someone may be able to lift five pounds, or use the painful hand for a task once or even five times, can this be done on a continuous, repetitive basis for an 8-hour work day, five days per week? What is the effect of such an activity level on the person’s ongoing condition?

Think of a manipulative limitation in combination with all other impairments. Often it can be overlooked, for example, when the presenting problem is psychiatric in nature. When a condition such as anxiety or depression is not severe enough on its own to qualify a person for benefits, the claim can be strengthened by considering manipulative and other physical limitations.

Contact our office today if you or anyone you know would like to learn more about qualifying for Social Security Disability benefits.

By: Joyce Trudeau of Premier Disability Services, LLC®