From a blog post by Kale Sastre:
I am a young, seemingly vibrant 27 year old woman. I have a Master’s degree, am fluent in both English and Spanish, and have experience working a variety of jobs, ranging from retail to teaching at a university. I have many interests and abilities, including writing, reading, researching, working with kids and serving people in my community. And I am currently in a situation where I am destitute and desperate. ...
Well, there’s something else about myself that I haven’t mentioned yet. I am severely and debilitatingly disabled, with a myriad of confusing and frustrating issues I still desperately hope are solvable. It took a long time for me to swallow my pride and apply for disability benefits, which I did over a year ago, six months after I left the job I could no longer reliably show up for. That leaves me with a year and a half so far with absolutely no income, waiting to hear back from the disability office. ...
I know many people believe the lies I believed before I found myself in this situation. We believe disability benefits are there to provide for those who can’t provide for themselves, and that people who are legitimately disabled can receive them. The only time anyone should be worried is if they’re not actually disabled. ... The longer I wait for this process to be completed, the more I realize this isn’t true. Disability is extremely tedious and difficult to get on, regardless of how disabled or desperate you are. ...
I’ve been told that people who legitimately need help can get it, and everyone else is just lazy, fraudulent, or freeloaders. This is a lie. ...Ms. Sastre is smarter than many of my clients who, even they have endured the delay, worry and frustrations involved in applying for Social Security disability benefits, still believe that there are lots of freeloaders drawing disability benefits. How often do I hear something like "Why can't I get disability. I've got a neighbor down the street and there's nothing wrong with him and he's getting disability?"
10 comments:
Theoretically, at step 5, the burden of proof is on SSA. In practice, all SSA needs to deny is the testimony of an "expert," most of which have never hired anyone in their lives. Here's a way to have real objectivity: bring in 3 local HR people, based upon DDS's RFC and the claimant's skills. If it makes it to step 5, one of the 3 must make a job offer, with SGA, medical benefits, and any necessary accommodations. If no offers, the claimant is automatically found fully favorable. If terminated within a year for anything other than misconduct, the decision can be revisited with a new hearing or SSA can pay, based upon ALJ's
decision. If the ALJ decides to hold another hearing, temporary benefits must be paid until the next hearing. If the claimant is found disabled at any point, SSA MUST pay all back pay for any month the claimant was unable to achieve SGA, dating back to the initial application.
Naturally, I know this would NEVER happen! Why? Because 80% or more would be approved!
Self hate is strong in our society. The inability to understand specific impairments is prolific.
Tim,
You’re correct that the burden is on SSA at step 5. But your suggestion makes no sense, since the claimant has to be unable to perform work, not get hired.
Very vague about her impairments. They are going to have to be quite severe with her age and education.
3:32 AM. My suggestion isn't to get people hired. It is to illustrate that the VE's opinion, based upon the ALJ's hypothetical, is often not based on reality. What I am saying is that people who make real world decisions would make vastly different conclusions based upon the same information. The answer to the questions, "Can this person sustain SGA?" "Will this person require too many accommodations?" "Will this person have too many sick days?" "Will this person be consistently productive enough?" "What skills dies this person have?" I believe private companies would have a completely different view of the claimant's capabilities. Why? Because SSA is trying to paint the most rosy picture possible, so they can deny! Why doesn't SSA hire more people with disabilities? Because SSA's HR doesn't believe the claimants could sustain SGA either!
3:32 AM. My suggestion isn't to get people hired. It is to illustrate that the VE's opinion, based upon the ALJ's hypothetical, is often not based on reality. What I am saying is that people who make real world decisions would make vastly different conclusions based upon the same information. The answer to the questions, "Can this person sustain SGA?" "Will this person require too many accommodations?" "Will this person have too many sick days?" "Will this person be consistently productive enough?" "What skills dies this person have?" I believe private companies would have a completely different view of the claimant's capabilities. Why? Because SSA is trying to paint the most rosy picture possible, so they can deny! Why doesn't SSA hire more people with disabilities? Because SSA's HR doesn't believe the claimants could sustain SGA either!
There are ALWAYS going to be those who try to defraud the system. This is to be expected.
HOWEVER--- To raise the burden of proof and deny more people just because you are worried about fraudsters is NOT how the program should be administered.
They spend millions of dollars in dealing with applicant appeals, and paperwork when they could just approve more people off the bat and invest that savings into fraud prevention and investigations.
To let disabled Americans starve in the streets because of a few bad apples is ridiculous.
We are at the level of proving people disabled beyond a reasonable doubt instead of by substantial evidence.
Of course the young lady with the education needs to be stopped from work by a doctor and not stop work and fall apart without medical attention while she waits for a denial. It will be hard for a young person to prove they are disabled without very good medical information. It's good to talk to a representative or disability specialist before leaving the job. In addition, in this day of computerized medical records that default to negative, it is important to COMPLAIN about what's wrong with you so it will show up in all the records.
“Why doesn't SSA hire more people with disabilities? Because SSA's HR doesn't believe the claimants could sustain SGA either!”
Okay, if possible, now you’re being even less persuasive.
Are you someone who’s had experience with multiple claims, such as a representative or SSA employee? Or is your theory based primarily on your personal experience?
1:41. PM. I am a claimant. But, I have a large family. A cousin with bipolar... received soon after being released & shortly after being diagnosed about 10 years ago. A friend with schizophrenia... received about 5 years ago after about 1 1/2 years. I cousin of my dad's who is over 55, had a brain tumor removed and has lots of issues, was denied by ALJ in 2014. She can't drive, but has worked 10-15 hours a week. However, she has frequent absences due to headaches, dizziness, etc.
I have Ankylosing Spondylitis, sleep apnea, fibromyalgia and inosteoarthritis. My back, shoulders, hands (especially thumbs and wrists) are in CONSTANT pain, which intensifies with use. Extending my arms out greatly increases both back and shoulder pain. I can only wite for a few minutes at a time; my typing on a tablet is slow and difficult. On a computer, I can only type for a few minutes at a time. I also have dry eye syndrome, which causes eye irritation, headaches, dizziness and 2-5 migraines a month, which often last for 10-12 hours. Ibuprofen, Tylenol, etc. don't help at all for any of my pain. A couple of Tramadols has minimal effect. I was denied by ALJ, who claimed I could do 3 jobs, after waiting 2 1/2 years for a hearing. I don't know who wrote the decision, but the logic used is baffling. He literally quoted that I had a "full range of motion" during an appointment where the doctor ordered an MRI for my shoulder. He claimed that a cortisone shot helped my hands, when the same doctor in the same appointment stated that he dismissed De Quervain's Tenosynovitis due to "no appreciable effect of cortisone shots." I could go on, but I think you get the idea. The AC also denied.
I have read pretty much everything on this and a few other blogs, including the comments, from the past four years. The comment about SSA's willingness to hire the disabled is based upon SSA's track records with their own employees as stated in this and other blogs.
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