Blogroll

  • Broke
  • Last year the Social Security Administration sent $127.7 billion to those determined disabled but took in only $104 billion in Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). Deficits began draining the trust fund in 2005 and are expected to be exhausted by 2017

  • Account Overdrawn
  • Just as when individuals spend beyond their means to repay, so too, do states and nations. "Washington's public debt is nearly $8.5 trillion, which comes to about 58% of the U.S. economy, compared with ratios exceeding 100% in places like Greece.

  • The End of Healthcare
  • Make no mistake about it: socialized medicine is medical treatment at the point of a gun. Under a single payer government plan, medical decisions will be taken out of doctors' hands and relinquished to the arbitrary whims of government.

  • Vet Falsely Accused
  • An atmosphere of suspicion and distrust was created even before Bill arrived at the meeting with Social Security's consulting psychiatrist, Dr. F. Bill called him from the road to tell him he was on Key Bridge and would be a few minutes late.

  • Our Deceptive SSA
  • An audit of the Social Security Administration by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) two years ago uncovered some very disturbing and damning facts. Among them are: Hundreds of pieces of unopened mail;

  • The Good, Bad, & Ugly
  • Over many years I have seen a lot of representatives ask questions about the numbers of jobs vocational experts (VEs) testify to under a set of limitations the ALJ accepts. However, the latest dialogue among representatives has confirmed for me

  • Do The Math
  • For the purpose of constructing a model which excludes the fact that the number of workers (who pay the bill) is less than the number of retirees (who collect via SSA from the workers), consider the following: Start with an eighteen-year old

  • Backlog Crisis
  • The latest processing times for Social Security disability cases have hit new all-time highs. The average lengths of time up to May of 2008 for Social Security disability claimants to get a hearing after a hearing is requested, has been received from the Social Security Administration through

    • Safety Net Knot
  • CHEWELAH, WA. David Michaelis felt the symptoms of a rare neuromuscular disease in October of '02.The condition causes involuntary movements of the head and neck, which destroys the ability to coordinate eye-hand movements.

Book: How To Win

Safety Net Knot

7/23/2005 | Author Admin | Edit

CHEWELAH, WA. David Michaelis felt the symptoms of a rare neuromuscular disease in October of '02.The condition causes involuntary movements of the head and neck, which destroys the ability to coordinate eye-hand movements. Patients find that the best thing to do is lie down several times during the day to ease the pain and fatigue, and sometimes, the involuntary twisting. The treatments cost between $1200 and $1800,and must be repeated every 3 months.

Because the condition affects only 3 people out of 10,000, doctors are slow to recognize the symptoms as those belonging to the disorder - spasmodic torticollis (ST). So, Mr. Michaelis shuffled from doctor to doctor, and evaluation after evaluation until one of them identified it correctly 9 months after the onset of symptoms.

But it took only 5 months after onset for the pain, fatigue, and involuntary movements to bring the 44 year old to the inescapable conclusion that he could not work at his job as a cabinet maker. He left his job for good on March 10th, '03.

Three months later, he filed for Social Security disability benefits. His first denial came quickly- only one month later. He appealed and was denied again on October 24th.Anotherappeal was filed on November 12th, asking that his case be heard by an Administrative Law Judge.

In the meantime, he and his wife were living off of credit cards. His wife worked part time at a consignment store part time.

At this point, the previous efficiency of Social Security review and evaluation ended. Month after month went by with the only communication from SSA being a letter reporting that the hearing office had received his file. Calls by his representative to the hearing office yielded little clue about how soon his case would be scheduled to be heard.

A year went by without anyone at the hearing office revealing when a hearing would take place. Mr. Michaelis was at the end of his financial rope, at risk of losing his home.

In the meantime, on January 7th '05,his representative asked the hearing office to classify his case as critical based on impending bankruptcy, hoping to speed up the process.

Search

  Search  

Link1 | Link2 | Link3

Copyright © 2011. All Rights Reserved.

Website Template created with Artisteer.