Massachusetts Social Security Disability Lawyers Blog
According to recent news article from Kentucky.com, the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) has decided to reinstate benefits for hundreds of disability claimants whose benefits they had earlier suspended. There will be a full investigation and hearing to determine eligibility before any benefits are terminated. This will help ease the fear of imminent economic hardship and “ruin” benefits termination has caused to many families.
The trouble for these hundreds of disabled Americans began when SSA became concerned that nearly a thousand Social Security Disability Insurance benefits recipients had received benefits to which they may not be rightfully entitled. Rather than conduct an investigation and then make decisions as to whose, if any, disability benefit would be terminated, SSA sent out around 900 letters to disability benefits recipients announcing their disability benefits were to be immediately terminated.
Most of these recipients lived in Kentucky and West Virginia, and one United States House Representative whose constituents were to be affected by these terminations made it a priority to stop this economic hardship from occurring. He went to the agency and told them “bluntly” that nearly a thousand claimants and many more family members would be in an untenable situation and left with little or no source of income for as long as year while SSA conducted its review of benefits, and this was not acceptable. He also implied these disability suspension notices might have played a significant role in three suicides believed to be related to receipt of a termination letter. For this reason, he told SSA officials and other members of Congress that this was literally a matter of life and death.
On the other hand, the Social Security Administration maintains it will conduct a full review and assured Congress they are going to remain vigilant protectors of how American tax payers’ contributions are spent and to assure there is no improper award of benefits occurring. The agency said each person who received a notice can appeal the decision to cancel their benefits and will be granted a hearing before an administrative law judge to prove their disability rating is warranted. Until such a hearing is held, there will be no termination or reduction of benefits.
As our Boston disability benefits attorneys can explain, while there is always the possibly of fraud and an improper award of benefits, the vast majority of American’s applying for an being awarded Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits are truly disabled and could not survive without their monthly benefits. The SSDI program is set up in such as way as to make it extremely difficult for anyone to get benefits to which they are rightfully entitled, and it would be far more difficult to “game” the system, as many are publicly claiming.
In addition to the 900 or more recipients the SSA sent letters to, the agency sent 600 letters to other SSDI and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries, saying their benefits eligibility was being reviewed, but there was no threat to immediately suspend these benefits prior to SSA completing a review.
If you are seeking Social Security Disability benefits in Boston, call for a free and confidential appointment at (617) 777-7777.
Additional Resources:
Social Security disability payments restored for hundreds in Eastern Kentucky facing eligibility review, June 4, 2015, Kentucky.com
More Blog Entries:
SSDI Approvals Lowest in Five Years, June 20, 2014, Boston Social Security Disability Lawyers Blog