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Top Ten Tips When Applying for Social Security Disability or SSI That Will Increase Your Chances of an Approval

Clifford Walkon • March 9, 2021

October 21, 2021

Top Ten Tips When Applying for Social Security Disability or SSI That Will Increase Your Chances of an Approval
1. Apply for benefits as soon as you become disabled. Many people mistakenly believe they must wait 12 months from the date their disability began before applying for benefits. As long as your disability is expected to last more than 12 months, you can file the minute you stop working. However, you must have medical evidence that supports your disability will last more than 12 months. If you go back to work before the 12 months is over, you will no longer have a case as you have not met the “durational” requirement for disability.

2. Complete the initial application. To increase the chance that your claim will be approved, it is important to answer the questions on the disability application. Write down all of the information regarding your medical history as it relates to your disability, including dates, provider names, medical procedures and tests performed. The information in the application is the basis of the claim and how the examiner will obtain medical records and reports that will support you claim.

3. Cooperate with SSA. The Social Security Administration (SSA) will ask various forms to be completed and promptly returned or call to ask questions about your treatment or a medical provider. SSA also may ask you to attend a consultative medical exam. Make sure SSA has your current address and telephone number. By providing such information, this helps the decision making easier. 

4. Medical evidence of your disability. Before you file for benefits, you should be receiving treatment for the medical condition which is the basis of your disability. Your treating providers hopefully have ordered all of the necessary tests to properly diagnose your condition. Such testing include reports of x-rays, CT scans, MRIs, and ultrasounds, along with laboratory results and reports of procedural tests such as EEGs or pulmonary function tests. 

5. Follow prescribed treatment. Not only is it important to be receiving treatment for your disabling condition, it is important to follow your doctor’s prescribed treatment. SSA may be able to deny your claim for "treatment non-compliance." This is because Social Security can find that you would be able to work if you took the medicine, had the surgery, or otherwise followed the treatment recommended by your doctor. While there are some exceptions to this rule, it is important to follow your physician's prescribed course of treatment to the extent possible.

6. General doctor’s statements do not prove your case. Eligibility for disability benefits is based on proof of your medical impairment and the severity of said impairment. SSA has very specific criteria that covers not only the type and severity of injury or illness, but the specific type of medical documentation required to substantiate each of these disabling conditions. You need more than just a general statement from your doctor stating that you are “disabled”. 

7. Clear up any outstanding legal issues. You will not be eligible for disability if you have an outstanding warrant, even in another state. Bottom line: benefits will be denied if you have an arrest warrant. SSA has become increasingly aggressive in its review of the criminal records of those who seek to receive disability benefits.

8. Your initial application will most likely be denied. Don’t be frustrated. Many people who apply for benefits will be denied during the initial review. But a denial can be appealed, and most times the chances that your application will be approved increases at the next level of appeals. 

9. Be Credible. Whether you are at the initial levels of your case or testifying before a judge, it is important to answer questions truthfully. Do not leave out important information, bend the truth, or try to use evasive language. Try to stick to the question and not go off on unrelated topics. Don’t be melodramatic and/or exaggerate your issues. 

10. You can hire an attorney to assist you during any part of the process. There is no requirement that you hire an attorney to help you apply for benefits. Most times, your chances of approval increases if you hire an experienced attorney. Most attorneys work on a contingency basis, which means that you don’t pay unless your claim is approved. 

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Social Security and Reopening: How to reduce your wait time

