January 20, 2004
NCSA to mine Social Security data
ILLINOIS: Project will create a computer model aimed at helping disabled people return to the work force. The National Center for Supercomputing Applications will spend a year analyzing Social Security Administration data to create a computer model aimed at helping disabled people return to the work force. NWITimes.com
January 7, 2004
Woman sentenced in case of disability-insurance fraud.
Woman was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court on a felony charge of defrauding the Social Security Disability Insurance Program of close to $50,000. Portsmouth Herald
MEDICARE LEGISLATION BECOMES LAW
On December 8, 2003, President George W. Bush signed into law the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003. This landmark legislation provides seniors and people living with disabilities with a prescription drug benefit, more choices and better benefits under Medicare. Anyone interested in getting more information can call 1-800-Medicare or visit the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services website at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/medicarereform/
SOCIAL SECURITY ANNOUNCES 2.1 PERCENT BENEFIT INCREASE FOR 2004
Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 51 million Americans will increase 2.1 percent in 2004. The Cost-of- Living Adjustment will begin in January 2004, for people who get Social Security benefits and on December 31, 2003, for people who receive SSI benefits.
To learn more about the new Cost-of-Living Adjustment, see the News Release.
Proposed changes to rules involving Residual Functional Capacity assessments and use of vocational experts at Step 4
Social Security has proposed changes—the notice calls them "clarifications"—of several important rules. The changes appear to limit the Administration's burden at Step 5 and to increase the role of the vocational expert at Step 4, where many argue the VE should play no role at all. Comments can be sent to regulations@ssa.gov
Visit our discussion board to talk about this and other SSA related topics.
Gisbrecht Decision Good News
The Supreme Court addressed the issue of what the appropriate starting point is for judicial determinations of a reasonable fee for representation before the court. They held that Courts should approach fee determinations by looking first to the contingent-fee agreement, then testing it for reasonableness rather than using a lodestar calculation (hours reasonably spent on the case times reasonable hourly rate). Read more about the decision here.
Visit our discussion board to talk about this and other SSA related topics.
Backlog Delays Social Security
Social Security officials say disabled Americans who apply for benefits often must wait two to three years to start receiving them because of a backlog of applications.
Visit our discussion board to talk about this and other SSA related topics.
Access to Information Held by Financial Institutions
SSA proposes new rules to implement a law that will increase access to bank account information of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) applicants and beneficiaries and other individuals whose income and resources SSA considers as being available to the applicant or beneficiary.
Visit our discussion board to talk about this and other SSA related topics.
David A. Bryant and Associates has merged to form Daley, DeBofsky and Bryant.
Visit our discussion board to talk about this and other SSA related topics.
LEWIS v. BARNHART (03/01/02 - No. 99-35922) (9th Cir.)
In a Social Security disability action, the required focus of a judicial review of the district court's remand of a Commissioner's finding of the lack of disability, is whether the Commissioner was substantially justified in the determination, rather than the accuracy of the ultimate disability determination.
Read the full text of this opinion
BARNETT v. OKEECHOBEE HOSPITAL (02/25/02 - No. 00-13222) (11th Cir.)
Because plaintiff presented an uncontradicted claim that he mailed a completed form to the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) in a properly addressed and postage-paid envelope, it is presumed to have been received by the VA, and thus he meets the jurisdictional requirements contained within 28 U.S.C. section 2675 and 28 C.F.R. section 14.2 for bringing an action under the FTCA.
Read the full text of this opinion
Visit our discussion board to talk about this and other SSA related topics.
Massanari Acting Commissioner
Visit our discussion board to talk about this and other SSA related topics.
Apfel Speech Expresses Frustration
Visit our discussion board to talk about this and other SSA related topics.
Apfel to Step Down as SSA Commissioner
Visit our discussion board to talk about this and other SSA related topics.
Clinton Proposes SGA Increase and other Changes
Visit our discussion board to talk about this and other SSA related topics.
Salamalekis Case in 6th Circuit Grants Benefits Without 12 Month Wait
Change in Family Maximum Computation
No Issue Waiver at Appeals Council. Sims v. Apfel
Visit our discussion board to talk about this and other SSA related topics.
Disability Research Institute
Maybe some things will happen: Like determining the actual impact of age, education and prior work experiences on the ability to do a job; like establishing job descriptions (DOT or O-Net) that reflect reality and not 1948; like making a presumptive List[ings] of illnesses that are disabling based on modern day medicine and medical judgment; like providing a uniform acceptable basis for vocational assessments by State Agencies; like establishing uniform standards for Quality Assurance Review of all components of SSA; like providing actual rehabilitation guidelines for deciding who is no longer disabled; like learning what other countries are doing to get people back to work.
- DRB
Visit our discussion board to talk about this and other SSA related topics.
No Criminal Background Checks of Rep Payees
Visit our discussion board to talk about this and other SSA related topics.
