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Lymphland International Lymphedema Online
| SOCIAL SECURITY EXAMINES MASSIVE, YEARS-OLD BACKLOG Despite hiring new judges with an additional $150 million in funding, the Social Security Administration’s backlog of disability claims has not been appreciably reduced over the last year, although the agency has processed most cases that have been in the pipeline the longest. A person claiming disability benefits must prove to the Social Security Administration (SSA) that she or he is unable to perform any degree of work in order to begin receiving Social Security Disability Insurance. Initial applications are often denied, leading to an appeal to an administrative law judge (ALJ) for reconsideration. More than 760,000 cases were pending review from an ALJ at the end of September. This is 14,000 more cases than were pending in September 2007,, and shows that growth in the backlog had slowed significantly. Previously, SSA had added about 70,000 cases to its backlog annually. According to agency data, the average wait for a decision in September 2008 was 509 days. This is slightly longer than the average wait one year ago. During fiscal year 2008, SSA hired 190 new ALJs, opened a National Hearing Center (NHC), and eliminated virtually the entire backlog of over 135,000 cases that had been waiting over 900 days for a hearing decision. SSA notes that the hiring of new ALJs was critical, but it will take a number of months before they become fully productive. The NHC will give SSA the capability of conducting video hearings in cities with the worst backlogs. The agency is also working with the Government Services Administration to establish new hearing offices. Information courtesy of Bob Weiss, Patient Advocate What I learned was that ALL your doctors need to support you and write letters of support, fill out forms correctly. You want to know when they get a form, when they submit it to SSD and you want a copy of it. The best advice is to check in with your doctor routinely and make an appt when you know they have a form and go over it with them when they fill it out. Don't rely on them to remember what you talked about later on in the day when trying to fill in the form. Always write down dates you speak to SSD people, send in information, etc. Keep a log of everything you do, also make sure you have a copy of everything you sent in, things get lost easily. Cooperate, don't cop an attitude. If denied you will go to their doctors when you file an appeal. Take information with you (the docs may not read it) and make sure you cooperate but also make sure the doctor knows you have limitations. If you can't do something asked, tell the doctor you cannot and why you cannot do it. You may not need a lawyer for an appeal, but it is a smart choice to have one. Your lawyer can compliment your case by thinking of things you may not think of due to nervousness. Look for a lawyer that will take you on consignment, if you win, they get paid. When going to the Judge for your appeal, this is your chance to tell your story and life, make sure you get in everything! An example for me was: Judge: "You have high blood pressure and are on what meds?" Me: "I take tenormin for my blood pressure, and at my last appt my pressure was 190/120, at that time we also discussed my blood tests and I test high for sugar as well" ALWAYS elaborate and get in every single condition and problem you have! Author: Tina Budde of Lymphland International Lymphedema Online, President of Lymphland. Increase your chances of winning your disability claim by the following: http://www.disabilitysecrets.com/advice.html Disability Secrets Website above linked contains information on the following: Practical advice on filing. How to file your claim How to improve your chances to win If your claim is denied Request an appeal How to find an attorney Free claim evaluation Where to find an attorney Just a note, Disability Secrets is the most complete resource for disability I have ever seen. You will definitely want to check the links below and check over the entire website for information. ------------------------------------------------- OUTDATED LAWS CAUSE EMPLOYEE BENEFIT GAP: http://www.ncpa.org/prs/rel/2006/20060419.html Outdated Laws Cause Employee Benefit Gap New Book Shows Inflexible Labor and Benefit Laws Present Challenge for Modern Families April 19, 2006 Media Contacts: Sean Tuffnell (972) 308-6481 NCPA DALLAS ( April 19, 2006 ) – Even more serious than a wage gap between men and women, is an employee benefit gap. According to a soon-to-be-released book, Leaving Women Behind: Modern Families, Outdated Laws, federal policies encourage employers to provide life insurance, disability insurance and even day care for children; yet not everyone is treated the same. "Our major economic institutions — including tax law, labor law, and employee benefits law, as well as Social Security, and retirement policies — were designed for families with a full-time worker and a stay-at- home spouse," said Kim Strassel, editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal and co-author of the book. "By comparison, they punish every other arrangement." For example: Because of rigid tax laws and employee