Articles Posted in Boston SSDI

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

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

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