Despite the efforts of three Republican senators in supporting legislation that is aimed at influencing people receiving disability benefits to return to work, it remains unclear how the Return to Work Act of 2017 does anything to change the current system. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced the legislation in hopes that it would result in… Read more »
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Social Security And Its Payment Issues
Frustration is a common word associated with the Social Security disability process. Those who have gone through the process know this all too well. There is frustration about the high denial rates, there is frustration over how long the process takes, which can be the better part of two years for most people, and there… Read more »
You May Be Surprised To Find Out Who Some Of Our Clients Are
I hate to be a cynic, despite the fact that I would like to think that we are all in this journey of life together and that we all lookout for one another, but I also have to live in reality rather than fantasyland. There is of course a sizable portion of the population who… Read more »
New Expedited Processing for Veteran Claims
The Social Security Administration, this February, announced the agency’s new initiative to expedite disability claims for veterans who have received 100 percent (Permanent and Total) disability rating from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Under this new initiative, Social Security is supposed to treat these veteran’s Social Security disability applications as high priority and issue expedited… Read more »
Social Security Opens Application Process For Administrative Law Judges
Quite some time now Social Security had indicated that it would be hiring up to 250 new Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) in an effort to ease the backlog of disability cases that have been waiting for a hearing. The good news is the process to hire these ALJs has begun, but it will still be… Read more »
What services are available online for recipients of Disability Insurance Benefits (DIB) or Supplemental Security Income benefits (SSI)?
The Social Security Administration (SSA) provides many online services to recipients of both Disability Insurance Benefits (DIB) or Supplemental Security Income benefits (SSI). For people currently receiving benefits, the SSA allows them to create a “My Social Security” account. You can create the account by going to the SSA’s website. Please click here for a direct link…. Read more »
You Cannot Collect Disability And Retirement At Same Time
Some people are under the impression that because they are two different programs, a person is able to collect both Social Security disability payments as well as Social Security retirement payments, but that is not the case. If you think about it, it makes sense that you would not be able to receive payments from… Read more »
Social Security Issues New Rule On Medical Equivalence
The Social Security Administration recently published a new rule, 17-2p, which relates to medical equivalence. The rule, which can be found here in the Federal Registry, states: At the hearings level or at the AC [Appeals Council] level when the AC issues its own decision, the adjudicator is responsible for the finding of medical equivalence… Read more »
New Rules Create Another Roadblock For Disability Applicants
Qualifying for Social Security disability benefits was already difficult, but after implementation of new rules about how the agency was going to consider medical evidence, the hill just got a little steeper. Proving someone was medical disabled under Social Security’s rules was more difficult than nearly every other country in the world that also has… Read more »
Obamacare Likely To Remain In Place For Foreseeable Future
Fresh of a defeat of the new healthcare bill President Donald Trump and U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, (R-WI) have said they will not give up trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, and replace it with new legislation. The first attempt went down in flames because the Republican Party was… Read more »
