IS SOCIAL SECURITY STILL FUNCTIONAL?

Social Security Getting Further and Further Behind & Paying Fewer and Fewer Claims

More than one million people are currently waiting for Social Security to review their application for disability benefits according to the nonpartisan data association USA Facts.

At the same time, the average processing time has also hit a new record high—7.5 months. (As recently as 2020, the average processing time was four months.) The percentage of backlogged cases has risen in 44 out of 50, Alabama and Tennessee included.

Social Security says they have has been struggling due to staffing shortages and insufficient budgets. Acknowledging delays in service and long waits for disability decisions, the Social Security Administration (SSA) asked for an increase in funding and Congress allocated the agency a $400 million increase for fiscal year 2022. That's a drop in the bucket toward what Social Security needs.

We have known of claimants waiting more than 2 years to get an initial decision on their disability applications, then having to wait another 2 years for the agonizing appeals process. In 2022, more than 10,000 claimants died while waiting on Social Security to make decisions on their claims.

But it is not just the backlog that concerns advocates for the disabled. Approval rates are down at every level of review, according to Social Security’s statistics.

The percentage of people who apply for a hearing and are subsequently awarded benefits has fallen precipitously over the past few years. One reason for the decline is a change in Social Security's regulations implemented in 2017. Judges no longer have to give special weight to opinions from the claimant's treating doctor (who knows the claimant's medical condition better than anyone). They can give equal weight to one of their own doctors who briefly examines the claimant one time. This makes it much easier to deny claims and appeals.

There are several conclusions the disabled claimant can take away from these statistics:

1. You are in it for the long haul. You must be persistent and keep appealing every denial at every step. It's not quick or easy.

2. While an attorney or advocate cannot speed up Social Security, they may keep you from making fatal mistakes and give you a much better chance of success, especially with appeals.

3. The majority of claims in 2024 will have to go before a federal administrative law judge (ALJ) before a final decision is rendered. I'm not sure it was meant to be that way--but this is what it's come down to.

4. Social Security will try to deny most claims. In fact, most claims will be denied twice (at application and again at "reconsideration"). Many of these claims will be paid at a hearing but you must "stay the course" to get there.

5. Waiting is one of the hardest parts of a disability claim or appeal. Don't go through this alone; get some help and support because it's a long, hard and overwhelming task. It doesn't look like the long wait times are going away any time soon. Prepare for them and don't let them defeat you!

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Charles W. Forsythe is founding partner at THE FORSYTHE FIRM in Huntsville, AL. Call him if you have questions about Social Security disability. Get straight answers with no cost or obligation. Call (256) 799-0297 or (256) 503-8151.

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