benefits laws, if both spouses work full-time they will likely receive duplicate, unnecessary sets of benefits. A wife, for example, will be unable to acquire higher wages in return for forgoing health and pension benefits she acquires through her husband's employer. In a free labor market, one would expect to find a wide variety of work arrangements. Not every two- earner couple will want to work 40 hour weeks. Some might opt for 25 to 30 hour weeks so they can spend more time with each other or raising children. But rigid tax and employee benefits laws make such arrangements largely impossible for people who need health insurance, pensions and other benefits. Women raising children or caring for an ailing parent have other reasons to want flexibility in working hours. However, rigid labor laws often deny them the opportunity to attend a child's soccer game or take a parent to the doctor one week and make up the hours the following week. The book argues that our nation's employee benefit system needs to be reformed in order to meet the needs of modern women, who are more likely to work part time so they can also take care of family members, and who move from job-to-job and in and out of the labor market more frequently than men. Leaving Women Behind: Modern Families, Outdated Laws is a forthcoming book by Kim berly Strassel, editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal; John C. Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA); and Celeste Colgan, an NCPA senior fellow. It is published by Rowman & Littlefield in cooperation with the Manhattan Institute and will be available at booksellers, including Amazon.com, this May. The NCPA is an internationally known nonprofit, nonpartisan research institute with offices in Dallas and Washington, D. C. that advocates private solutions to public policy problems. We depend on the contributions of individuals, corporations and foundations that share our mission. The NCPA accepts no government grants. --------------------------------------------- Introduction To Social Security March 31, 2006 | By Jim McWhinney http://www.investopedia.com/articles/retirement/06/socialsecurity.asp Social Security is a federal benefits program the United States developed in 1935. While the program encompasses disability income, veterans' pensions, public housing and even the food stamp program, it is most commonly associated with retirement benefits. However, if you still have many working years ahead of you, you may not be able to depend on these benefits as a source of income. In this article, we go over how the Social Security system works and why it is predicted to fail in the future. The Social Security system is funded through payroll taxes. The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) mandates a 12.4% levy on the first $94,200 (2006 limit) of each individual's earned income each year. The employer pays 6.2% and the employee pays 6.2%. Self-employed individuals pay the full 12.4%. Contrary to popular belief, this money is not put in trust for the individual employees who are paying into the system, but is used to pay existing retirees. Any excess is invested in U.S. Treasury bonds. Here are some of the things you can do if you visit the Social Security Administration online. The Web site address is www.socialsecurity.gov. Apply for benefits. One can apply for Social Security retirement, spouse's or disability benefits over the Internet. If you are applying for disability benefits you'll also need to complete the disability report, which also is available online. Need to take a break or look for some records to answer the questions? You can leave and then come back to complete your application or report. After you have applied, you can check back online for the status of your application. See if you qualify for Social Security. You can use the online Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool, or BEST, to see which kind of benefits you might be eligible to apply for. Just answer a series of questions and find out whether you are eligible for retirement, disability or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. You can even find out whether you might be eligible for Medicare benefits. All of this can be done by completing one simple questionnaire, and it only takes about 5-10 minutes. Request a statement. Every year we send a Social Security statement to all workers age 25 or older. It arrives about three months before your birthday. Your statement includes a detailed report of your earnings over the years as well as an estimate of benefits you would receive upon retirement or disability, and an estimate of how much your family would be eligible for in survivors' benefits if you die. Request a statement online and we'll mail it to you within two-four weeks. Find the Social Security office closest to you. There's so much you can do online, but sometimes you may want to talk with a Social Security representative face-to-face. If that's the case, your first step is to visit our online field officer locator. Just type in your ZIP code and find the Social Security office closest to you. Get a password. With a password, you can check the information and benefit amounts in your Social Security records and change your