SSA Now Accepting Electronic Signatures for Disability Applications and Appeals

The Social Security Administration is continuing to make more and more of their services available online. After what seemed to be a test-run over the last several months, claimants can now electronically sign their SSA-827 form for disability applications and appeals.

The purpose of the form is to request medical and educational information from the claimant’s providers. In the past, claimants were required to print and either mail or bring a signed paper SSA-827 to their local SSA office in order to complete an application or an appeal.

According to SSA, by allowing claimants to electronically sign the SSA-827, it decreases the application process by approximately 9 days. It streamlines the process and allows SSA to start working on a claim or an appeal sooner.

How does SSA verify the identity of the signer? SSA will take the answers the claimant provides on either the application or appeal and compares them to information they already have on file about the claimant, including name, date of birth, Social Security number, place of birth, work history and mother’s maiden name. If some information does not match up, it raises a red flag for SSA to investigate further.

Will this affect how quickly SSA gets a claimant’s medical records? SSA will still send the releases to medical and educational providers the same way they have in the past, and the form will look essentially the same. SSA says there is no change to the HIPAA compliance of the form. Instead of a “wet” signature, the form will state that it was electronically signed by the claimant. Medical and educational providers would submit their information to SSA the same way.

While it is progressive for SSA to streamline their processes and essentially make the process quicker, is it truly helpful for claimants, or more so for SSA? With identity theft becoming more and more of a problem every day, is this another piece of personal information hackers could potentially get their hands on? SSA touts that this change will help get claimants their benefits faster. If the disability adjudication process still takes approximately 2 years, is 9 days going to make that much more of a difference?

This change is still new and time will tell whether or not it is going to be helpful to claimants. The biggest help right now is that claimants will save money on printing and postage, but at what potential cost?

Written by Anna Westfall

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Should I Be On Disability?

Recently Senator Tom Colburn lead an investigation into the Social Security Disability claims that were awarded between 2006 and 2010. According to Senator Colburn’s report, it is believed that approximately a quarter of 300 randomly selected cases were awarded “without properly addressing insufficient, contradictory and incomplete evidence.” This is concerning claims that were approved by ALJs only and not lower-level awards.

Could this be true? After such a long road in an attempt to obtain benefits and getting denied time and again, it seems to be a disservice to not only taxpayers, but the disabled claimant as well. Even if the decision is a favorable one, it must be properly adjudicated within the limits of the law.

The Social Security Administration has already responded to Senator Colburn’s report by saying they are aware of the issue regarding ALJs, and have already taken steps to address same. “We share the subcommittee’s concern that a small number of judges have failed our expectations with regard to a balanced application of the law, proper documentation, proper hearings and proper judicial conduct,” Agency  spokesperson Mark Hinkle said.

This may be true, but it is good enough to protect the rights of disability claimants? The issue raises several questions that are of concern to people not only applying for benefits but also people who are already receiving them.

For instance: Is it going to be tougher to win benefits in the future? Probably. SSA is going to have to become more vigilant about how the ALJs are coming to decisions. According to SSA’s response to the subcommittee’s report, SSA has undertaken a “vigorous set” of initiatives and say they have made “substantial progress” over the last five years. What this means exactly, however, is unclear.

Will I lose my benefits if my claim was improperly adjudicated? That is hard to say right now, but very worrisome nonetheless. If a claim was awarded erroneously due to improper adjudication, will the claimant have to pay the price even though it was not the claimant’s fault?

In light of this investigation, it is more important than ever to obtain knowledgeable representation if you chose to pursue a disability claim. A disability attorney can help assure your claim is given proper attention and that everything is done according to the law. Your attorney can’t control what SSA does, of course, but they can react to whatever injustice SSA may have inflicted. Social Security law is very complex, so it is hard to find the right answers when you have a problem. Sometimes a claimant may not even know there is a problem because they do not have the expertise to recognize it. A disability attorney will answer all your questions and protect your rights through every step of adjudication.

Written by Anna Westfall

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What To Expect at a Disability Hearing

For most people, the most nerve-wracking part of a disability claim is going to a hearing in front of an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). It is a wide misconception that the hearing will proceed as seen on TV, with a crowd of people watching and a jury of your peers to decide your fate. Surprisingly, disability hearings are much more casual than this, but still very important!

In Cleveland, hearings take place at the Office of Disability Adjudication & Review (ODAR), located in the Skylight Office Tower building downtown. Traveling into a big city can be daunting for people not accustomed to all of the crowds, traffic and noise, so driving with someone who is familiar with the city is a big help. It also eases some of the fear associated with the whole experience of going to the hearing. We always recommend someone drop you off before parking the car to make sure you get to court on time, as getting lost or not finding parking easily is frequently raised by our clients.

Upon entering the reception area of the office, which is a rather large room, you must let security check you and make sure you are not bringing in weapons or any other illegal items. Always bring a picture I.D. because you won’t be let in through security otherwise. Once you are cleared, you proceed to the waiting area until you are called into the courtroom. If you have representation, typically this is where you will meet up with him or her. It is always good practice to arrive at the office at least a half-hour prior to the hearing to go over any last minute items with your attorney and make sure you are as prepared as possible.

