Massachusetts Social Security Disability Lawyers Blog

In terms of the number of people living with a disability who are receiving Social Security disability benefits, there are over 9 million Americans who fit into this category. However, there are far more disabled Americans who are in the process of applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, or who are fortunate enough to have family support or a private disability insurance policy.

In addition to the financial issues persons with disabilities face, there are also many other difficulties and discomfort often made worse by people who have nothing but the best intentions. According to a recent news feature from The Washington Post, a group of people with disabilities has formed a Reddit thread to discuss what it feels like to have a disability and how they wish others would treat them.

While some of these requests may seem surprising, it is not hard to see how people are negatively affected by what seemed helpful. First, users wanted everyone to know they do not wish to be told they are an inspiration to others. Commenters said, as they did not ask the universe to make them disabled, they do not want to be praised for it either. They would rather be treated for their actions, not simply existing, and engaging in normal activities as people without disabilities do on a regular basis.
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All of the talk from those opposed to providing sufficient funding to the Social Security Disaiblity Insurance (SSDI) program seem to think it will save tax payers money. According to a recent feature from the Center for American Progress, it will leave millions of Americans unable to take care of themselves and their families with no realistic hope of ever returning to work.

One of the main problems was related to a recent budget, which passed along party lines, designed to stop people from collecting unemployment benefits and Social Security Disability Benefits at the same time. In other words, the goal to prevent “double dipping” would punish disability insurance recipients who lose their jobs for reasons other than through their own fault, who apply for unemployment benefits.

Without being able to obtain unemployment insurance as a temporary stop gap measure, these disabled Americans would fall deeper into poverty and fall behind on even more bills. This would result in a much worse situation for these families, as well as costing tax payers more, which undermines the alleged reasons for preventing double dipping in the first place.

It is also interesting that those who are in favor of preventing so-called double dipping of unemployment and Social Security Disability Benefits are also in support of programs requiring disabled Americans to return to work.
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As nearly 9 million Americans currently receiving Social Security disability benefits worry their benefits will be cut by as much as 20 percent in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2016, and millions more Americans who are currently applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits are worried their applications will be denied, many politicians are using the predicted budgetary crisis as an opportunity to make speeches and get support in the upcoming presidential election.

According to a recent news report from News Max, this issue has become so sensitive to those involved that Republican candidates in the presidential election may be forced to address the issue directly and propose concrete solutions. This is different than what we have seen so far, where prospective candidates for the office have only been saying the system is broken and needs a major reform, without suggesting any type of plan to do this. As millions of Americans are continuing to worry about their level of benefits, the author of this article suggests this might change.

Meanwhile, congressional democrats and President Barack Obama has called for money to be shifted from the Social Security retirement fund to the Social Security disability fund. While money for both funds comes largely from Social Security withholdings from employee’s paychecks, the money is allocated for separate programs, because federal law requires each Social Security program to maintain a separate budget, since they were created for different purposes.
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There are many different types of injuries and illnesses that will qualify a claimant for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. In some cases, it is a single medical condition, and in others it is a combination of two or more medical conditions that can be used to obtain an award of benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA).

According to a recent article from MSN, government auditors have determined hundreds of residents of Puerto Rico have qualified for Social Security disability benefits because they were not fluent in English. SSA regulations allow people in the United States to qualify for disability benefits if they do not speak proficient English. This is because without knowledge of English, SSA considers these individuals to be less employable, and this will allow them to qualify for a disability, regardless of their level of education or work experience.

However, the inspector general for the SSA is questioning this policy with respect to Puerto Rico. Though it is a United States territory, Spanish is the primary language there. A recent independent report stated it would be advisable to consider local conditions when determining benefits qualifications. United States Census Bureau records show 95 percent of the residents of Puerto Rico older than five years of age speak Spanish when at home, and 84 percent of residents state they do not speak English very well.
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Mitze v. Colvin, an appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, involved claimant who applied for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits in 2009 at the age of 43 because she was suffering from a cyst in her pineal gland. The pineal gland is a small endocrine gland in the human brain which is responsible for production of melatonin. Melatonin is necessary to regulate sleep.

After Social Security Administration (SSA) denied her initial application, and she made several efforts to apply for reconsideration in writing, SSA granted her a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ) in November of 2011. ALJ held a hearing and rejected her claim for disability benefits. At this point, claimant appealed to the district court. During this appeal, the court affirmed ALJ’s denial of benefits.

The problem with finding claimant disabled, according to ALJ and district court, is pineal cysts are typically harmless. However, this is not always true. In this case, claimant testified her cyst caused blurred vision, headaches and vertigo, and these symptoms made it impossible for her to work in a full-time capacity.
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Time is running out for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). The Social Security Administration (SSA) is nearing a fiscal cliff. By fourth quarter 2016, nearly 9 million Americans will have their benefits cut by as much as 20 percent. Congress needs to act now.

These are just some examples of the headlines we have seen over the past several months predicting a budgetary crisis to the Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs. Let’s move beyond the “Sky is Falling” headlines and identify the real problems.

In 2014, the Social Security Trustees released their annual report.

This report claimed there will be no major change in the number of people retiring or the number of people claiming disability benefits in the near future. In other words, demand for Social Security will not change much. However, the report concluded the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (Social Security retirement fund or “OASI”) and the Disability Insurance (DI) fund will both be exhausted by the year 2034, as reported by Market Watch.
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Social Security Administration (SSA) officials and members of Congress have been looking for ways to cut spending for years. One of these was a program known as the Ticket to Work. It is designed so a claimant can go back to work at first on a part-time basis without any reduction in benefits. This is meant to address the problem of claimants who would actually prefer to work but are afraid to get any type of employment out of fear their Social Security Disability benefits will be reduced or even cut entirely, if SSA finds out about claimant earning income.

According to a recent news article from the Atlantic, a senior member of a rehabilitation professional association referred to the Ticket to Work program as the greatest disappointment of his professional career.

For many years, before realizing the 1999 program was creating more trouble than it was alleviating, he was a strong supporter of the program. He had once testified before Congress that having a job is much better than being paid to stay at home, and the government should be helping and encouraging people to get back to work.

There were, of course, many financial incentives for SSA to get this program working, because it is estimated that if five percent of Social Security disability beneficiaries went back to work, it would save billions of dollars in benefits payments. The program was, and still is, completely voluntary, and it allows workers trying to get back to work to keep their benefits and insurance, which was a major impediment for claimants going back to the workforce.
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The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is responsible for managing the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, and of course, the Social Security retirement program.

Social Security disability insurance benefits are made available to claimants who can no longer work due to injury or illness. A worker must have been employed for a certain about of time (broken up into quarterly credits), so that he or she has paid into the system, before SSA will approve claimant to receive disability benefits.

The Supplemental Security Income benefits program is designed to provide money for children of low income families and disabled elderly claimants. This program does not require claimant to have ever worked or worked enough to build up a certain number of credits, but it does have strict income requirements that must be met.
Workers’ compensation benefits are provided by private insurance companies or a state injury fund, and disputes between workers and their employers’ insurance companies are adjudicated by state agencies. The main difference between workers’ compensation benefits and Social Security benefits is that workers’ compensation is designed for those injured on the job, whereas Social Security Disability Insurance benefits claimants normally suffer from an illness or injury that is not work-related or is no longer covered by workers’ compensation. In some cases, a claimant may be compensated by both workers’ compensation benefits and Social Security disability benefits.
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