address, telephone number or direct deposit account information without leaving the comfort of your home. This is just a sample of the many services now available online from Social Security. So whatever your business with Social Security may be, check out our Web site and visit "Online Claims and Services" at www.socialsecurity.gov. The Tyler office is located at 5509 S. Donnybrook Ave. Source: Leo J. Rossler is a Social Security district manager based in Tyler http://www.socialsecurity.gov ------------------------------------ Preventing Disability from Disfiguring Lymphedema A community volunteer shows how to properly wash and dry the legs of a person with lymphedema. This is a critical hygiene component that helps prevent further local infection.Lymphatic filariasis is one of the world’ s leading causes of permanent and long-term disability. About 120 million people are affected worldwide, and 40 million people are incapacitated and disfigured by this parasitic disease that is transmitted by mosquitoes. Although transmission of this neglected tropical disease can be prevented, lymphatic filariasis is currently endemic in 81 countries and territories, and over 1.3 billion people are at risk. To address this threat, CDC has partnered with several organizations to interrupt transmission and prevent disability in those who already have the disease. Lymphedema is a disfiguring condition that causes swelling of the limb and changes in the skin, and it is often a physically deforming consequence of lymphatic filariasis. There is no treatment available for lymphedema, but patients can improve with some basic daily management such as washing of the legs and feet to prevent infection of wounds. Lymphedema patients are more vulnerable to infections, similar to patients with advanced diabetes in their feet and legs, which can lead to life-threatening sepsis. Early treatment of bacterial and fungal infections, elevation, and exercise will also help people to manage lymphedema. In 2008, CDC partnered with Interchurch Medical Assistance, a US-based nongovernmental organization, and provided key technical assistance in implementing large-scale lymphedema management programs. India An estimated 590 million of the 1.3 billion people at risk for lymphatic filariasis live in 250 districts in India and constitute about 40% of the world’s burden of this disease. Since its inception in July 2007, the Lymphedema Management Project in Orissa State has enrolled more than 5,500 patients in the program and constructed more than 5,000 sandals for patients who do not have shoes (Phase I of the project). Although wearing these sandals does not prevent lymphedema, they can prevent infections that lead to worsening lymphedema and elephantiasis of the leg. Phase II of the project began in the summer of 2008. Three new areas of Khurda district are now part of the project, and an additional 9,000 lymphedema patients are expected to be enrolled in the program by mid-2009. Volunteers from the communities, health supervisors and personnel, patients, and family members have received both classroom and hands-on practical training in lymphedema management. To date, more than 1,200 people have been trained in 30 workshops, and 300 local volunteers have provided care to more than 5,500 lymphedema patients in the first year of the study. Future plans include continued scale-up of the program to the entire district, enrolling close to 22,000 lymphedema patients by June 2010. This will be the largest nongovernmental organization-run lymphedema management program in India. A toolkit is being created to assist other nongovernmental organizations, in India and elsewhere, in starting their own programs. Togo Togo is a small, West African country of 5.5 million in which 35% of the population live in extreme poverty. With CDC’s assistance, Togo has become the first country in Africa with a national lymphedema treatment program. Health workers in more than 500 dispensaries and some 10,000 village community workers have been trained to diagnose lymphedema, discuss treatment and prevention, and provide motivation and support; about 1,000 patients with lymphedema are enrolled in the treatment program. By using town criers, the radio, and posters, villages are building awareness of the program and encouraging villagers with lymphedema to go to dispensaries and enroll in the program. As a result, success stories abound in which patients who couldn’t walk are now walking again. Almost all patients see an improvement in their quality of life, most likely leading to the program becoming a model for lymphedema programs in other West African countries. http://www.cdc.gov/about/stateofcdc/html/2008/Science07Disability.htm ------------------------------------------ Applying for Social Security Disability By Karen Lee Richards Applying for Social Security Disability Insurance can seem like a daunting task. Who gets approved and why often seems mysterious, random and sometimes unfair. This article will attempt to break down both the application and appeals processes into manageable and understandable steps. There are two types of disability benefits available through the Social Security Administration (SSA): • Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) – Pays benefits if you have worked long enough and have paid Social Security taxes within the past five years. • Supplemental Security Income (SSI) – Pays benefits based on your financial need. If you're unsure which program you qualify for, use the Benefits Eligibility Screening Tool to see which program you may be eligible for. The steps and information in this article apply only to SSDI. For more information about applying for SSI, see: Supplemental Security Income Home Page How SSA Decides If You Are Disabled In determining whether or not you are disabled, SSA ask five questions: 1) Are you working? If you are working and earning an average of more than $980 a month, they do not consider you disabled. 