October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

This October, we are proud to support National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in the United States. According to leading statistics, approximately 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop breast cancer at some point in their lifetime.

A diagnosis of breast cancer will almost always require surgery and/or radiation. Most breast cancer patients will also require chemotherapy. Without insurance, the costs of these treatments can be astronomical. Of the 12 drugs approved for cancer treatment by the FDA in 2012, 11 of them cost $100,000 or more for just one year of treatment. The 12th drug costs $70,000 per year.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with breast cancer, there could be help available for you. The Social Security Administration (SSA) offers financial resources for men and women with breast cancer who are no longer able to work due to their condition. Breast cancer is listed in the “Blue Book” (along with other cancers) in Section 13.00—Malignant Neoplastic Diseases. The listing for breast cancer is very technical. You should speak with your doctor to see if your specific cancer has spread to the extent to qualify for disability benefits via the Blue Book. Typically, breast cancer must be at least stage three or above to qualify for disability benefits medically.

However, even if you do not meet the SSA’s strict Blue Book parameters, you may still qualify for benefits. To qualify for benefits without meeting a medical listing in the Blue Book, you will need to have doctors’ notes and/or medical records that show that you are expected to be out of work for at least 12 months due to your conditions.

If you, or a family member or friend, are struggling with breast cancer and are unable to work, please contact us for a free case evaluation!

National Breast Cancer Foundation: https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-cancer-awareness-month

SSA’s listings for cancers: https://www.ssa.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/13.00-NeoplasticDiseases-Malignant-Adult.htm

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®

Mourning the Passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Premier Disability Services, LLC joins the rest of the country in mourning the loss late last week of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a trailblazer for gender equality.

During Ginsburg’s early years as a lawyer, the Social Security Act contained several sections applicable only to one gender. In Weinberger vs Wiesenfeld, 420 U.S. 636 (1975) Ginsburg successfully argued that the gender-based distinction under 42 U.S.C. § 402(g) of the Social Security Act of 1935—which permitted widows but not widowers to collect benefits while caring for minor children—violated the right to equal protection secured by the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Throughout her lifetime, Justice Ginsburg remained friendly with Stephen Wisenfeld, who spoke at her confirmation hearing after her nomination to the Supreme Court. In 2014 she officiated at his second marriage. In Califano v. Goldfarb, 430 U.S. 199 (1977) Ginsburg convinced the Court that 42 USC Section 402, which required a widower to have been receiving half his support from his wife at the time of her death but did not impose this requirement on widows was also an unconstitutional violation of the Due Process clause.

While serving on the Supreme Court, Justice Ginsburg wrote the unanimous or majority opinion for several Social Security cases including Gisbrecht v. Barnhart, 535 U.S. 789, (2002) which held that the reasonableness of the parties contract, and not the lodestar method is the appropriate method for calculating a reasonable attorney’s fee under 42 USC §406(b); Black & Decker Disability Plan v. Nord, 538 U.S. 822 (2003) which held that the Social Security’s treating physician rule is not applicable in ERISA cases; and Astrue v. Capato, 566 U.S. 541132 S.Ct. 2021, 182 L.Ed 887 (2012) which held that posthumously conceived children who can inherit under the laws of intestacy of the state where their deceased father was domiciled at the time of death can meet the Social Security Act’s definition of “child” under 42 U.S.C. § 416(h)(2)(A) and be eligible to receive survivor’s benefits.

Our best wishes go out to Justice Ginsburg’s family and all of those who’s lives she has touched.

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®

Much More Than Checks: How Social Security Depends on the Mail

Top officials are warning that the problems afflicting the United States Postal Service pose a threat to more than voting rights — a slowdown in services, they say, will also hurt seniors who rely on letter carriers for Social Security checks, medications and other critical mail. Already, concerns about prescription drug deliveries are surfacing — but how about Social Security payments? Should beneficiaries be concerned?

Accounts of mail slowdowns and curtailed service emerged after Louis DeJoy became postmaster general in May. Mr. DeJoy has pushed changes he says will help the Postal Service grow and “embark on a path of sustainability.”

Over the past two decades, the Social Security Administration has shifted to electronic payment for most beneficiaries, but that doesn’t mean the agency’s operations are not vulnerable to delays in mail service. The agency currently pays 99 percent of Social Security beneficiaries via direct deposit to a checking or savings account, or a government-issued debit card. But nearly 850,000 paper checks still are mailed each month to recipients of retirement, disability and Supplemental Security Income benefits. Social Security also sends and receives millions of pieces of mail every year, including notifications, requests for information, Medicare enrollment forms and replacement Social Security cards. More isolated, rural parts of the country are particularly vulnerable to problems within the postal system. Moreover, the shutdown since March of Social Security’s national network of field offices because of the pandemic means that more business is being transacted through the Postal Service that normally would be handled through in-person visits.

The pandemic makes the U.S.P.S. more important than ever to Social Security’s operations, says Stacy Braverman Cloyd, director of policy and administrative advocacy for the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives, a specialized bar association for lawyers and advocates who represent people claiming Social Security disability and Supplemental Security Income.

“To the extent the Postal Service becomes less reliable, or people have less confidence in it, those are real problems, and they couldn’t happen at a worse time.”

Full article: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/27/business/post-office-social-security-checks-mail.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®