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The Social Security Administration (SSA) has begun transitioning back to providing full, in-person service at its more than 1,200 local field offices for the first time in over two years . Unfortunately, there are large crowds, long waits, and continued service delays. The SSA recommends that customers avoid delays and long waits by calling ahead to schedule an appointment, but has also warned the public that they may experience busy signals or dropped calls. Commissioner Kijakazi said: “To avoid waiting in line, I strongly encourage people, who can, to use our online services at www.socialsecurity.gov , call us and schedule appointments in advance rather than walking in without an appointment. Phone appointments can save you a trip to a busy office.” The offices tend to be busiest first thing in the morning, early in the week and early in the month. “People may want to plan to visit at other times,” according to Kijakazi. If you visit a Social Security office, you will be expected to comply with masking and physical distancing requirements. The agency also asks that visitors monitor their health for Covid-19 symptoms. The Social Security Administration emphasizes that people who are seeking help or more information should first try the agency’s website before calling or making an in-person office visit. Services are available online at www.socialsecurity.gov . By also creating a My Social Security account , people can access personalized services that enable them to request a replacement Social Security card or SSA-1099 tax form, start or change direct deposits or print or download a benefit verification letter. If you choose instead to use the agency’s 800 number, you may still experience delays, due to a transition to a more modern phone system that is underway. However, there are times when you may have more luck getting through, such as before 10 a.m., after 4 p.m. or later in the week. Wait times also tend to be shorter later in the month.

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What is Long Covid and is it a Disability under Social Security?

By Clifford Walkon • March 9, 2021
Long COVID is a physiological condition in which patients who contracted COVID-19 experience persistent or new symptoms of illness weeks or months after their initial infection. It is often characterized by symptoms such as fatigue, malaise, shortness of breath or a rapid heart rate. Although many people with COVID-19 get better within weeks, some people continue to experience symptoms that can last months after first being infected, or may have new or recurring symptoms at a later time. This can happen to anyone who has had COVID-19, even if the initial illness was mild. People with this condition are sometimes called “long-haulers.” This condition is known as “long COVID.” The Biden administration released guidance on long COVID and disability. These guidelines clarify how the condition can be categorized as a disability under federal law and paves the way for people suffering from the long-term effects of COVID-19 to receive accommodations from businesses, schools or employers. This new guidance explains that long COVID can be a disability under the ADA "if it substantially limits one or more major life activities." Social Security has not released such similar guidance but only an “emergency message” giving its employees some guidance on how to handle applications with long COVID. This message doesn't discuss in depth how the agency will determine whether someone is unable to work due to post-COVID syndrome. For the most part, the agency says it will use its current rules to analyze the condition, but it did comment on a few issues. Before it will consider long COVID as a disabling impairment, Social Security must be able to establish it as a "medically determinable impairment," or MDI. An MDI must be established by "medical signs" and laboratory findings rather than a patient's subjective complaints alone. To find an MDI, Social Security needs to see one of the following: a positive viral test for SAR-CoV-2 (not an antibody test) a diagnostic test consistent with COVID (for example, a chest x-ray), or a diagnosis of COVID with signs consistent with COVID (for example, fever and cough). We are hopeful that similar guidance like the ADA will be made for Social Security. In the meantime, if you are alleging long COVID as a disability make sure to have one of these tests or diagnosis by a medical doctor.

ABLE Accounts

By Clifford Walkon • March 9, 2021
The ABLE Act allows individuals who were deemed disabled before the age of 26 to save money in specific accounts and not jeopardize SSI or Medicaid services. Before The ABLE Act was passed, an individual collecting SSI could not save more than $2,000 or else they would lose all their benefits. ABLE accounts allow families to set aside money (up to $15,000 per person annually), and pay no taxes on that money's growth as long as it's used for qualified expenses. A "qualified disability expense" means any expense related to the designated beneficiary as a result of living a life with disabilities. These may include education, housing, transportation, employment training and support, assistive technology, personal support services, health care expenses, financial management and administrative services and other expenses which help improve health, independence, and/or quality of life. The beneficiary of the account is the account owner, and income earned by the accounts will not be taxed. Contributions to the account, which can be made by any person (the account beneficiary, family and friends), must be made using post-taxed dollars and will not be tax deductible for purposes of federal taxes. Under current tax law, $15,000 is the maximum amount that individuals can make as a gift to someone else and not report the gift to the IRS (gift tax exclusion). The first $100,000 in ABLE accounts would be exempted from the SSI $2,000 individual resource limit. To read more about ABLE accounts, visit the MIAble website at: https://www.miable.org/
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