Boston SSDI

October 10, 2015

Overhauling Social Security Disability in America

There have been many speeches about how we can overhaul the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and how we must do so before the money runs out. It should be noted that there are currently around 11 million Americans collecting benefits, including nearly two million children.

Children collect what is what is known as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is available to disabled children living in low-income households. The difference between Supplemental Security Income benefits and Social Security Disability Insurance benefits is that SSI benefits do not require claimant to have any work history. It makes sense that it is available to children and elderly or blind adults who have never worked a day in their lives. However, unlike with Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, the total household income is taken into account, and there are very rigid income guidelines. Continue reading

October 8, 2015

How A Federal Government Shutdown Will Affect Social Security Disability Program

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

As you have probably heard by now, we are left waiting to see if we see another government shutdown, as we saw in 2013. Many people do not realize the effect a government shutdown will actually have on the American people.

First of all, it should be noted that the federal government is not legally allowed to spend any money that has not been appropriated by Congress. What this means is that employees will not be allowed to work during a shutdown, with hopes of being paid later under most situations. This means it is actually illegal for most employees to work during a government shutdown. Continue reading

October 4, 2015

Fixing the Social Security Disability Program

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

There have been many articles in the past year about how the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program will run out of money in late 2016. This does not mean the funding will run out entirely, but there will only be enough money to fund 80 percent of all benefits claims. In other words, if something isn’t done soon, anyone receiving a benefits award will have their check cut by around 20 percent. This is estimated to be around 10 million Americans who will be hurt if something isn’t done soon.

In the past, Congress would just allocate money from the Social Security old age and retirement fund and use it to fund the disability benefits fund. The reason this was possible is because the money withheld from your paycheck to pay for Social Security goes into two separate funds. While the United States Social Security Administration runs both funds, since they are designed for different purposes, the money must be used for its respective purpose. However, in the past, Congress could easily reallocate money. Not only is this possible, it would be rather painless, since the retirement fund has full funding until the year 2034. If one year of funding was taken from the retirement fund, meaning it would only be funded until 2033, that would be enough money to fund the Social Security Disability Insurance program for the next dozen or so years. Continue reading

September 30, 2015

Report: Many Fraud Safeguards Exist for Social Security Disability Program

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

More and more often we hear about how Social Security Disability Insurance fraud is running rampant. While there is some fraud that exists in any government benefits program, this allegation is far from the truth, and a recent article from the Huffington Post takes a look at some of the safeguards in place to prevent fraud from occurring.

The first safeguard against fraud is strict eligibility standards. There are many requirements to qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. One of the first requirements is that claimant must have a substantial work history. Continue reading

September 27, 2015

Fact Check on Sen. Rand Paul’s Attack on Disability Benefits Recipients

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Senator Rand Paul has been vocal on the campaign trail about what he considers problems with the Social Security disability benefits program, and how, as he likes claim, the majority of Americans receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits are not really disabled, but instead are somehow “gaming the system,” because they like sitting a home and getting a check.

A recent article from Huffington Post takes a closer looks at Paul’s claims and determines them to be “falsehoods” which are also a “disservice” to our nation. With Paul falling farther behind in the polls to win the Republican Party nomination to run for president, Paul has attempted to reignite his campaign by attacking Senator Bernie Sanders and his ideas about the Social Security Disability Insurance program. He does this by attacking those receiving benefits. Continue reading

September 24, 2015

New Report on Social Security Disability Rolls

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from the Los Angeles Times, Social Security disability recipients have been a virtual “punching bag” for those who are opposed to funding the United States Social Security Administration (SSA).

However, it seems like they do not have evidence to support their long-standing scapegoating practice. A blue-ribbon Technical Panel group recently performed a full analysis of the Social Security programs and released a report to the Social Security Board of Trustees. A lot of this report focused on the reasons for the somewhat recent increase in the number of Americans receiving disability benefits. Continue reading

September 21, 2015

Greek v. Colvin: Social Security Disability Appeals

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In Greek v. Colvin, a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, claimant suffered from diabetes mellitus type one (Juvenile Type One Diabetes) and has not managed to keep the disease under control. As a result of his uncontrolled diabetes, doctors considered his condition to be “brittle diabetes.”

As complications, or secondary conditions, to the unchecked diabetes, claimant also suffered from memory loss and an altered mental state. These two secondary conditions were directly related to swings in blood glucose levels. The first doctor to submit an opinion in connection with claimant’s Social Security Disability Insurance benefits application began treating claimant for diabetes in 2007. This doctor noted claimant was not able to manage his diabetes in a way that would prevent serious complications from occurring. Continue reading

September 19, 2015

Report: National Panel Wants to Know How Disability Benefits are Being Awarded

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

There has been a lot of talk lately that Social Security Disability Insurance (SSI) benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits will have to be cut by nearly 20 percent by late 2016 if Congress does not decide to fund the program soon. This would obviously be devastating to roughly 10 million Americans, and this is simply not acceptable. However, in addition to how much money is being spent on disability benefits in the United States, according to a recent article from the Boston Globe, a national panel is calling for additional investigation into how that money is being distributed.

This was the recommendation in national report on the subject, which found some pretty striking issues about how SSA is awarding benefits. For example, the report found that in Hawaii, North Dakota, and Colorado, less that one percent of all indigent children were awarded benefits for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), as well as various other mental health conditions, while in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, more than five percent of indigent children are receiving Supplemental Security Income benefits for the same medical conditions. Continue reading

September 13, 2015

Report: Terminally Ill Claimants Still Forced to Wait for Social Security Disability Benefits

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Everyone who has suffered a disability and is contemplating filing for Social Security Disability Insurance (SDDI) benefits is probably aware that it is often a difficult process to get their applications for benefits approved by the Social Security Administration (SSA). And the process takes a long time to complete.

It would make sense that people who are terminally ill and may not have a long time left to live would be given priority to obtain approval for their SSDI benefits, and SSA even has some specific cases where this occurs, but the reality of the situation is that most people, including the terminally ill, have at least six months of waiting before getting approved for benefits. This is assuming they get approved, which, for many unrepresented claimants, is also no easy task. Continue reading

September 12, 2015

Misconceptions about Social Security Disability Claimants

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

There are many common misconceptions about the millions of Americans with disabilities who collect Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. As noted in a recent article from AZ Central, many people think that the Social Security Disability Insurance program pays money to people who never worked a day in their lives, so they can continue to stay at home and not work.

This misconception could not be farther from the truth. In reality, the Social Security Disability Insurance program is only available for people who not only worked to earn a living but also worked long enough to qualify for benefits. As the name implies, the Social Security Disability Insurance program is a kind of insurance policy for every working American who pays taxes. Continue reading