Social Security has issued an Emergency Message on the new musculoskeletal Listings that went into effect last Friday. I would not say that these soften the blow much.
The new EM does speak to a question I had. What about claimants who use electric wheelchairs operated with one hand, as in Stephen Hawking (although his problem wasn't musculoskeletal). Since these wheelchairs don't require both hands to operate, can these claimants meet the Listings? The answer is yes, assuming the claimant couldn't get around with just one cane, for instance. Yes, these Listings are so bad that we need an answer to a question about whether someone as impaired as Stephen Hawking would meet them.
These Listings don't merely require that a claimant be unable to work. They require that it be immediately obvious to others that a claimant can't work. I guess people like Andrew Saul heard enough complaints from people about a neighbor or acquaintance who couldn't be "truly" disabled based solely upon limited lay observation. They wanted to make sure that disability is obvious and undeniable.
Past experience has shown me that once you tell an employer you have some pretty severe back problems, they tend to see one as a liability rather than a productive employee. These new listings are devastating on so many levels. AND during a global pandemic?!?
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