Social Security Disability

On December 27, 2011 we reported on this blog about the Social Security Disability system’s new secrecy rule keeping the identity of the judge who will handle a claimant’s hearing secret until the day of the hearing.

The National Organization of Social Security Claims Representatives (NOSSCR) is reporting that under pressure from repeated Freedom of Information Act requests that this unfair rule is being overturned. According to NOSSCR SSA will “… once again, provide the name of the ALJ assigned to each case beginning April 20, 2013….Congressional interest in advocating that the policy of non-disclosure of ALJ names be rescinded was very important. We thank all of you who brought this matter to your Congressional delegation….It is clear that successful FOIA litigation increased the pressure to rescind the policy… [from SSA] As we discussed this morning, we have reviewed our decision to not disclose the name of the ALJ assigned to hear a case until the day of the hearing. We are making the following changes as a result of our review…Beginning on April 20, the agency will resume disclosing the name of the ALJ assigned to a hearing when it sends out a Notice of Hearing.”

People are always asking me Social Security questions about how the government plans to keep up with costs so that they don’t lose out on benefits, and I always tell them not to worry—when push comes to shove, politicians always find the money somewhere because no one wants to lose millions of votes.

That being said, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t learn more by reading our free eBook and pay attention to the various proposals out there to change the program. As a Social Security Disability attorney, I always keep my ear to the ground. Lately, it seems like everyone out there just keeps coming up with new ways to make cuts.

The higher the federal debt goes, the harder it is to be a Social Security disability attorney. Over and over, people have been taking shots at SSDI, demanding cuts and changes and talking about how the budget for the program is “out of control” due to people abusing it. I’d love for some of those same people to have to sit in front of my disabled clients and make the same arguments but that’s beside the point.

Thankfully, someone has finally spoken out from the other side. Kathy Ruffing’s August report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities not only points out the necessity of SSDI—how else would people who can’t work because of a serious disability survive?—she does a great job of tearing down the arguments of the people fighting against SSDI.

How to pick the right representative is one of the most important Social Security questions for people filing a disability claim. You want a Social Security disability attorney with experience and a track record of success. You want someone willing to dedicate themselves to doing what it takes to win your claim instead of just going through the motions.

But how can you tell that someone is right for you? One great test is to see how organized and prepared they are. Because each case can involve so many different facts and piece of information, I like to create a hearing preparation checklist so that I know I’m not missing something important.

Is your Social Security disability attorney harming you by delaying the hearing or appeal for your case?

That’s what a recent government report says. Along with lots of other factors, including the fact that hearing offices are serving larger areas and simply have more disability applications in general, the report mentions that some attorneys weren’t working in their clients’ best interests because they turned down multiple hearing dates.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that a Social Security disability appeal can be complicated. It can take time to get all of the necessary information together to ensure that you’re giving your client the best chance at winning, and no one wants their attorney to go to court before they are ready to present a winning argument. But as a claimant, it’s vitally important that you only work with an attorney you trust and who has plenty of experience in this area of the law.

The National Organization of Social Security Claims Representative (NOSSCR) has issued the following release:

“The Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) Social Security Disability Adjudication Project has issued Draft Recommendations and two related reports that will be considered by the ACUS Committee on Adjudication beginning at a March 6, 2013, meeting. The Project Consultants are Dean Harold J. Krent, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, and Scott Morris, Associate Dean, IIT College of Psychology. Dean Krentwas a keynote speaker at the May 2012 NOSSCR conference in Philadelphia, PA.

Sequestration’s mandatory budget cuts began to take effect on Friday, March 1, 2013. The press has reported that “Social Security Disability will not be affected.” This is not completely accurate. It is true that the payment of benefits will not be affected. However, the sequestration cuts will affect all other aspects of SSA, including the day-to-day operations of the Agency, by reducing SSA’s administrative budget.

According to the SSA Fact Sheet on the effect of sequestration on SSA’s operations, field office and hearing office operations will be impacted, although the timing is not clear. SSA estimated that sequestration will result in longer waits in field offices (average of 30 minutes) and for the 800-number. Pending levels of initial disability claims would rise by over 140,000 claims and would have to wait about two weeks longer for an initial decision. Sequestration would result in the loss of over 5,000 more SSA employees.

If you’re nervous about how Social Security disability benefits are going to work in the future, you’re not the only one.

This past September, a subcommittee in the House of Representatives held the last in a series of hearings about the future of SSDI. They asked academic and business researchers, a director of public policy, and a witness from the Government Accountability Office Social Security questions.

So, what came out of these hearings? Well, no real changes have been made to how Social Security disability works but there were some alarming trends.

Senate Investigates Quality of ALJ Decisions

People going through a Social Security disability appeal have enough to worry about without the Senate sniffing around and trying to mess things up, but that seems to be exactly what’s happening right now in Washington.

Just a few months ago, a Senate Subcommittee held a hearing where they argued that judges failed to address “insufficient, contradictory, or incomplete evidence,” held “perfunctory” hearings, allowed evidence to be turned in “late,” and “misused” medical listings.

Recently, most of the Social Security questions I get are about what’s probably the biggest change to Social Security in years: the move from paper checks to electronic fund transfer (EFT). If you receive Social Security or SSI, then you already know what I’m talking about. Except in a few special circumstances, everyone has to switch over to direct deposit and paper checks are no longer being sent out.

Naturally, a change this big has caused headaches for a lot people—I know because, as a Social Security disability attorney, I get to hear about all of them! People want to know why the government pushed so hard for the change and whether they need to be worried about anything.