Social Security disability is more difficult to get than ever. Primarily, I think there are two reasons. One, a series of new rules have eliminated some entitlements for things like obesity, diabetes and substance abuse. Second, Congress has recently investigated media reports that portray Social Security to be an easy target for fraud and abuse. It amazes me how many people believe that all you need to get Social Security disability is a pen and an application!
All this would be tolerable if we were not in the mess we're in. We currently have more than 500,000 persons waiting in line to get a decision on their Social Security disability claims. The wait in my state of Alabama now averages just over 14 months for a claimant to get before an administrative law judge.
Prior to 2011, there was about a 65 percent probability that your claim would be approved at the hearing level. Since the adverse media reporting and the meddling of Congress, that rate feel below the 50 percent mark for the first time.Tips for Getting Social Security Disability
If there are abuses in the Social Security system, of course, Congress has the responsibility to fix them. However, this should not be done upon the backs of millions of eligible claimants who paid into the system, have legitimate disabilities and need their benefits to maintain even a subsistence-level existence.
Remember that we don't allow workers a choice about paying into Social Security. We mandate it. Therefore, we have a responsibility to make sure that the claims process is fair, simple enough for most people to understand, and reliable in its requirements.
I practice Social Security advocacy at the Forsythe Firm in Huntsville, Alabama. Every day honest hard working people who want to work but cannot walk into my office, desperately hoping that I can help them get the disability benefits that they have paid for over their working lifetimes.
Three-fourths of Social Security disability applications are initially denied. It's almost a forgone conclusion these days that it will take a hearing for even the most obviously disabled claimants to be approved. And with the approval rate at hearings slipping below 50 percent, we have to wonder how accessible justice for the disabled is - even if they can wait 14 months or more to get it.
All this would be tolerable if we were not in the mess we're in. We currently have more than 500,000 persons waiting in line to get a decision on their Social Security disability claims. The wait in my state of Alabama now averages just over 14 months for a claimant to get before an administrative law judge.
Prior to 2011, there was about a 65 percent probability that your claim would be approved at the hearing level. Since the adverse media reporting and the meddling of Congress, that rate feel below the 50 percent mark for the first time.Tips for Getting Social Security Disability
If there are abuses in the Social Security system, of course, Congress has the responsibility to fix them. However, this should not be done upon the backs of millions of eligible claimants who paid into the system, have legitimate disabilities and need their benefits to maintain even a subsistence-level existence.
Remember that we don't allow workers a choice about paying into Social Security. We mandate it. Therefore, we have a responsibility to make sure that the claims process is fair, simple enough for most people to understand, and reliable in its requirements.
I practice Social Security advocacy at the Forsythe Firm in Huntsville, Alabama. Every day honest hard working people who want to work but cannot walk into my office, desperately hoping that I can help them get the disability benefits that they have paid for over their working lifetimes.
Three-fourths of Social Security disability applications are initially denied. It's almost a forgone conclusion these days that it will take a hearing for even the most obviously disabled claimants to be approved. And with the approval rate at hearings slipping below 50 percent, we have to wonder how accessible justice for the disabled is - even if they can wait 14 months or more to get it.
Comments
Post a Comment