LuAnn McAuliffe ... realized that she couldn’t work anymore, so in summer 2005 she filed an online application for Social Security Disability Insurance.
It wasn’t until January 2008 that McAuliffe started receiving payments. ...
But industry experts say that’s not the only reason the system is so backlogged.
Many people are being denied after a first or second application because they don’t know how to complete the paperwork.
“If you don’t do this every day, you’re not going to be an expert,” said Rebecca Ray, corporate communication manager for Allsup, an SSDI representation company.
I am glad that Allsup is generating this sort of article. I do not mind them getting the publicity. I have been quoted in the press before and I never got much business out of it. Allsup probably does not either. But telling claimants that the problem is that they did not fill out their paperwork properly? Come on, that is a typical claimant misconception. Do not mislead people that way. The problem is not that simple and Allsup knows it.
Making it sound simple works in Allsup's favor because claimant's don't understand the complexity of the law and the regulations and makes it look like adjudicators will allow them becuase they have Allsup's representation. However, in the past the claimant didn't "complete the paperwork', the Field Office Claims Rep did. Now with e-filing & pressures to reduce staff time result in less complete applications. I used to work in DDS and had a few people who would allege conditions that were less than disabling, but didn't mention they were blind or confined to a wheelchair because they had been that way for life and worked anyway. The push to allow claims at the front end without adequate resources is what has led to the fraud you cite in your previous article.
ReplyDeleteWhen a hearing request is filed, it literally is irrelevant how or even if the paperwork is filled out. As long as a request for a hearing is received by SSA, it will be sent to a hearing office, where it will sit untouched for a year or two. By then whatever paperwork was originally done will be ridiculously outdated, and everything will have to be redone, anyway.
ReplyDeleteI actually agree with what Allsup's rep said when it pertains to claims at the initial an recon level. Many claimants struggle with completing their ADL forms. I spend a lot of time with my clients helping them complete those. I ask them many questions that aren't on the form itself to get the information needed to complete the forms. I don't think the rep was referring to just the disability report itself, but rather the forms DDS sends once the case is there.
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