Disability Benefits Rise While Labor Participation Rates Fall
According to a recent report by Business Insider, the number of individuals who are receiving disability benefits increased to 2.2 million since 2010. The interesting thing about those who receive disability benefits is that they are not counted as part of the labor force and they are not counted among the unemployed. These lower rates are affecting how experts measure the economy.
On average the social security disability program pays $1,111 per month to those who are eligible to receive benefits. Several factors have contributed to the increase in disability benefit seekers. The screening measures used by the Social Security Administration are less stringent than other screening mechanisms. Also, the benefits provided to those who receive disability are more attractive. Both of these have contributed to the skyrocketing number of disability benefit seekers. According to an economist at MIT, some disorders that are more difficult to verify are more easily accepted as qualifying for disability benefits.
The question is how to combat the rising costs associated with the increased number of people on disability. One expert’s solution is to increase taxes on those businesses that have a large share of people on disability. The problem with this solution is that it may make businesses fire disabled workers before they are able to apply for and receive social security disability benefits. Such an outcome would be terrible for potentially injured workers.
Those individuals who are fraudulently obtaining disability benefits only make the situation more difficult for those actually in need the benefits. This is one reason that Social Security Disability claims are routinely denied the first time around, requiring many people to obtain representation from competent social security disability lawyers like the Phoenix disability attorneys at Ariano & Reppucci, PLLC. If you or someone you know are having difficulty obtaining the social security disability benefits that you think you deserve, call Ariano & Reppucci today for a more in depth discussion at (602) 515-0841.
Source: “Americans Collecting Disability Spikes, While Labor Force Participation Stinks—That Reeks of Fraud,” by Mike “Mish” Shedlock, published at BusinessInsider.com
Anemia and Social Security Disability
It’s estimated that three million Americans suffer from anemia. That number is expected to increase as the population continues to age – almost 10% of people over sixty-five have some form of the disease.
Red blood cells are rich in a substance called hemoglobin, a protein that carries oxygen molecules to all other cells. In adults, hemoglobin-rich red blood cells comprise 35%-52% of a person’s blood; this percentage is known as the hematocrit level. Normal variations in the hematocrit level depend largely on factors such as gender and physical fitness. Anemia occurs when a person’s hematocrit levels drop too low, indicating that the red blood cells are not properly transporting oxygen to other parts of the body.
The American Society of Hematology traces anemia to two basic causes: anemia resulting from a too low amount of red blood cells and anemia resulting from red blood cells that do not function properly. Social Security has a section (Hematological Disorders, Section 7.00) that addresses both forms.
For anemia caused by low hematocrit levels, the key factors considered are “chronicity” and impairment. Chronicity is shown with evidence that the condition has persisted for at least three months. Such evidence can be shown by multiple (at least two) medically acceptable tests over a three month period—persistently 30% or less. Impairment is shown by proof that this low red blood cell count is actually affecting the proper functioning of other body systems. Impairment can be shown by either an appropriate evaluation by a medical professional or documentation that the applicant needs blood transfusions on average of at least once every two months.
Sickle cell anemia falls into the second anemia category – anemia caused by malfunctioning red blood cells. Red blood cells are shaped like flexible discs, which allow them to travel through all blood vessels, including capillaries that are only one cell thick. Sickle cell anemia occurs when the red blood cell form more rigid C or “sickle shapes.” These abnormally shaped cells become stuck in the smaller blood vessels, blocking proper blood flow and causing immense pain. Sickle cell is an inherited trait with certain groups, such as African Americans, more likely to be carriers than others.
The sickle cell disease listing describes the evidence that must be shown to qualify for disability. The applicant must either show:
A. Documented painful (thrombotic) crises occurring at least three times during the 5 months prior to adjudication; or
B. Requiring extended hospitalization (beyond emergency care) at least three times during the 12 months prior to adjudication; or
C. Chronic, severe anemia with persistence of hematocrit of 26 percent or less; or
D. Evaluate the resulting impairment under the criteria for the affected body system.
As is the case with chronic anemia resulting from a persistently low hematocrit, the applicant must have documentation that this condition has recurred multiple times over a given period.
If you think you may be entitled to Social Security Disability benefits and have questions, please contact an experienced Phoenix social security disability lawyer of Ariano & Reppucci, PLLC for a more depth discussion at (602) 515-0841.