The hearing monitor will call you when the ALJ is ready. The rooms in which the hearings are held are about the size of large living rooms. The far side of the room is raised for the ALJ’s desk. In front of him are tables or desks fit together so that the people sitting at them are facing each other or the ALJ. You and your attorney sit directly across from the ALJ.

Besides the person recording the hearing using a special computer program, other people you may expect to see are experts. You may have a vocational expert (VE), a medical expert (ME), both or none, depending on the facts of your case and what the ALJ feels is necessary to help him/her make a decision. A medical expert would testify to your medical impairments and how they adversely impact work-related activities and whether the complaints of pain are reasonably related to the objective medical evidence or the underlying conditions. The vocational expert will testify to past work; specifically work performed in the past 15 years and whether the profile set forth in a hypothetical question submitted by the ALJ can perform that type of work or other jobs with the same functional limitations.

Typically, the hearing starts with the ALJ briefly summarizing the claimant’s case. He or she then requires the claimant and any experts to take the oath to be truthful with their testimony. Then, if the claimant has representation, the representative will give an opening statement in support of the claim for disability. The ALJ then gives the representative the opportunity to question the claimant. Sometimes the ALJ asks the questions of the claimant, and allows the representative attorney to ask follow-up questions.

The questions posed to the claimant by the ALJ or the representative will vary based on the facts of your case, but typically include activities of daily living; how much you can lift, carry, push, pull, stand, walk, any manipulative limitations involving reaching, handling, gripping, grasping, fingering; any postural limitations including stooping, bending, kneeling, crouching; any environmental limitations including inability to be around gases, fumes, perfumes, machinery, etc; any communicative limitations including inability to see, hear or speak well;  it addresses any mental impairments including problems with social functioning, limitations regarding concentration, persistence and pace and any side-effects of medication and any need for assistive devices . The ALJ will then turn to the experts and direct questions to them. The claimant’s representative also gets an opportunity to question the experts (this is called cross-examination).

After all the pertinent questions have been asked, and the ALJ is satisfied with the amount of information that was provided, the representative is usually given the opportunity to give a closing statement. This typically summarizes the important facts of your case and addresses what the ALJ should note in particular. After all is said and done, the hearing is over, usually in an hour or less, but sometimes two hours depending on the facts of your case and the particular ALJ.

Many claimants ask if the ALJ renders the decision right then and there after the hearing. Occasionally this does happen, and that is referred to as a Bench Decision. Usually, however, the ALJ will take approximately 30 to 90 days to mail the decision to you, sometimes longer, depending on your case. You must wait for the written decision to be sent to you; neither SSA nor ODAR will tell you the result of the ALJ’s decision over the phone.

If you receive a Fully Favorable decision from the ALJ, congratulations! Your long road to obtaining benefits has finally come to an end. If you receive a Partially Favorable decision, meaning the ALJ found you disabled on a different date than you had claimed, or an Unfavorable decision, meaning the ALJ did not find you disabled at all, not to worry. If you disagree with the ALJ’s decision in part or in full, you can appeal both Partially Favorable and Unfavorable decisions to the Appeals Council.

This blog article is a brief summary of what to expect at a disability hearing. Since the facts of your case may be much more complicated, it is advisable to obtain representation well before you go to court. Then you will have someone knowledgeable right by your side, every step of the way, to guide you through the disability process with much more ease and likelihood of success.

 Written by Anna Westfall & edited by Paulette F. Balin & Attorney Andrew November

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Paulette Balin & Associates Continues to go High-Tech!

The Social Security Administration is continuing its foray into the electronic era by making more tools and materials available online for appointed representatives. Starting August 25^th, 2012, appointed representatives now have the option of downloading the audio recordings of their client’s hearing through Appointed Representatives Services (ARS).

Over the past several months, ARS has become a helpful tool for representatives. It allows them to access electronic copies of their client’s file at any time, as well as appeal decisions. ARS can be accessed through the Business Services section of ssa.gov.

When a claim is denied by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), obtaining a recording of the hearing is vital. Usually by the time an ALJ decision is rendered, many months have passed and it is hard to remember all the details, especially if the representative has many clients and is in court several times per month. By listening to the recording of the hearing, it can help the representative make a decision as to whether to appeal. Or, if the decision was already appealed, listening to the recording can assist greatly in writing a supplemental brief to the Appeals Council.

In the past, the Appeals Council would always supply CD recordings of hearings to appointed representatives for their review. This was not a good method, however, as sometimes a CD would not be sent out, get lost in the mail, become damaged, etc.

This feature is only available for cases at the Hearings and Appeals levels that are pending, reactivated, or closed within the past 90 days. Representatives must be enrolled in ARS to gain access to this valuable tool.

As usual, Paulette Balin & Associates, LLC is staying on top of the latest innovations as SSA is introducing them. Thanks to electronic files, our office has gone practically paperless. Our attorneys use laptops and iPads in court instead of bulky paper files. We are already in the process of getting our attorneys set up to receive the audio recordings of the hearings, so our ALJ appeal process will be even more streamlined than ever. We do all this (and more) to serve our clients to the best of our ability.

As always, we stand by our motto: We do whatever it takes to win your case!

Written by Anna Westfall & edited by Attorney Andrew November

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