Common Mistakes - Discontinuing Treatment with Your Physician

Many disabled persons are placed in a tough situation when it comes to continuing to see their doctors. On the one had, the fact that you’re unable to continue working means that you don’t have extra money for anything; including many of the necessities of life. On the other hand, if you can’t receive treatment, your likelihood of recovering is practically vanishes. Further, if you have a terminal condition, the quality and length of your remaining life could be severely affected.

What many people don’t realize is that when you discontinue treatment with your physician, you compromise the likelihood that you will be approved for Social Security Disability benefits. This is because most of the disabling conditions that Social Security Disability examiners use to determine your eligibility require that your condition has not improved even after following your physician’s prescribed treatment regimen.

Before most Social Security Disability cases are determined, the SSA requests a good deal of medical documentation. It is important that this documentation be current. Older information does not always lead to a denial of benefits, but you are much more likely to be approved if you have been undergoing consistent treatment under a physician’s care.

Often, if your medical records are not current; or if you have discontinued treatment with your physician, the Social Security Administration will require that you be examined by one of their doctors. While these doctors are not supposed to be bias, they do often face cases where patients are trying to pass themselves off as disabled, often leading to skepticism. You are better off having medical examinations and records come from your own physician.

Continuing to see a doctor could also lead to new conditions being diagnosed, which can them be used in helping to make your Social Security Disability claim. Even if your initial condition would not qualify you for Social Security Disability benefits, you may qualify for benefits based on the combined disability caused by two or more conditions.

On top of the implications for eventually being approved for Social Security Disability benefits, it’s a bad idea to stop seeing your doctor because it could potentially be bad for your health. Many conditions that qualify you for Social Security Disability benefits are progressive in nature and without treatment can be fatal.

While you’re in the process of filing a disability claim, you may have to make some sacrifices. Your lifestyle will certainly change, especially in the time between when you need to stop working and the time when your disability claim is approved. There are much better adjustments and sacrifices to be made than discontinuing medical treatment.

If you absolutely cannot afford to continue seeing your physician, there are charitable clinics available in most communities. Besides the fact that your health may depend on it, your ability to begin receiving Social Security Disability benefits in a timely manner may also depend on it.

Continuing medical treatment is more important for some disabling conditions than for others. The degree of importance continuing medical care has on your Social Security Disability claim depends largely on whether the listed treatment requirements. Until you know for certain that discontinuing care won’t have an adverse effect on your claim, it’s best to assume that it will. If you are unsure of how discontinuing treatment with your physician may affect your claim, consult a Social Security Disability attorney or advocate for a review of your case.

Senator Jon Tester Protests Closure of SSA Appeals Site

Submitted by Ram on

Effective June 1, 2011, the office in Great Falls, MT which has been used by the Social Security Administration (SSA) for hearings has been closed. The closure means that people in the area who have filed an appeal for a Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) case will now have to travel to other locations.

Cardin Calls on SSA to Keep Providing Yearly Statements

Submitted by Ram on

Until about a decade ago, most of us knew little about how much money we had contributed to the Social Security Administration (SSA). While our check stubs usually provided year-to-date totals, and our W-2 forms gave us the total amount for the entire calendar year, determining our lifetime contributions to the fund would have required detailed, long-term record keeping.

Common Mistakes- Assuming You Don’t Need or Can’t Afford a Disability Lawyer

Often it is the people that need help the most who are the ones that can least afford to get help. A good example of this principle would be applying for Social Security Disability benefits. There are many people on disability and many more that should be receiving benefits. Numerous times, people who deserve disability benefits do not receive them. One of the things that improves your chances as you go through the process of applying for disability benefits is to have the help of an experienced Social Security Disability lawyer.

Cases of Social Security Fraud rising

Submitted by Ram on

A Perham, Minnesota man has been charged with fraudulently receiving Social Security Disability benefits. Wayne A. Larson, age 54, had begun receiving benefits in June of 1995. However, Larson returned to work in the construction field in August of 2005 and failed to report this fact to the Social Security Administration (SSA). As a result, he wrongfully received over $24,000 in benefits from the SSA. He could be sentenced to 10 years in prison or a fine or both for each count he faces.

Mental illness disability claims have increased significantly

Submitted by Ram on

For reasons that are not completely clear, the number of Americans who receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits due to mental illness has increased significantly over the last quarter-century or so. In 1987, 1 in 184 people qualified for benefits; by 2007, that number had increased to 1 in 76, an increase of 284%.

Applying for Disability while Receiving Unemployment

One of the most commonly asked questions among those who are out of work and disabled is whether or not they can receive both unemployment benefits and Social Security disability benefits. While there is not a specific regulation with the Social Security Administration (SSA) regarding receiving unemployment benefits while applying for Social Security disability benefits, it’s generally not a good idea.

Social Security Adminstration Overpaid Billions in 2009

Submitted by Ram on

According to a U.S. Government investigator, the Social Security Administration (SSA) paid out $6.5 billion in 2009 to people who were not rightfully entitled to those funds. Roughly two thirds of that were under a program which aims to help the most financially disadvantaged among us. In most cases, these overpayments were because the recipients had income or other assets that were unreported or under-reported. In simpler terms, this really means that the funds were obtained under fraudulent circumstances.

According to Patrick P. O’Carroll, Inspector General of the SSA, about ten percent of the agency’s payments under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

program are improper. However, O’Carroll stated that the overpayment rates for disability, retirement and survivor benefits are much lower. These programs constitute the vast majority of the agency’s payments.

These overpayments have drawn the attention of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee, which oversees the funding for the SSA. According to Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., “The scope of these problems is considerable”. Whether these improper payments are the result of a mistake on the part of the agency or fraud on the part of the recipient, the end result is that funds are needlessly taken from those who may need them in the future. The bottom line is that the very future of these programs may be shortened. In addition, they waste billions of taxpayer dollars each year.

Given the state of the American economy and the record size of the Federal budget deficit, the government has begun to focus on areas where avoidable waste is most evident. With this in mind, President Obama in 2009 challenged federal agencies to reduce improper payments. In 2010, Congress established the goal of a 50 billion dollar reduction of improper payments in a two-year period.

Putting a positive spin on these improper payments, the SSA’s deputy commissioner, Carolyn W. Colvin highlighted the fact that the agency makes payments to nearly 60 million recipients in an accurate and timely manner, month-in and month-out. Further, Colvin notes that the agency has improved the accuracy of their payments in each of the past three years.

In an effort to continue this trend, the agency has stepped up the number of reviews it conducts each year to be certain that applicants still qualify to receive disability benefits under medical and financial guidelines. Additionally, the SSA is continuing to take advantage of technological advances in order to track the intentional misuse of funds. These efforts are especially noteworthy in light of the fact that in 2009, only two other agencies (the Departments of Health and Human Services and Labor) paid out more in improper payments than the SSA.

Given the fact that the trust funds which support the SSA’s disability and retirement programs are currently projected to run dry in 2036, it is imperative that the agency find ways to curb wasteful spending, while at the same time making these funds accessible to those who need them. As distasteful as most of these fraudulent payments are to the majority of us, even more distasteful is the idea that someone who has worked a lifetime paying into this system would need those funds, only to find that they are no longer available.

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