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Help, Guidance, News & Tips on Social Security Disability Issues

Cancer-Stricken Social Security Claimant Makes YouTube Plea To Obama

Jul 24

Posted by Hal LaPray in Disability News, Personal Stories - Social Security Disability, Social Security Disability

Illness, Pain, Misdiagnosis & Denial

Gayle DeVilbiss, a 54 year-old woman in Arizona, was originally diagnosed with fibromyalgia back in 2007.  She applied for Social Security benefits and was denied. Then, after various treatments and further study, Ms. DeVilbiss learned that she was actually suffering from Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a serious form of cancer requiring chemotherapy and other long-term treatments.

After starting her regimen of routine treatments, her immune system became depleted and she needed more medication to keep her healthy while the chemotherapy went to work destroying the cancer cells.  Soon the pain set in.  Nausea, fatigue and other physical ailments only added to the mental and emotional anxiety and constant worry.

Understandably, Ms. DeVilbiss was completely unable to work.  Once again, she applied for Social Security Disability benefits, but within weeks she received a notice indicating that her disability benefits were denied based on the fact that her regimen of treatment is not expected to last more than 12 months.

The law as currently written states that a person is eligible for Social Security disability benefits if that person suffers from a severe impairment, is unable to work because of the severe impairment, and the impairment is expected to last for at least 12 months or result in death.

In her video to the president, Ms. DeVilbiss states, “I just don’t understand what [diagnosis] you have to have to get Social Security disability. I can’t work right now. I may be able to work in a year, I don’t know. I may be able to work six months from now.  But right now I can’t work. “

“I don’t feel 100 percent. I don’t feel seventy five percent, and I don’t feel even fifty percent of what I used to feel. I just need some help now”, she contined.

The sad truth is that there is no employer that would knowingly employ a person with the current diagnosis and set of symptoms displayed by this woman.  In an interview with a local news station, Ms. DeVilbiss pointed out that she’s constantly fatigued and most days has to be on oxygen; a result of her treatment program for the cancer.

There are no easy answers, it’s true.  However, we can’t ignore situations such as these. Confronting flaws and shortcomings in the Social Security programs is the only way to really incite change and improvement in the government services that we all sacrifice to support.

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Social Security Overpayments - What Can You Do?

Jul 17

Posted by Hal LaPray in Disability News, Personal Stories - Social Security Disability

video management, video solution, video streaming Claimant Received Social Security Benefits After Going Back To Work

From Action 9 News in Charlotte, North Carolina comes a story of Tommy Thompson, a disabled man who was billed by the Social Security Administration for overpayments that he received after taking a teaching job while on Social Security disability benefits.  At face value, it may sound like a legitimate case of the government simply trying to recoup money that was fraudulently obtained by someone claiming to be disabled but was secretly working on the side.  Not so.

The benefits recipient, it appears, had taken steps to notify the SSA that he had started working.  Later, when the payments continued, he again notified the feds, requesting that the checks be canceled.  So, by all appearances, it certainly seemed as though this claimant was acting in good faith, doing all that he reasonably could to obey the rules.

It is indeed confusing then, to learn than not only did the SSA not stop sending the payments, but instead sent a bill for the overpayments, as though it was all his fault.  Ultimately, the problem was sorted out and he didn’t have to pay the money.  The Social Security Administration admitted that since the overpayments were not his fault, then he didn’t have to pay back the money.

Lessons Learned And Other Questions

Looking into the facts of this story bring several things to mind. First, there is a long-held standard in insurance cases that, whenever a claimant receives money “in good faith” (meaning that the claimant did not take illegal, unethical, or improper steps to acquire the money) that the claimant is not responsible for repayment in the event that he or she receives more than the claimant would ordinarily be entitled to receive.  Since the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program is indeed a government sponsored insurance program, this legal theory should hold in all jurisdictions.

Next, it certainly makes one wonder at what level the administration’s process broke down, and who should be held responsible for this mistake.  While this particular case of overpayment was relatively small compared to other fiscal snafus that occur daily in government programs, this case still represents a clear mishandling of government funds at the cost of the taxpayers.  Additionally, after calculating the additional time, energy and money that the government used to fix the problem  it’s certain that the total amount of the taxpayers’ loss surely must have been significantly higher.

How often does this occur? How many Social Security Disability claimants are innocently overpaid, and then, after receiving notice of the overpayment, simply refund the money, believing that the government would never ask them to pay money that they don’t actually owe?  There is an old addage that states for every person who righteously complain, there are 10 others who go quietly by.  Businesses understand this concept, and I’m certain that our governmental administrators understand it as well.