User Fee Under Attack
The National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives is seeking to "cap" the User Fee at $25, and there has been talk of a lawsuit against SSA regarding this 6.3% tax on disability attorneys. Nosscr blames the User Fee for the recent decline in membership. It was also announced at the May Nosscr conference that Nosscr would be seeking to have the $4000 cap on attorney fees adjusted to $5000, which would represent the cost of living adjustment from when the $4000 cap was set.
Visit our discussion board to talk about this and other SSA related topics.
New Medical Opinion Rules
The SSA revised "the Social Security and Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) regulations concerning the evaluation of medical opinions
to clarify how administrative law judges and the Appeals Council are to
consider opinion evidence from State agency medical and psychological
consultants, other program physicians and psychologists, and medical
experts". The new rules are contained in the Federal Register (Volume 65, Number 45) and became final March 7th, 2000.
Visit our discussion board to talk about this and other SSA related topics.
User Fee is (Painful) Reality
The House of Representatives voted 418-2 in favor of the Work Incentives Improvement Act which regrettably includes among its provisions the dreaded 6.3% user fee, a tax on attorneys who help disabled people challenge denial of benefits. This decision can only harm disabled people as the number of available qualified disability attorneys diminishes, a result that perhaps was foreseen and desired.
Visit our discussion board to talk about this and other SSA related topics.
ALJs Vote to Form Union!
In a shocking landslide vote, ALJs voted 799 to 101 in favor of forming a union. If you haven't read our recent rant on this topic yet, Read It.
Visit our discussion board to talk about this and other SSA related topics.
Obesity Listing Eliminated
Effective October 25th, 1999, SSA is deleting listing 9.09, "Obesity," from appendix 1, subpart P of part 404, the "Listing of Impairments" (the listings). SSA states, "Although many individuals with obesity are appropriately found "disabled" within the meaning of the Social Security Act (the Act),
we have determined that the criteria in listing 9.09 were not
appropriate indicators of listing-level severity because they did not
represent a degree of functional limitation that would prevent an
individual from engaging in any gainful activity."
Visit our discussion board to talk about this and other SSA related topics.
Ruling Clarifies Evaluation and Adjudication
of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Disability Claims
As of April 30th, 1999, SSR 99-2p helps claimants and their representatives to show a disability based on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). Visit our discussion board to talk about this and other SSA related topics.
SGA Raised from 500 to $700/month
SSA revised the rules for determining when earnings demonstrate the ability to engage in substantial gainful activity (SGA).
Visit our discussion board to talk about this and other SSA related topics.
Workers' Compensation Offset Proposal Dead
Claimants and their representatives can breath a collective sigh of relief. On February 11th, 1999, the Social Security Administration announced it was withdrawing the controversial proposed regulation to prohibit the allocation of lump-sum settlements over the workers' life expectancy. Thanks to all who took the time to send comments to the SSA and helped sink this bad proposal. Visit our discussion board to talk about this and other SSA related topics.
Clinton Proposes Disabled Workers Keep Medicare/Medicaid
The New York Times reported that President Clinton will propose expanding Medicaid and Medicare in his upcoming budget so that people with disabilities can retain health benefits when they return to work.
Appeals and Denials for 1997
SSA has released the numbers for appeals at each level of the disability determination process. Click here for a chart with all the information.
Supreme Court Allows Immediate Appeal
The Supreme Court has ruled that Social Security disability benefits claimants can seek immediate federal appeals court review when a federal district court judge sends their case back to the administrative level.
MORE CDRs
Commissioner Kenneth Apfel told the House Subcommittee on Social Security and Human Resources that there were 500,000 Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs) in 1996, 690,000 in 1997, and he projected 1.2 million for 1998.
LAWYERS TO PAY "USER FEE"
As part of the proposed year 2000 budget, attorneys will be charged for processing a fee petition with what's being called a "user fee." Under a March 11, 1998 draft bill the Commissioner would be authorized to assess a fee to a "person who renders services for compensation in connection with a claim to entitlement to [Social Security] benefits" when a representative's fee is approved under 42 U.S.C. §406. The fee would be $165 when there is direct payment of the attorney's fee or $40 in any other case, like a fee approval.
"TOP-TO-BOTTOM" REVIEW OF CHILD SSI DENIALS ANNOUNCED BY COMMISSIONER APFEL.
Apfel announced an automatic review of 45,000 kids SSI cases that may have been denied improperly under overly strict rules. Apfel stated, "I believe these families deserve a second chance" and wrote in his report "I am deeply concerned that children could be disadvantaged as a result of deficiencies in the manner in which decisions are made." 135,000 have already been cut from SSI, only half of which have appealed. Of the 75,000 who have not appealed, 45,000 will automatically be reconsidered.
Click Here For More Information.
 |
|||
|
|||