2) Is your condition “severe”? Your condition must interfere with basic work-related activities. 3) Is your condition found in the list of disabling conditions? The SSA has a list of conditions they consider so severe, they automatically mean you are disabled. If your condition is not on the list, they have to decide if it is equal in severity to another condition on the list. To check the SSA list of disabling conditions, see: Listing of Impairments If your condition is not on the list or equal in severity, they move to question four. 4) Can you do the work you did previously? If the SSA determines that your condition does not interfere with the work you previously did, your claim will be denied. If it does interfere, they then proceed to question 5. 5) Can you do any other type of work? It's not enough just to be unable to do your previous job. They also look at your medical conditions, age, education, past work experience and transferable skills to determine if you could adjust to doing other types of jobs. The SSDI Application Process If after answering the five questions you feel you would qualify for disability benefits, it's time to file your application. The SSA provides a Disability Starter Kit to help you. The kit includes a fact sheet of basic information, a checklist of the information and documents you'll need to gather, a worksheet to help you prepare for your disability interview, and a link to an online application. If you prefer not to apply online, you can call the SSA at 1-800-772-1213 to request an application or visit your local SSA office. If you have any problems filling out your application, you can request help from your local SSA office. SSDI benefits will not be paid until you have been disabled for at least five continuous months. After being disabled for two years, you will qualify for Medicare. But don't put off applying because the longer you wait, the longer it will be until you can start receiving benefits. As soon as you know you won't be able to work for at least a year, file your application. Here are some tips to remember when applying for SSDI: • There are only two things you have to prove: 1) that you are unable to do any substantial work due to your medical condition; and 2) that your condition must be expected to last at least one year or be terminal. • When filling out forms or answering questions during your disability interview, be honest, but only answer the questions you're asked. Don't give additional information. It may be tempting to stress what a hard worker you were, what a good education you've had, or how successful you've been. Resist that temptation. Remember, they're going to be looking for any kind of work you may be able to do. Volunteering unasked for information will only give more potential options for denying your claim. It might be good to apply part of the Miranda Rights statement here, “Anything you say can and will be used against you...” (Note: I'm not suggesting you try to cheat the system. If you're able to do some kind of work, then you should do so. I'm just saying not to make things harder on yourself by creating more things you have to prove you can't do.) Be sure to list all your symptoms and medical conditions. You may be more likely to be approved for something other than your primary diagnosis. For example, I know of a number of fibromyalgia patients who were approved for SSDI based on their Migraines or depression rather than their fibromyalgia. • The SSA will request your medical records from your doctor(s). The fact that your doctor says you're disabled is not enough to qualify you to receive SSDI benefits. Your medical records will need to show a history of your symptoms, diagnoses, test results, and treatments as well as physical limitations and dysfunctions. It's best if you've been seeing one doctor for a long period of time. This provides an easily traceable record of the progression of your condition, tests done, treatments tried, etc. • You need to be seeing your doctor on a regular and fairly frequent basis to show that you're seeking treatment for ongoing problems. Just going to the doctor once a year is probably not going to be enough to convince them that your condition is severe enough to prevent you from working. • The kind of notes your doctor has made in your file can make a big difference in the SSA's decision. Unfortunately, just noting that you have a herniated disk or fibromyalgia is not enough. They want to know how your condition has affected your ability to function and do your job. Pain is