Complaints from field office staffers:"The electronic imitative has been very stressful on the DO's. We had to learn all of this and still had to process to meet our goals. This has created an extreme burden on staff.""I can't say what other offices do, but all of our appeals are checked in when they arrive. Then they're handed out alphabetically to the crs. When the forms are not filled out
Wednesday, 30 August 2006
Tuesday, 29 August 2006
A Social Security Disability SSI Hearing Prep Video/DVD
Posted on 07:11 by Unknown
There's a press release on Emediawire regarding a video (which can be purchased on either a VHS cassette or on DVD) for sale at the site, www.ssaprepvideo.com for roughly $40As the release states, the video explains the role of the judge, vocational expert, and representative (your rep can be an attorney or a non attorney) at the hearing, and is written by Martin Kranitz who, for many years, has
Monday, 28 August 2006
Invincible - the difference between a movie adaptation and reality may not be all that important
Posted on 17:39 by Unknown
This post has absolutely nothing to do with anything related to disability. This weekend my wife and I wanted to see a movie, but, after reading reviews for most of the offerings at the theater, the prospects for escapist entertainment seemed pretty grim. After finally coming across some favorable commentary on one particular film, Invincible, we decided to give it a try. As it turned out, I'd
Veterans Disability Claims backlogged in court
Posted on 17:27 by Unknown
I don't read the online version of USA Today very often, but there was an interesting article posted a few weeks ago on 7/13/06. Apparently, the veterans claims' backlog at the U.S. court of appeals has more than doubled in the last two years. And according to Senator Larry Craig, "veterans could be waiting more than three years for a decision from the court".Does anyone see a trend here? This
Shrinking Budgets and the social security administration
Posted on 17:25 by Unknown
In a recent post on Charles Halls's blog, he includes a copy of a letter written by the social security administration commissioner, Joanne Barnhart, to Senator Robert Byrd, the Ranking Minority Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. I won't repost the entire letter, but here's a very significant portion of it:The subcommittee mark provides $9.093 billion to the Social Security
When eustachian tubes get stuck
Posted on 16:56 by Unknown
In the last post, I spoke about the social security administration's position on cases involving hearing loss. However, what I did not mention was that the post was prompted by audiometry I recently had done myself. Why did I have a hearing test done? Well, for the last several weeks, I've had an uncomfortable feeling of pressure in one of my ears. A trip to my primary physician proved
Social Security Disability SSI Hearing Loss and Ear problems
Posted on 16:53 by Unknown
I've haven't written about the hearing impairments listing (listing 2.08) on my main site, probably because the information in the blue book doesn't really say a lot that would be of much benefit to claimants. Just the same, here's what the listing says (keep in mind that I've paraphrased this a bit):Listing 2.09 - Hearing Impairments (A claimant may qualify for benefits on the basis of either
Application for Disability - applying for benefits
Posted on 16:47 by Unknown
Many people put off filing an application for disability benefits simply because they find the disability evaluation process intimidating. And this is understandable. The fear of applying, due to the fear of possibly being denied, can be an imposing psychological factor. Just the same, though, a person who has a significant medical condition should really get an application for disability
Getting a lawyer for social security
Posted on 16:41 by Unknown
Many, if not most, applicants for social security disability or SSI benefits consider (at some point in the process) whether or not they should get a lawyer to assist them with their claim. Here are answers to several commonly asked questions regarding this:1. How much will it cost to hire a lawyer for social security disability or SSI? Upfront, it won't cost you anything. Disability lawyers are
Social Security Disability Benefits
Posted on 16:39 by Unknown
Of course, every page on www.ssdrc.com is related in some way, shape, or form to social security disability (and SSI) benefits. However, for the purpose of making some of these pages more accessible again, here they are listed. These various pages include general information on SSD and SSI and also focus on making an application for benefits, getting legal help on a pending application or appeal,
Social Security Disability Requirements
Posted on 16:33 by Unknown
There are a number of pages on www.ssdrc.com that address the various requirements of the social security disability and SSI disability programs, requirements that can involve nonmedical criteria as well as medical requirements for eligibility. Return to the Social Security Disability SSI Benefits Blog
How to get disability
Posted on 16:30 by Unknown
The following pages appear on www.ssdrc.com and may be helpful in providing information or answering certain questions that some visitors may have.The issues addressed on these links quite naturally relate to some of the most basic questions that applicants usually have, which tend to revolve around issues such as "How do you get the disability process started", "What do you do if the social
Will a lawyer improve your chances of winning disability benefits?
Posted on 16:26 by Unknown
It's very common to say that, at the initial claim and first appeal levels, a lawyer can do little to have any substantial impact on the outcome of your disability claim. However, whether this is actually true or not probably depends on the individual or firm providing representation on an SSD or SSI case. Some lawyers and non attorney representatives will proactively seek to win a claim at the
Do you need a lawyer for a disability hearing?
