A Benefit (Entitlement) Program in America

 Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)

I caught a commercial today that comes one periodically, one that always makes me wonder WTF is going on in America. 

It starts out "If you have been denied social security disability insurance...", followed by a pitch from a prominent local law office. My first thought is why would the average disabled American BE denied SSDI? A lot of answers come to mind, none of which make for having a pleasant day.

Here is a definition:

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSD or SSDI) is a payroll tax-funded federal insurance program of the United States government. It is managed by the Social Security Administration and designed to provide income supplements to people who are physically restricted in their ability to be employed because of a notable disability (usually physical). SSD can be supplied on either a temporary or permanent basis, usually directly correlated to whether the person's disability is temporary or permanent.

(Proposals for SSDI began in 1936 and after much fighting and the usual that we see in Congress today, became law in 1956.) 

Here is where some of us get confused:

People frequently confuse Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Unlike SSI, SSDI does not depend on the income of the disabled individual receiving it. A legitimately disabled person (a finding based on legal and medical justification) of any income level can receive SSD. ('Disability' under SSDI is measured by a different standard than under the Americans with Disabilities Act.) Most SSI recipients are below an administratively mandated income threshold, and these individuals must stay below that threshold to continue receiving SSI, unlike with SSD.

Here are major reasons SSDI gets denied:

Top 12 Reasons to Be Denied SSI Disability Benefits

1. Your income or assets are over the limit
2. Didn’t return necessary forms to SSA
3. Denied SSI for not being a US citizen
4. Failure to return important phone calls from SSA or the Disability Office
5. Currently working--over the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) limits
6. Didn’t return required questionnaires to the Disability Office
7. Failed to attend the Consultative Exam (CE)
8. You missed an important deadline
9. SSA determined you could return to a previous job
10. Denied because you are “too young”
11. Your medical conditions would not last at least 1 year
12. Your medical conditions were not severe enough

Nationwide statistics provided by the SSA in 2005 stated that 39 percent of all SSDI applications are approved at the state level by Disability Determination Services (DDS). And so, the need for lawyers to help with the appeal process. Most of which are denied after a lengthy process. 

Somehow, the only ones who come out ahead of this game are the lawyers who are already heavy into zantac or mesothelioma or round up lawsuits, etc, etc. But that's a story for another day.

join me on webtalk    https://www.webtalk.co/6922502