You are probably familiar with Social Security Income Disability (SSID), or at least the concept that those aged 65 or older, or those who are blind or disabled, can qualify for disability benefits from the state and/or federal government. But what you may not know is that minor children can…
The American Psychiatric Association’s “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual on Mental Disorder” (DSM) is considered the “bible” among mental-health professionals. The purpose of the DSM is to provide a standard set of criteria on which to base diagnoses, so there is consistency across the country regarding mental-illness diagnoses. The manual also…
On March 22, 2013, SSA’s new policy interpretation ruling [SSR 13-2p] became effective. This ruling replaced a 31 year old ruling SSR 82-60. The new SSR was based on not only SSA’s existing literature but also on information from medical and legal experts along with the Substance Abuse and Mental…
Does a Federal District Court have jurisdiction to review a decision of an Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) failure to find “good cause” and thereby allow a late filing for a request for hearing? The answer is generally no. 20 C.F.R. § 404.911 requires that a claimant who files late must…
Beginning in late 2011, the Social Security Administration adopted a policy to keep the identity of the Administrative Law Judges assigned to Social Security Disability cases at ODAR a secret until the hearing. The motivation for this rule was an effort on SSA’s part to avoid a claimant declining a…
The Social Security Administration recently issued its Summary of Performance & Financial Information Fiscal Year 2012. In that Summary, SSA wrote that its #1 Strategic Goal was to “Deliver Quality Disability Decisions and Services”. In order to reach that goal, SSA identified 3 strategic objectives: 1.) minimize the average wait…
Less than a month ago, the Commissioner of Social Security announced the addition of 35 Compassionate Allowances conditions. I discussed the concept of the Commissioner’s Compassionate Allowances in my blog post on February 25, 2009 “Social Security Compassionate Allowances Means Quick Determinations in Some Cases”. At that time, there were…
There are 165 hearing offices in the United States called ODAR [Office of Disability Adjudication and Review] hearing offices. The ODAR hearing offices are “were disability claimants appear before an independent judge (called an “Administrative Law Judge”) to appeal a denial by the Social Security Administration of an application for…
As 2013 makes its entrance a number of federal legislative changes affecting disability recipients will take effect. Included among those changes are the thresholds for what is considered “substantial gainful activity”, the maximum amount allowed for a worker retiring at full retirement age, the SSI federal payment standard and the…
Recently, the Social Security Administration announced in the Federal Register [http://tinyurl.com/bs4rqtw] that there will be a 1.7% increase in Social Security payments effective December 2012. The reason for the increase is due to an increase in the cost-of-living (COLA). Because of this increase, benefits for Social Security disability recipients will…