Posted on 10/19/2014 1:35:38 PM PDT by Libloather
In an obscure corner of the federal bureaucracy, there is an office that is 990,399 cases behind.
That is Washington’s backlog of backlogs — a queue of waiting Americans larger than the populations of six different states. It is bigger even than the infamous backups at Veterans Affairs, where 526,000 people are waiting in line, and the patent office, where 606,000 applications are pending.
All of these people are waiting on a single office at the Social Security Administration.
Social Security is best-known for sending benefits to seniors. But it also pays out disability benefits to people who can’t work because of mental or physical ailments. And it runs an enormous decision-making bureaucracy to sort out who is truly disabled enough to get the checks — and who is trying to game the system.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
I recall in 2009 suddenly the Social Security office hired on a bunch of new hearing officers and started handing out Social Security Disability like candy.
Strap on a baby bonnet. That qualifies. Tell them you’re not sure if you are male or female. That qualifies.
One of my doctor clients who is an M.D. psychiatrist used to do SSI hearings. All the people he saw were coming in claiming to be depressed. He denied most of the claims, few he approved but only with a recommendation that they become involved in an exercise program, see a psychologist for individual psychotherapy and continue working. None of the applicants were interested in following up on his recommendations.
If someone files claiming mental illness, the maximum we should be paying, IMO, is for psychotherapy and perhaps meds but it should not be a replacement for a paycheck. We have a whole bunch of people just like this working in DC who do continue to draw a paycheck so saying that they can’t show up for work because of mental illness is a bogus claim.
That’s because lawyers became required to get SSD for.
and lawyers make up the majority of politicians.
SS’s strategy is to try to get applicants to die before they can be approved.
I agree that therapy and meds should be paid for and yes, should be a stipulated requirement to draw benefits. Counseling does make all the difference.
Equals the population of Wyoming plus Rhode Island.
I was a Social Security Claims Rep for a couple of years back in 1973 and 74. Back then all disability applications were rejected unless there was just no question at all.
You then filed for a rehearing which is done by the state agency which does the actual approvals. As near as I could tell, no one won at this level, it was just a step you had to go through.
Now the administrative law judge was where most were approved. Maybe more were approved than rejected but that was a long time ago. Also a lot of people simply give up before that.
Next is an appeal to the national office and again no one wins there but it is the last step before your lawyer files a lawsuit, if you have one.
Not many win the lawsuits but SS will often agree to a compromise before the case actually ends up in Federal court. Often agreeing to grant you disability but only from a recent point.
At that time, Social Security Disability was very difficult to get. May have changed since then tho.
I was approved in 2008 my first application and didn’t have to appeal. One thing I found out is that you are better off paying for an attorney or a company specializing in SS claims to prepare and file your application instead of doing it yourself. The pros know what to put in your application to get it approved.
I fondly remember the day my sil won her SSD and it was mere coincidence that that very day, she was able to throw her cane away....it made for a nice prop....
SSD has become the ‘new’ unemployment ‘benefit’.
After 99 weeks (or so) claim you are depressed because you have not held a job for 99 weeks. BINGO!! sign right here, don’t forget my cut.
The lawyers flood the daytime TV (at least the Judge shows) with ads encouraging people to apply for their righteous bennies.
Of course, it seems ludicrous for you to be able to say you are now afraid of the dark and you were a career movie usher but since you have not worked for 99 weeks you are more afraid of the dark.
Judge Judy ‘loves’ these ‘disability claimees’ asking such questions as “You have been drawing SSD and other disabilities for 10 years now and you have children 9, 3 and 2. Just how bad is that back.?”
“So you can’t really use a shovel anymore. Get a job as a telemarketer, you seem to be able to speak, read, spin a good tale and be able to file lawsuits”. etc etc
There is a great deal of fraud. SS being a government agency doesn’t really care or bother to investigate. When I began receiving benefits, the SS documentation said my case would be reviewed periodically, I think every year, to see if I had improved enough to go back to work. I might even have to see a doctor of their choosing. That was in 2008. Never had any kind of review.
My Grandmother had a debilitating stroke in 1983. Three days before she died, she received the following in the mail:
“Denied...based on evidence you should be able to return to work and lift 25 lbs within a year...”
Funny ive been missing an arm since my early teens.. I was given ssi at 18 and declined it to go to work... now coming in to my 60’s with a trashed back from compensating for the missing arm im not sure I would ever qualify for disability. .
Because of my first cancer (I suppose) they approved me in two months.
The pop of Rhode Island is over 1,000,000 so that state is more than the number of the backlog.
Its much easier to apply for SSI.
SSD on the other hand, is very difficult to get on even though the benefits are quite good.
You have to have a very serious disability that interferes with normal employment to collect.
You will be turned down for SSD - they will tell you that at the local SSA office.
Get a lawyer and hope your appeal succeeds before you get your SSD checks at the bank.
I’m very familiar with this subject. 50% approvals is considered a “tough” judge. And they now have a SOAR program that gets the applications through in 90 days or so. And we are talking disabilities like depression, or something that isn’t so bad that, when combined with age and low education, magically turns into “disability” income. The whole freakin country is getting on disability.
There is even a minimum guaranteed income for when someone hasn’t paid a dime into the system....SSI about $750 a month.
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