subjective and difficult to prove. What carries more weight is comparisons between what you used to be able to do and what you can do now. Help your doctor make good notes by being clear about the physical limitations your condition has caused you and how it has impacted both your daily functioning and your work. For example, “My old job required me to sit at a computer all day. Now I can't sit for more than 20 minutes before the pain is so bad I'm not able to concentrate.” • Get copies of your medical records and submit them with your SSDI application. Although this is not required, it can speed up the processing of your claim significantly. One of the main reasons SSDI claims take so long to process is because they are waiting to receive your medical records from your doctor. Applications that come in complete with medical records are processed much more quickly. It also helps ensure the SSA has all of your information to consider. If enough time passes and the SSA hasn't been able to get your medical records, they will make a decision based on the information they have. In order for you to have the best chance of being approved, they need to have all of your records. Once you have submitted your application, the SSA may request that you be examined by one of their consulting doctors. This generally happens if they don't feel they have adequate information from your regular doctor(s) to make a determination. If you're asked to do this, be sure to keep the appointment, cooperate fully with the doctor, and answer any questions honestly. According to the SSA, it usually takes about three to five months from the time you submit your application to get a decision. Approximately 35% of claims are approved at this stage. If your claim is denied, don't give up. Most claims are not approved without going through the appeals process and being heard by an Administrative Law Judge. The Appeals Processing There are four possible steps to the appeals process: • Reconsideration – If your initial SSDI application is denied, you have 60 days to file an appeal. At this point, you need to complete a Request for Reconsideration and an Appeal Disability Report. Both forms can be filled out online or you can request them from your local SSA office. Someone at the State Disability Determination Services office will review your medical records (not the same person who made the initial determination) and make a new determination. Only about 15% of appeals are approved at this level. • Hearing – If your appeal is denied, you have 60 days to request a hearing before a judge. Again, you'll need to complete two forms: a Request for Hearing by Administrative Law Judge and an Appeal Disability Report. As before, both forms can be filled out online or you can request them from your local SSA office. At this point, most people seek representation by an attorney or other qualified representative. Although you can get a representative at any point in the process, it's highly recommended when you're preparing for a hearing. Lawyers take SSDI cases on a contingency basis – if you don't win, they don't get paid. If you do win, fees are set by the SSA. Your legal representative will receive either 25% of the back benefits you receive or $5,300, whichever is less. The good news is that nearly 70% of claims are approved when heard by a judge. • Appeals Council Review – If the judge denies your claim, you can request a review by the Appeals Council. Whether to appeal the judge's decision or start the process over with an entirely new SSDI application is something you should discuss with your SSDI attorney. Since your chances of approval dwindle at this point, you'll need to decide which course would be your best option. If you decide to appeal, you'll need to complet a Request for Review of Decision/Order of Administration Law Judge. This cannot be done online. You'll have to get the form from your local SSA office. Your request will be sent to the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, where someone will review your records and make a decision. • District Court Case – Finally, if the Appeals Council denies your appeal, you can have your attorney file a case against the SSA in District Court. Your case will be heard by a district judge, who will make the decision. Applying for and receiving SSDI is not an easy or quick procedure. It can easily take a couple of years to go through the entire process. But if you're unable to work because of your medical condition, don't hesitate to file. SSDI is not charity. It's insurance that you've paid for with your Social Security taxes. If you're disabled, you're entitled to it. _____________ Sources: (2009, April 2). Disability Programs. Retrieved May 29, 2009, from Social Security Web site: http://www. ssa.gov/disability/ Morre, Tim Social Security Disability SSI Benefits. Retrieved May 29, 2009, from Disability Secrets Web site: http://www.disabilitysecrets.com/ Matallana, Lynne (2005, July 27). How to Apply for Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits . Retrieved May 29, 2009, from National Fibromyalgia Association How to Apply for Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits Web site: www.fmaware.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6245 |