Premier Disability Service’s Pharmacy Savings Program

Premier Disability Services, LLC is committed to assisting our clients, employees, and the community in any way that we can. We are now working with RxCut, LLC to provide savings – up to 87% – on prescription medications. The FREE RxCut® prescription savings card provides you access to the absolute lowest price on your prescriptions; the lesser of the RxCut® discounted price, your insurance copayment, or the pharmacy cash price. Here are some of the other program highlights:

• No enrollment fees
• Everyone qualifies
• All cards are active
• Unlimited uses
• Never expires
• Works for pet medications
• No personal information needed
• Works for all FDA approved prescription medications
• Share your card or print one for your family, friends, co-workers and your community

RxCut® cardholders have saved over $300,000,000! The cards are accepted at all major chains as well as most independent pharmacies. See more and get your card here: RxCut.com/PDS

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

Social Security Testifies Before Congress

Two Social Security representatives recently testified before Congress. On January 24, Jim Borland, acting deputy commissioner for communications, testified before the Senate Special Committee on Aging on the subject “Navigating Critical Decisions to Age Well.” “Few government agencies touch the lives of as many people as we do,” Borland said. “Social Security pays monthly OASDI benefits to approximately 62 million individuals. During fiscal year (FY) 2017, we paid about $934 billion to Social Security beneficiaries.”

Borland also described Social Security’s important role in helping people to understand Social Security retirement and Medicare benefits so that they can make their own informed decisions. He said, “Before individuals apply for and receive Social Security benefits, SSA has an important role to provide objective and clear information that individuals may use to plan for retirement and make informed decisions appropriate for their circumstances. We have a variety of ways to inform individuals about their claiming options before they decide to file for Social Security benefits or enroll in Medicare. These resources are critical because they allow individuals to consider the best age for them to start benefits based on their health, finances, and other personal circumstances. We provide this information using a variety of methods, including the Social Security Statement, our website and publications, outreach, and more.”

On February 7, Gina Clemons, associate commissioner for disability policy, testified before the House Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Social Security. Her testimony covered the many ways Social Security serves America’s Veterans, including wounded warriors and the disabled.

Clemons stated, “Through the programs and services we provide, it is our duty to show our appreciation and support for their sacrifices. We are proud of our ongoing partnerships and processes to help wounded warriors and other service members and Veterans. By working together, we continue to provide the high-quality service that our military men and women deserve.”

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!

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

You can read both testimonies at socialsecurity.gov/legislation/congressionaltestimony

SSA Extends Authority for the Attorney Advisor Programs

(From the January 2018 NOSSCR Newsletter): The Social Security Administration (SSA) published a Federal Register notice (83 Fed. Reg. 711) on January 8, 2018 that extended the authority of its attorney advisor program. The program was due to expire on February 5, 2018 but has now been extended until August 3, 2018.

In the Federal Register notice, SSA explains that the program allows certain attorney advisors to conduct prehearing proceedings and issue fully favorable decisions in cases where the record supports them. It was intended to be a temporary way for the agency to manage a large number of claims awaiting decisions at the ALJ level. Since it has never been made permanent, it must be renewed periodically. SSA states that “From 2008 [when the final rule about the program was promulgated] to the present, the number of pending hearing requests has continued to remain at a high level”; SSA’s budget estimates forecast that the agency will receive 645,000 requests for ALJ hearings in Fiscal Year 2018.

However, although SSA has extended the authority for the attorney advisor program, the agency has severely reduced the number of decisions issued by attorneys rather than by ALJs. Monthly processing time statistics published in previous issues of the NOSSCR Forum indicate that not a single attorney advisor decision was issued in the first two months of Fiscal Year 2018, a time when ALJs issued decisions or dismissals on more than 103,000 claims and over a million people were awaiting hearings. In the prior four Fiscal Years, there was an average of 1,138 attorney advisor decisions each year.

SSA has indicated that attorney advisors are now writing decisions for ALJs to reduce the backlog of cases where hearings have been held and there are not sufficient other support staff to write decisions. SSA attributes this problem to the fact that they were able to hire ALJs but not support staff during 2017’s hiring freeze. The agency has said that it intends to hire and train additional support staff so that attorney advisors can return to their prior work, and the most recent version of the CARES backlog reduction plan still includes a National Adjudication Team of attorneys who will screen cases and issue fully favorable decisions when appropriate. But SSA’s ability to carry out this and other backlog-reduction measures depends on how much administrative funding Congress allows it.

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!

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