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What makes being approved for Social Security disability or Supplemental Security Income disability so difficult? Three important factors come to mind:
1) all disability programs administered by the Social Security Administration are total disability programs; 2) the length of time it takes to be approved for disability; and 3) having to prove one’s case via medical records and work history. Lets take a look at each of these factors individually and see how it makes a disability claim difficult.
Social Security and Supplemental Security Income disability are total disability programs. This means that individuals who are approved for disability benefits must be totally disabled and unable to perform any kind of substantial gainful activity.
Another factor that makes disability claims difficult is the length of time it takes to get a favorable decision. For instance, it takes about anywhere from thirty to one hundred days on average to process an initial disability claim to a decision. This time frame is not written in stone. Some initial disability claims take longer to receive a medical decision and rarely does an individual receive a decision in less than thirty days unless their condition is expected to result in death.
If an individual is denied for disability at the initial disability claim level, they must begin a lengthy disability appeal process that may involve waiting for an administrative law judge hearing. If an individual has to appeal their disability claim through the administrative law judge hearing, they may be looking at months or even a couple years from their initial filing date to their administrative law judge disability hearing decision. All disability applicants should try to be financially prepared when filing for disability if at all possible. Many disability applicants suffer significant financial hardship while awaiting a favorable disability decision from Social Security. Remember, some individuals have to complete the disability process more than one time before being approved.
Lastly, Social Security disability applicants must be proven disabled through medical records, an evaluation of their past work, and an evaluation to determine if they are able to perform other types of work as performed in the general economy. Social Security generally likes to have at least a twelve month longitudinal medical history, as well as current medical treatment records that are within the past ninety days when making a medical decision. If they have no medical treatment notes or no current medical treatment notes, they are likely to schedule consultative examinations performed by their paid doctors.
Once disability examiners have an idea of an individual's current residual functional capacity (what an individual is able to do in spite of the limitations imposed by their impairment (s), they must evaluate the disability applicant's past relevant work activity (generally jobs that lasted more than three months in which the applicant earned over the substantial gainful activity amount) for the past fifteen years.
If the disability examiner determines that the applicant cannot perform any of their past work, they must also consider if the applicant can perform other types of work. Consequently, to be approved for disability benefit a disability applicant residual functional capacity must be so restrictive that is precludes all types of work.
A claim for Social Security disability is so difficult because Social Security wants to make sure that an individual is truly disabled prior to paying monetary benefits. Social Security uses this disability process to weed out any potential malingers, unfortunately this process often cause individuals who are genuinely disabled to suffer significant emotional and financial hardship.
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