Apr 16, 2013

The Overwhelming Majority Of Disability Claims Get Denied At The Initial And Reconsideration Levels

     From the newsletter (not available online) of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR) -- click twice on image to view full size:

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

this shows that the system is clogged with people seeking benefits that are not truly disabled....discuss.

Anonymous said...

Not necessarily. I was previously a claimant,eventualy approved. I noticed the initial DDS medical consultants,anaylst,and alj never directly address my primary reason for the application instead they conducted their tests and formed their opinion for denial. Eventually someone thoruoghly reviewed my allegatons and i was approved.

Anonymous said...

A 20% difference bewteen the New York and Atlanta Regions is pretty significant. I would be interested to see what the ALJ reversal rates are in those two regions.

Anonymous said...

7:16 by that logic all the people that apply for a job and do not get it are trying to game the new employer.

Nothing new here, denials have always out run approvals, proof that the system is working, perhaps not as good as it could but working none the less. I wonder what the Unemployment Insurance denial rate is?

Anonymous said...

@ 9:36

"7:16 by that logic all the people that apply for a job and do not get it are trying to game the new employer."

I'm not sure you used logic when you made this statement.

Anonymous said...

@ 9:36

I agree with 9:53. You realize that a job is a discrete, finite thing. There is usually only one of them, with a wide range of people who apply to fill it. That group of applicants may or may not meet whatever criteria the hiring party has, resulting in at least some jobs where people who are qualified are turned away because someone else (more, more uniquely qualified, has the personal hookup, whatever).

With disability, there is an objective criteria, and however many people meet it can get onboard. As evidenced by the recently ballooning number of beneficiaries, there are no limits on how many people can get disability. If you qualify, you qualify.

Unemployment insurance is denied much less often because the criteria are much more rigid and easily determined. Did you have a job long enough to qualify for benefits? That's easy enough to check with earnings records. Did you lose employment through no fault of your own? If it was your fault, how serious were your actions and how long should your initial disqualification last? etc. etc. I'm guessing you have zero idea what I'm talking about because you have zero idea what you're talking about when it comes to DIB/SSI and UIB.

People who know nothing about the legal framework of various programs are maddening to listen to when discussing said programs.

Anonymous said...

So every one that is approved for SSI deserves it because they were not denied?

Anonymous said...

While a 33% initial approval rate might not seem impressive to some, that represents over 1 million new disability recipients last fiscal year just at the initial level (total applications were over 3 million for 2012). Considering that there is no cost to apply, you can allege anything you want, and you do not have to provide any evidence to support your claim initially, it should hardly be surprising that so many claims are denied initially. The better question is how over a million people each year in recent years can legitimately be found disabled each year initially, with another 400,000 added between the recon and ALJ levels. The answer is that a significant number of approvals are based on the inappropriate age-based presumptions for people 50 and older OR are based on flimsy or manufactured evidence.

Anonymous said...

News flash, an overwhelming majority of those buying lottery tickets do not win! And this just in, increasing numbers of people prefer to get money from government rather than work and provide for themselves. When interviewed for this story, Mr. Man-on-the-Street said, "After all, we were told 'To each according to their needs'! Who better to determine my needs than me?"