How to prove a SSD claim
If you have an illness that you think may make you eligible for Social Security Disability benefits there’s one thing every claimant must deal with regardless of the disability – sufficient proof that he or she actually qualifies.
The Social Security Administration defines disability as “the inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity (SGA) by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment(s) which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months.” In other words, the claimant must both prove that he has the disability and that it is severe enough to qualify for federal benefits.
First and foremost, the claimant must provide documentation from “acceptable medical sources” of his condition. Licensed physicians are acceptable medical sources to establish all disabilities. Other medical professionals can serve as acceptable sources but only in limited situations. For instance, a psychologist is competent to provide evidence for mental disabilities and an optometrist is competent to provide evidence for visual disorders, but not the other way around. Medical professionals who are “treating sources” i.e. professionals who’ve tended to the claimant over a long period of time, provide the most valued evidence.
Once the claimant has chosen an acceptable medical source to assist him in making a disability claim, that medical professional frequently must provide reports to the SSA. Such reports include medical histories, lab tests, and reports describing the claimant’s ability to perform “work-related” tasks.
Sometimes, the claimant cannot get all the information he needs from his own doctors or other medical sources. He can then schedule a Consultative Examination with either his usual treating source or another medical professional to obtain the specific medical information needed by the SSA. A complete Consultative Examination Report would include the following:
• the claimant’s major complaint;
• a detailed description, within the area of specialty of the examination, of the history of the major complaint;
• a description, and disposition, of pertinent “positive” and “negative” detailed findings based on the history, examination, and laboratory tests related to the major complaint, and any other abnormalities or lack thereof reported or found during examination or laboratory testing;
• results of lab and other tests (for example, X-rays);
• the diagnosis and prognosis for the claimant’s impairment;
• a statement about what the claimant can still do despite his or her impairment; and
• the consultant’s consideration, and some explanation or comment on, the claimant’s major complaint and any other abnormalities found during the history and examination or reported from the laboratory tests.
If you think you may be entitled to Social Security Disability benefits and have questions, please contact an experienced Phoenix social security disability lawyer of Ariano & Reppucci, PLLC for a more depth discussion at (602) 515-0841.
Is the Social Security Disability system broken? Maybe
Posted on: May 5, 2012
Since the Social Security Trustees report was released last week, we’ve heard a lot about the year 2033. That’s when the Social Security trust fund as a whole will run out of money and will no longer be allowed to pay full benefits. The real year to pay attention to for Arizona disability attorneys is 2016, when the Social Security Disability Insurance fund runs out of money. The message of the annual report is clear: reforms must be made immediately in order to maintain the solvency of the program.
Within just a few years, two years sooner than previously expected, the Social Security Disability program will no longer have the resources to fully pay its 12 million beneficiaries. Currently enacted law states if that happens benefits will be slashed by 20% across the board to all those on the program.
Many aren’t as worried about this as they likely should be, assuming that when 2016 comes around everyone in Washington will simply decide to rob Peter to pay Paul, taking money from the retirement portion of the Social Security program. The problem is that it might not be as easy as expected.
The Social Security system itself is broken. Not only is it clearly insolvent, but it suffers from enormous fraud, is wildly complex, inconsistent and inflexible. The bureaucracy is overloaded and inefficient. Rather than stealing from the retirement system, something that will only compound problems down the road, lawmakers should take this opportunity to make the changes necessary to save the system.
Legislators should work hard to identify the savings (between $200 and $300 billion through 2022) needed to keep the disability trust fund intact. Making cuts may be painful, but losing the program entirely would be far worse. On the spending side, savings can easily be had by cutting off the many opportunities for fraud that drain the system of valuable money.
Making other, more structural changes, will be critical to ensure the long-term survival of the system. Defining disability for the modern era, possibly implementing a partial disability payment system and helping train beneficiaries to get back to work are all fundamental issues that will need to be tackled.
One would hope that a looming collapse of the system would not be required to provoke action, but that appears to have happened. Hopefully the people in D.C. will act in time to avoid what would be a nightmare for millions of people across the country.
If you think you may be entitled to Social Security Disability benefits and have questions, please contact an experienced Phoenix social security disability lawyer of Ariano & Reppucci, PLLC for a more depth discussion at (602) 515-0841.
Source: “Social Security disability system is broken,” by Marc Goldwein, published at TheHill.com.