Posted on 16:23 by Unknown
At prior steps in the social security disability - ssi evaluation process (initial claim and reconsideration or review), while some individuals may benefit from representation, having a lawyer is, nonetheless, not essential. At the disability hearing level, however, that all changes. In other words, representation is not just advised, it can actually make for a decidely different outcome on a
Friday, 25 August 2006
Going to an SSA medical exam
Posted on 16:07 by Unknown
The last post on this blog was about going to a medical exam for a social security disability or SSI disability claim. Coincidentally enough, I came across someone else's blog entry regarding her experience in going to such an exam. Here's the post:Ingrid goes to an SSA medical examReturn to the Social Security Disability SSI Benefits Blog
Social Security Administration Medical Exams
Posted on 16:06 by Unknown
Over the past few years, I've probably heard hundreds of complaints from disability claimants about their consultative exam experiences. For anyone who is unaware, a consultative examination, a.k.a. a CE exam, is what social security disability and SSI disability claimants are sometimes sent to as part of the processing of their disability application. Typically, CE exams are ordered by
Social Security Disability SSI and Technology Part III
Posted on 16:05 by Unknown
There's an article on the site, Adage a.k.a. advertising age, that's titled "Marketing Reality Check: Blogs, Pods, RSS" and it only confirms what I myself (redundant?) have felt to be true (like everyone else, I love to read confirming tidbits here and there of my own opinions for validation).Here are the tidbits I found most interesting:1. 88% of working-age Americans don't know what RSS is (one
Social Security Disability SSI Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia
Posted on 16:04 by Unknown
Chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia are two conditions for which the social security administration does not have a listing in its impairment listing manual. For anyone not familiar with the "blue book", this is a directory of medical conditions for which social security has designated specific approval criteria. Can you still be approved for disability on the basis of a condition that is not listed
Social Security Disability SSI and Ankylosing Spondylitis
Posted on 16:03 by Unknown
Ankylosing spondylitis is seen regularly on social security disability and SSI disability applications and can become (if not diagnosed soon enough, and if not treated properly) a fairly severe impairment. Despite these facts, however, you'd be hard pressed to find a disability examiner (remember: disability examiners are the individuals who "make decisions" on SSD and SSI claims for the social
Social Security Disability SSI and MS, or multiple Sclerosis
Posted on 16:01 by Unknown
A recent post was about autoimmune disorders and the need, from my viewpoint, for disability claims examiners to have better training (as in ongoing medical information training) to facilitate greater competency as adjudicators. Since I'm on the subject of auto-immune disorders, I thought I'd make a few remarks regarding MS, or multiple sclerosis. First off, the inevitable question: if you have
Tuesday, 22 August 2006
To get Social Security Disability or SSI do I need to be disabled for a whole year?
Posted on 21:28 by Unknown
Someone asked this question on a news site: Do I have to be disabled for the whole year before I can apply for social security disability or SSI benefits?Actually, no. This is one area where the definition of disability used by the social security administration can cause some degree of confusion. The SSA definition of disability actually stipulates that an impairment must last or be expected to
Wednesday, 16 August 2006
Social Security Disability SSI and Auto Immune disorder (actually disorders)
Posted on 10:27 by Unknown
As a disability examiner, I saw social security disability and SSI cases for which nearly any physical, psychiatric, or psychological condition you can think of was named as a disabling impairment. What's very interesting, though, is how many of those impairments (aside from musculoskeletal, respiratory, digestive, endocrine, and cardiovascular) were defined as an autoimmune disorder. In fact, an
Friday, 11 August 2006
New Medicare Plans Cost 11% more
Posted on 08:09 by Unknown
Is anyone really surprised?Return to the Social Security Disability SSI Benefits Blog
Cars and Back problems
Posted on 07:43 by Unknown
J.D. Power and Associates just released the results of a vehicle dependability study. Manufacturers are rated or ranked according to how many problems they have per ever 100 vehicles manufactured. Very surprising -- manufacturers that you would think have high quality vehicles (in terms of reliability) seem to have issues. VW is near the bottom of the list and so is Saturn, which is sad because
Social Security Disability Benefits and the high cost of housing
Posted on 07:35 by Unknown
I just came across an article about a 44-year-old widow who is moving out of her rental home due to her inability to handle the rent payment. She receives $766 per month in social security disability benefits and her rent is $850.No surprises there. The cost of renting an apartment or house has escalated sharply in recent years. Long (and I mean long) gone are the days when a person could rent a
Muslim in America
Posted on 07:22 by Unknown
I was shopping at target yesterday in the grocery section and noticed a woman who, apparently by her garb, was muslim. We ended up in the same checkout line and I felt a fair amount of irritation toward her because she took an inordinate amount of time to get her check written (I have the same complaint with my wife: I always ask her to get as much of the check written as possible before we get
Sunday, 6 August 2006
Denied for SSI
Posted on 14:12 by Unknown
I came across this question recently: "I was denied for SSI. Should I have applied for social security disability instead?"Though it may seem strange that questions of this type come up so frequently, it's nonetheless understandable and a fair amount of blame can probably be placed at the feet of Social Security field office personnel for not properly explaining to claimants what they're actually
Friday, 4 August 2006
Social Security Disability SSI : Old news but what's changed
Posted on 06:19 by Unknown
I came across an article that appeared in the Raleigh Observer in 2003. Granted, it's three years out of date, but I doubt the numbers have gotten any better.Interesting bits:In a statement prepared for The N&O, Robin Palenske, an administrative law judge in Raleigh, said judges in that office used to conduct 50 to 60 hearings a month. Now, she wrote, some are conducting fewer than 20. Palenske
Thursday, 3 August 2006
Seniors in the Hole - Medicare Part D has a big doughnut hole
Posted on 07:45 by Unknown
An article appearing several days ago in the Washington Post (by writer Susan Levine) only echoed what my father-in-law has been grumbling about for several months: people on medicare drug plans are maxing out on their prescription drug coverage FAST and many are now in the position of:1. literally being forced to choose between paying for other normal expenses (food, recurring bills, etc) and
Wednesday, 2 August 2006
Newspapers are just slower
Posted on 16:38 by Unknown
In the last couple of years, it's definitely become my habit to get the majority of my news online. But, lately, I began to wonder if, perhaps, I was missing something. I started picking up the daily copy of McPaper (USA Today) and the city newspaper. This is what I noticed. Yes, I had been missing quite a bit. Online news is largely contained to breaking headlines and the occasional eye-grabber
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