Social Security Disability Insurance

August 5, 2016

SSDI Backlog Creates Long Wait Times for Hearings

The Social Security Administration’s growing backlog of disability cases has ballooned in recent years, from about 695,000 in 2010 to more than 1.1 million in 2016.

According to the Office of the Inspector General, that means the average processing time on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) hearings went from 415 days up to 498 days. It’s not uncommon to hear of people waiting up to two years – just to get a hearing to decide whether they are eligible for benefits.

Congress has promised to take steps to reduce that backlog, but they have been saying that for years and the problem continues to worsen. Continue reading

July 17, 2016

SSDI Can Affect Long-Term Disability Insurance

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

When people play into a long-term disability insurance plan through their work, they expect that this will help them remain financially stable in the event of a serious injury or illness that renders them unable to work for extended periods. They may also understand that they are entitled to collect benefits through other avenues, such as workers’ compensation and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). What may be less obvious is the way in which these benefits can counteract one another.

Recently, a news station in Nebraska outlined what can happen when people try to stack coverage from other sources.

According to WOWT NBC-6, the couple in question were both happy and seemingly healthy for years. Married for 27 years, they both worked full-time. But then, the 53-year-old husband suffered a stroke. Suddenly, he was unable to walk or talk or complete basic tasks. He’s learning now to feed and bathe himself and how to communicate. His wife had no choice but to quit her job to care for him 24-7.

“I can’t go to work because he needs me the whole time,” she told the reporter. Continue reading

June 21, 2016

Worker Taxed Thousands for Social Security Disability Benefits He Never Received

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news feature from Forbes, a United States Postal Service worker was injured on the job and claimed workers’ compensation benefits. He was approved for those workers’ compensation benefits and started collecting benefits.

The claimant, who chose to represent himself in the process, decided to apply for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits to supplement his workers’ compensation benefits. He fully disclosed his workers’ compensation benefits to the United States Social Security Administration (SSA), so there was nothing improper about applying for this benefits. However, after applying, he was quickly denied for Social Security disability benefits. Continue reading

January 18, 2016

Disabled Americans Take Issue with Part of Obama’s Gun Control Plan

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In recent weeks, we have been hearing a lot about the issue of gun control. As is obvious to anyone who looks at the news or even their Facebook feed can see that gun control is very divisive issue. There are those think President Obama is trying to take away everyone’s guns, and there are those that have had enough of school shootings and other “active shooter” situations, and they are willing to do whatever it takes to stop gun violence in America. Regardless of what side of the Second Amendment debate you are on, it is not politically expedient for Congress to enact major gun control legislation.

For this reason, Mr. Obama has decided to take matters into his own hands as his administration is winding down and get rid of the so-called gun show loophole through the use of an executive order. Many Americans support the president in this initiative, and many feel that president is usurping Congress and the United States Constitution to infringe on their Second Amendment rights. There does not seem to be any likelihood the majority of Americans will agree on this issue. It should be noted that while you can legally carry as pistol in Massachusetts with a Class A permit to carry, the Commonwealth has one of the strictest gun control schemes in the nation. Continue reading

December 28, 2015

Hill v. Colvin: Social Security Disability Appeals

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Hill v. Colvin, a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, deals with appeals from a Social security Disability Insurance (SSDI) denial of benefits at a hearing before an administrative law judge.

The claimant, who was 56 years old at the time of the appeal, worked for more than a dozen years at a steel factory. She was responsible for lifting and transporting steel sheets that were extremely heavy. According to court records, some of the steel sheets weighed as much as 100 pounds. Continue reading

November 15, 2015

A Look at the Social Security Disability Insurance Fix

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

After hearing about how the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs would run out of money late next year, there was a great deal of fear that nearly 11 million Americans would face a 20 percent cut in their monthly benefits checks.

Fortunately, Congress was able to come to an agreement about how to save the benefits program for the next few years, and President Barack Obama recently passed that piece of legislation into law. A recent article from Forbes takes a look at what this means for the American public in both the short term and long term. Continue reading

November 11, 2015

Morgan, Jr. v. Colvin: ALJ Hearing Process in Disability Cases

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In, Morgan, Jr. v. Colvin, a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, claimant applied for both Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. Claimant became disabled after he suffered a serious injury. He was working as an auto glass technician and was replacing a window on a semi tractor-trailer cab when he fell off and hit the ground. When he fell, he injured his back, shoulder and legs and was unable to work.

When he applied for disability benefits, the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) denied his application for benefits. SSA is the federal agency that runs disability programs. Following his initial denial, he requested a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ). An ALJ is supposed to be an independent judge who hears both sides of the case and decides if claimant is disabled. However, since SSA employs all ALJs, and they have offices at SSA facilities, it is not surprising that more often than not, they side with SSA and deny benefits. Continue reading

November 4, 2015

Obamacare and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Benefits

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from Mother Jones, the United States Affordable Care ACT (ACA), more commonly referred to as Obamacare, may be able to offer assistance to those struggling with the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits application process.

One man interviewed for the news feature was diagnosed with a very rare medical condition that was also very expensive to treat. He had just lost his job and knew that it was not worth looking for another one, because, with his medical condition, he would not be able work enough hours at a low paying job to come anywhere close to being able to support himself. Instead, he decided it would be better to apply for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. Continue reading

November 2, 2015

Compromise on Social Security Disability Budget to Avert Crisis

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

For at least the past year, we have been hearing a lot from the media and politicians running for presidential nominations about how the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits program and the Supplemental Security Income programs would run out of money in late 2016, resulting in a reduction of benefits by 19 percent across the board. This across the board 19 percent budget cut would mean for the nearly 10 million Americans currently collecting disability benefits, their respective checks would be cut by 19 percent, leaving many of them below the federal poverty line with no way to take care of themselves and their families. The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) runs both disability programs, as well as the Old Age and Retirement Program of which most people are familiar.

While this budget crisis was getting closer, many politicians, mostly Democrats, were advocating for a reallocation of resources from the Social Security retirement program to the disability benefits programs. Even though Social Security Administration runs both the disability and retirement programs, the money comes from different funds, because they are not designated for the same purpose in terms of who the beneficiaries are. This would be relatively easy to do, since the retirement program is funded through the year 2034, according to most estimates, and it would only take enough money to reduce that number by one year to fully fund the disability program for at least the next 15 years. 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