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Archive for August, 2009

California SSI Recipient Starts Online Petitition to Protest Decreased Benefits

Aug 10

Posted by Hal LaPray in Disability News, Social Security Articles, Social Security Disability, Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

california-economyFran Cannon, a Californian who depends on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for her livelihood, has started an online petition to protest the recent reduction in Social Security disability benefits for SSI recipients in California.

"A key characteristic of a mature political society is the willingness and ability of that society to support those who cannot otherwise support themselves"

With California being faced with a budget crisis, steps have been taken to reduce payments of benefit recipients in that state.  While SSI is a federal program, many states supplement the monthly income benefit checks from their own budgets.  Recently the amount supplemented by California has been reduced two times, to levels that were extant four years ago.

This is such a shame.  A key characteristic of a mature political society is the willingness and ability of that society to support those who cannot otherwise support themselves.  People who live on Supplemental Income Benefits (SSI) are already faced with financial difficulties that few Americans truly understand.  These are people who have been declared wholly disabled and unable to earn a living, including people who are blind, elderly, or mentally disabled.

While economic downturns and budget shortfalls can be expected from time to time, one would certainly hope that our civic leaders and public officials would weigh very carefully all options, alternatives and consequences of such a decision, considering the social and economic ripple-effect impact across the spectrum.  Decisions like this should be made after all other solutions have either failed.

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Social Security Holds Compassionate Allowance Hearing For Early-Onset Alzheimers Patients

Aug 7

Posted by Hal LaPray in Alzheimer's Disease, Disability News, Diseases And Conditions, Social Security Disability

Social Security To Add Early Alzheimers To Compassionate Allowance Listings

Officials from the Social Security Administration met last month in an Outreach Hearing to discuss the idea of adding Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease and other related dementia illnesses to the Compassionate Allowance Listings.

Testimony was given by Harry Johns, President and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association.  In an effort to point out that Alzheimer’s Disease can strike before retirement age Mr. Johns stated, ” In the past 3 years, the Alzheimer’s Association has conducted Town Hall Meetings for people with early-stage Alzheimer’s and other dementias. More than half of the people with early-stage Alzheimer’s or dementia who participated in these meetings had been diagnosed before age 65.”

Mr. Johns continued by commenting on how individuals who are diagnosed with Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease encounter loss of job, income and health insurance.  “More importantly”, he continued,” we’ve heard a lot about problems many of them have had in applying for and being found eligible for Socil Security Disability Income (SSDI).”

In a March 2008 CBS News report, Dr. Alan Levey, director of Alzheimer’s Research at Emory University stated, “People are still working, then have families, it affects them in amuch different way than if they had been retired for ten years as is often the case.”  Approximately ten percent of all Alzheimer’s patients contract the disease before age 65, and although it is rare, some patients contract the disease in their 50’s.  

Compassionate Allowance Listings are a way that the Social Security Administration can quickly identify diseases and conditions that ultimately will qualify under the Listing of Impairments.  The initial list contained 50 conditions and hearings are held to discuss making additions from time to time.

You can watch the videocast of the hearing here.

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Increasing Claims Puts New Pressures on Social Security

Aug 6

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

Social Security Filings On The Rise

Social Security Disability Claims On The Rise

Recent efforts by the Social Security Administration to cut through a massive backlog of disability claims is being tempered by a sharp, spiked rise in applications this year.  Experts blame the current economic downturn, and the expansive increase in applications shows no signs of slowing.

Last March, The Social Security Administration revealed that as many as 3 million new applications were expected in 2009, however this week the Associated Press reported that SSA officials are now expecting more than 3.3 million claims to be filed.

As one would expect, the surge in filings has increased the backlog of those waiting to have their disability claim processed by a whopping 30 percent.

The Social Security Disability Program Under Fire

In today’s hostile, polarized political climate, many things are said about the viability and long-term sustainability of the Social Security benefits programs.  News networks, television reports, radio personalities and political pundits take extreme positions on whether the Social Security disability program needs a complete overhaul to avoid total collapse, or whether the program simply needs fine-tuning to stay afloat. Economists and financial experts disagree on most of these matters, indicating that in truth, no one really knows for sure.

Social Security Facts

The Social Security benefits program is a pay-as-you-go service.  In other words, the benefits received by today’s retirees and disabled are paid for by today’s workers.  As more people retire or become disabled, more workers are needed to pay into the program.  As life expectancy increases and as birth rates decline, then the amount of money that’s needed to sustain the program must increase per capita.  Over time, there will be fewer workers to support more disabled and retired persons.

Projections About Social Security’s Future

Based on workforce trends and rate of increasing filings, the Social Security Administration predicts that as soon as 2017 there will not be enough workers to support the number of retirees and disabled benefit recipients.  However, a Social Security trust fund exists (at least on the general ledger) that is supposed to be credited by today’s payroll surpluses, pushing sustainability predictions to 2041.  Many analysts do not believe that the program will remain viable for that long without deep, fundamental changes.  Others claim that the skeptics are merely fear-mongers, trying to stir up controversy and debate for political gain.

Many academic political scientists argue that it is probably safe to simply trust the Social Security Administration’s predictions on the matter.  It has been said that that any federal bureaucracy’s first goal is to remain solvent, and any underestimation of future fiscal needs would only serve to injure the administration’s need for survival.

Ultimately, members of Congress appear to unanimously support the program as a whole, and history shows that legislators tend to work together when it comes to maintaining social programs that benefit all Americans regardless of social class or political affiliation.  And, although the prescription for a long-term solution is uncertain, most agree that the prognosis is good.

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