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Recent Blog Posts
What Happens If Social Security Accuses Me of Lying?
Social Security often plays cat-and-mouse games with disability applicants. Administrative law judges (ALJs) are trained to look for any sign of inconsistency in an applicant's testimony to justify denying benefits. This is especially common in cases where the applicant suffers from fibromyalgia or another chronic pain condition. Oftentimes, the ALJ will claim the applicant is “exaggerating” his or her pain or imply that a condition is not really as bad as it sounds.
Social Security Judge Misstates Factual Record
In addition, sometimes, the ALJ simply accuses the applicant of lying. This is a serious allegation, and no Social Security official should ever make such a declaration without proper supporting evidence. Still, this is exactly what happened in one recent Illinois disability case.
Medicare to Start Issuing New ID Cards in 2018
If you have received Social Security Disability Insurance benefits for at least 24 months, you are automatically enrolled in Medicare, which provides hospitalization and medical insurance. While Medicare is normally for people age 65 and older, SSDI recipients are eligible regardless of their age. In some cases, low-income beneficiaries may also qualify to have the State of Illinois pay their premiums and other costs associated with Medicare.
Removing Social Security Numbers to Better Protect Identity
If you are a current or expected future recipient, you should be aware of ongoing changes to the Medicare identification card system. On May 30, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that starting next year it will mail all Medicare recipients new ID cards that contain a variety of fraud-prevention measures. Notably, while current Medicare ID cards use an identifier based on Social Security Numbers (SSN), the new cards will have a completely separate Medicare Beneficiary Identifier or MBI.
Social Security Often Ignores Evidence to Support “Credibility” Findings
Social Security Disability Insurance applicants frequently face hostile administrative law judges (ALJs) who look for any reason to deny benefits. An ALJ will often act under the pretext of a “credibility finding” to justify a rejection. In plain English, this means that the ALJ agrees the applicant has a severe impairment, but he or she is exaggerating or overstating his or her symptoms just to get disability benefits. In many cases the ALJ will selectively cite evidence of daily activities or lack of treatment as definitive proof that an applicant is not disabled—even when the medical evidence suggests otherwise.
Illinois Judge Orders New Disability Hearing After ALJ Fails to Follow Regulations
How Does Social Security Assess Whether I Have a “Severe Impairment”?
There are five steps Social Security must follow in assessing an application for disability benefits. The second step is a “medical screen to deny applicants without a severe impairment.” If the applicant presents medical evidence indicating nothing more than a “slight abnormality” that only has a minimal effect on their ability to work, then Social Security can reject the disability claim without conducting any further analysis.
It is important to note, however, that this Step 2 analysis is only designed to weed out groundless claims. Only in later steps should Social Security get into a more detailed assessment of the applicant's medical condition and capacity to work. Unfortunately, there have been a number of cases in Illinois recently where Social Security has tried to short-circuit applicants' due process rights by improperly denying a claim at Step 2.
Can Social Security Find I Was Disabled in the Past But Not Now?
It is possible to receive Social Security Disability Insurance benefits for a closed period of time. In other words, Social Security may determine, based on your medical records and other evidence, that you were disabled for a certain period of time but are currently capable of working.
In deciding whether your disability continues or has ended, Social Security must prove there has been a “medical improvement as shown by a decrease in medical severity” of your impairments.
Social Security Confuses Applicant's Poverty With “Medical Improvement”
Legally, the burden is on Social Security, not you, to prove medical improvement. However, sometimes Social Security forgets this. In a recent case in Illinois, for example, a federal magistrate found a Social Security administrative law judge (ALJ) failed to establish an applicant's medical improvement. Even more concerning, Social Security incorrectly argued before the magistrate that it was up to the applicant to prove “that her disability continued.”
Can I Be Considered Disabled Under Social Security's “Worn Out Worker” Rule?
There is an often overlooked qualification for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits called the “worn out worker” rule. This is technically known in the Social Security regulations as “medical-vocational profiles showing an inability to make an adjustment to other work.” The basic idea is that some older unskilled laborers lack sufficient education to adjust to a new field of employment; as a result, they may receive disability benefits even if they do not qualify under normal standards.
In a disability review, a Social Security administrative law judge (ALJ) must assess an applicant's “residual functional capacity,” that is his or her ability to perform work taking into account any physical or mental impairments. Social Security typically denies disability benefits if the RFC indicates the applicant can still do “lighter work.” However, if the applicant qualifies under the worn out worker rule, then he or she may be considered disabled regardless of the RFC.
When is Emphysema Considered a Disability by Social Security?
While many Social Security Disability Insurance claims are assessed based on a number of subjective factors, there are certain objective standards that can establish a person's right to receive benefits. Social Security operates according to a detailed set of regulations that specify how an administrative law judge (ALJ) must assess particular disorders. At least that is how the system is supposed to work.
Social Security Misunderstands Its Own Emphysema Regulations
In practice, ALJs often play games with the regulatory standards, looking for any way to justify denying a legitimate claim. Consider a recent example in Illinois—a case which involves a common ailment often seen in disability cases: emphysema.
Emphysema is a form of lung disease, typically associated with long-term use of tobacco products. Emphysema damages the air sacs within the lungs, which in turn reduces the amount of oxygen that can enter the bloodstream. Obviously, this type of breathing problem makes it impossible for many people to continue working a full-time job.
Will Social Security Ignore Evidence of My Depression and Suicidal Thoughts?
Social Security does not have the best track record when it comes to assessing disability applicants with serious mental disorders. While physical disabilities are relatively simple to assess with diagnostic tests, psychiatric impairments often require extended care by a medical professional. Even then, a layperson—such as a Social Security administrative law judge—may dismiss the severity of mental impairments as merely a case of an applicant faking symptoms in order to receive benefits.
Magistrate: Social Security's Analysis “Troublingly Incomplete”
But remember, eligibility for disability benefits is based on the applicant's inability to work. Such inability may be the result of mental impairments that, among other things, render the applicant incapable of meaningfully accepting direction in a typical workplace setting.
How Does Social Security Know What Jobs I Am Capable of Performing?
One of the factors that Social Security officials consider in assessing a claim for disability benefits is the type and number of jobs an applicant might be able to perform despite his or her impairments. Social Security generally relies upon the opinions of “vocational experts” to provide this information. An administrative law judge (ALJ) will pose a series of “hypotheticals” to the vocational expert, who in turn is supposed to offer a realistic assessment of the applicant's job prospects.
Judge Rebukes Social Security Expert for Making Up Job Figures
Unfortunately, this system has a number of flaws. First, vocational experts are supposed to rely on a listing of occupational information last revised in 1991—a time before most people even had access to the Internet. Vocational experts also rely on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which offers more recent information on wages and productivity. Yet what happens when a vocational expert does not cite any source for his or her information? A federal magistrate in Illinois recently confronted this exact situation.
Is Social Security Disability Insurance “Wasteful”?
Social Security Disability Insurance is meant to protect individuals who are no longer able to work due to physical or mental impairments. Once a person qualifies for disability—a process that can take many years and multiple administrative and judicial appeals—the actual benefits are far from luxurious. The average disability benefit is about $1,172 per month, according to Social Security's official statistics. This is roughly the equivalent of a full-time worker making $7 per hour—less than the Illinois minimum wage.
Post Editors, White House Budget Director Attack Disability Recipients
Yet some politicians and media pundits think that even the current meager level of benefits is excessive. The Washington Post editorial board recently said Social Security Disability Insurance “needs reform.” The Post's editors cited a “surge” in disability recipients and the program's increasing costs.
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