tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post5887583052814969454..comments2024-03-28T10:15:57.792-04:00Comments on Social Security News: Of Course This Can't Be Extended Because It Would Put More People On Disability Benefits And That's Always A Bad ThingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-1291981884542972712016-02-29T16:06:03.518-05:002016-02-29T16:06:03.518-05:00I have worked with the families of severely mental...I have worked with the families of severely mentally impaired patients to attempt to persuade their loved ones to apply. Usually, the parents of a severe schizophrenic are concerned about what will happen to their adult child once they have passed. The sad part is that many of these people are not so severely (and continuously) functionally impaired that they can be adjudicated as legally incompetent under the severe standards applied in many state courts so as to require a guardian, even though they cannot handle their own finances or maintain housing without assistance. However, by no stretch of the imagination is any employer ever going to hire them. Even relatives who have attempted accommodated employment have often had to terminate the employment of the impaired relative because they were so functionally unreliable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-60893328310415073622016-02-27T23:31:38.503-05:002016-02-27T23:31:38.503-05:00Schizophrenia should be in the compassionate allow... Schizophrenia should be in the compassionate allowance category. It's shameful when SSA denies claimants with documentation of schizophrenia from treating sources. There is no "cure" for schizophrenia. The idea of making such a claimant attend a CE is ludicrous because paranoia is a symptom of schizophrenia and such claimants are unlikely to go to any government appointments. It's laughable to read decisions by aljs finding that schizophrenics can work. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-16292735740561408002016-02-26T19:55:08.342-05:002016-02-26T19:55:08.342-05:00Shades of the old SSI outreach program. Turned ou...Shades of the old SSI outreach program. Turned out to be too successful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-82030976882687581592016-02-26T13:38:01.570-05:002016-02-26T13:38:01.570-05:00Properly so because the law requires documentation...Properly so because the law requires documentation of the disability in the record before a claim can be approved. SSA places the burden on the claimant to prove multiple things. If the claimant and/or anyone helping them fail to do that, then SSA does not act improperly in denying the claim. There's still plenty of people who lack the capacity to prove their claims without help, who are not getting the help.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-63646213206014702032016-02-26T09:15:52.335-05:002016-02-26T09:15:52.335-05:00To Anonymous @ 4:49 - why do you say "many pe...To Anonymous @ 4:49 - why do you say "many people with disabilities who unquestionably could not work denied (and properly so) due to the fact that their disability made them unable to properly document their case"? Why do you say "properly so"?<br /><br />There is an entire project around the chronically homeless, named SOAR, a cooperative effort of the SSA and the SAMHSA (Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration). It is designed for non-attorney case managers to help chronically homeless people to more easily access benefits. Problem is, the program relies in large part on states' having good systems in place for social services for the homeless, and we all know that state funding for such programs is lacking. <br /><br />People are going to make a mess of the application. I have a client right now who refuses to recognize his schizophrenia and wants to say that he's disabled by virtue of an injury to his arm - an injury that an orthopedist has declined to treat, referring him back to his primary care provider. This guy will never say he has a mental illness, and he'll never get benefits if no one sees him and he just files an application on the basis of a physical impairment.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-29424966525196628002016-02-26T08:10:22.902-05:002016-02-26T08:10:22.902-05:00there are lots of populations that merit disabilit...there are lots of populations that merit disability benefits and would likely result in FF decisions if focused on closely. Do we want to divert resources from the "normal" operations to focus on those? That's a policy decision.<br /><br />Unfortunately, the less than meritorious claims that flood the system cause the claims with merit to be delayed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-2838115890397530772016-02-25T16:49:16.005-05:002016-02-25T16:49:16.005-05:00I have seen many people with disabilities who unqu...I have seen many people with disabilities who unquestionably could not work denied (and properly so) due to the fact that their disability made them unable to properly document their case. Many people with schizophrenia surely fit into that category, as do people with other impairments causing serious cognitive and social interaction problems. <br /><br />To get an idea of the scope of the problem, it would be interesting to compare the approval rate in the pilot to that of claimants with similar impairments who were unrepresented and with little or no support network. You would see a very different number. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-84925589508968881082016-02-25T12:41:05.241-05:002016-02-25T12:41:05.241-05:00A 97% approval rate would be scandalous. It would...A 97% approval rate would be scandalous. It would be better if they "aimed for 40."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19246708.post-29185597743268309922016-02-25T10:13:46.223-05:002016-02-25T10:13:46.223-05:00When the government was finally shamed enough to p...When the government was finally shamed enough to process the disability applications of people with AIDS before they died in the eighties the word went out to Social Security that people with terminal illness diagnosis were to be assumed to be disabled. Lots and lots of folks were approved in months instead of years. Suddenly duplicate records were neither requested or mysteriously lost.<br /><br />At that time the push to get the applications of people with AIDS done quickly helped all with terminal illness. Social Security workers where I lived got temporarily helpful and reached out to offer help to struggling family members.<br /><br />If we can do that once we can do it again. it helped that most terminal illness, homelessness and inability to do paperwork was never openly blamed on the terminally ill themselves then.<br /><br />How low we have sunk...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com