Now there may be some who would argue that the right thing to do would have been to return the money, in spite of his legal right to keep it.  However, I disagree.  This claimant is clearly a model for others who depend on the government programs which we gladly support.  All his actions were in good faith, and he proved himself a good steward of public funds by doing his reasonable best at ensuring that the taxpayers’ money wasn’t wasted.  Perhaps he knew that as long as he continued to receive the funds, he would eventually be allowed to keep it, yet to his credit, he kept up the pressure until the error was fixed.  Surely, the $700 that he received is a paltry comparison to the potential thousands of dollars that would have been charged for an external auditor to discover the error at a later date.   We should all be as civic minded, dilligent, and responsible as he.

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Senate Mulls Social Security Reform Ideas

Jul 14

Posted by Hal LaPray in Disability News, Retirement, Social Security Articles, Social Security Disability

The Senate Aging Committee Discusses Social Security Benefits

The Senate Aging Committee Discusses Social Security Benefits

While no new bills have been presented to either houses of Congress, the U.S. Senate held a Special Committee meeting last month to discuss better ways of implementing the Social Security benefits program for those who need it the most, the fastest.

At issue was the current state of the economy and how the recession has forced more Americans to file for Social Security disability or Retirement benefits in order to pay the bills.

“Social Security was designed in another era. We need to make sure that the most vulnerable in our society are not left behind as we examine ways to strengthen the program”

The Senate Aging Committee discussed the country’s increasing dependence on Social Security in addition to the federal program’s long-term sustainability and it’s efficiency.

The Senate Aging Committee Chairman, Senator Herb Kohl, D-Wisc. was quoted as saying”The impact of the financial downturn provides a stark contrast to the dependability of Social Security, and it is also the reason that the program’s guaranteed, inflation-protected benefits are more vital to Americans now than ever.”

Those present at the hearing debated ways to improve the system in order to bring it more in line with the needs of today’s families.  “… as crucial as the program is today, the fact is that it was designed in another era. We need to make sure that the most vulnerable in our society are not left behind as we examine ways to strengthen the program”, Kohl continued.

Present at the meeting included Leon Burzynski (the president of the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans), former Social Security Administration commissioner, Kenneth Apfel, and Joan Entmacher, of the National Women’s Law Center.

“We need to ask a series of questions — whether Social Security continues to be a benefit people can count on; whether the elderly, disabled and survivors of workers are protected from financial hardship; whether the program is efficient, universal and fair; and whether the program is maintained as a basic public trust,” Apfel stated.  The former commissioner was able to give a detailed overview of the need to efficiently deliver benefits to survivors, disable workers and retirees who rely on Social Security benefits to make ends meet.

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Raising Children While On Social Security

Jul 13

Posted by Hal LaPray in Disability News, Retirement, Social Security Articles, Social Security Disability

Raising children while on Social Security benefits can be challenging.

Raising children while on Social Security benefits can be challenging.

With the advent of medical progress on all fronts, there has been a sharp rise in the median age for women who bear children.  The Centers for Disease Control reports that the median age for mothers at their first live birth rose from as low as 20.3 years in 1970 up to 27.8 years in the year 2000.  As today’s parents mature, there is a higher likelihood of those who are retired and/or disabled may actually be raising minor children in their home.

For those retired or disabled persons who are raising minor children as dependents, it is important to remember that, chances are, those children are also eligible to receive Social Security benefits.  This is the case for parents who are receiving either retirement or Social Security disability benefits.

In order to be eligible to receive such benefit payments, a minor child must have a parent that is disabled or retired, and otherwise entitled to receive Social Security benefits.  Additionally a minor child may also receive benefits if his or her parent has died after sufficient contributions to the Social Security program have been made through payroll withholding.

The child must not be married and younger than the age of eighteen, unless the child is also disabled, wherein benefits may be payable if the child was less than 22 years old when the disability began.

Ultimately, a child may be eligible to receive one half of his or her parent’s retirement or disability benefit payment.  If the parent is deceased, the child may receive up to 75% of the parent’s basic benefit amount.  If more than one child is eligible within a single family, then each child may recieve benefits at that rate (until a maximum amount of 180% of the benefit amount is paid).

In short, it is important to maximize you or your child’s potential Social Security benefit eligibility.  Research, find out, and get help.  Call a qualified Social Security attorney and ask questions. A great source for additional information can be found at the Social Security website. -> Benefits For Children

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