Social Security Field Offices Change Their Hours

Beginning November 19^th, 2012, SSA field offices have changed their public hours from 9am-3:30pm to 9am-3:00pm. However, this doesn’t mean SSA employees get to go home a half-hour early! Rather, it is an attempt to help them catch up with other work such as conducting application interviews and processing paperwork.

Due to the impact of Hurricane Sandy, these new office hours will be delayed in being implemented for the following areas: New Jersey, New York City, and Long Island, NY.

Beginning January 2^nd, 2013, SSA field offices will also be closed to the public at noon each Wednesday. This will also aid SSA employees in catching up on necessary work.

In light of this, SSA encourages the public to use either their nation-wide, toll-free number or their website (www.ssa.gov) to utilize their services, such as filing for retirement or disability, signing up for direct deposit, getting a replacement Medicare card, etc. While it is great that SSA is trying to make their services more available, there are still several issues with this.

While it is already difficult to call SSA for information due to the reduced amount of workers and high volume of calls, the fact that the window to obtain information is much smaller makes it more difficult for someone to do business with SSA. Many times disability applicants have transportation issues and must rely on using the telephone.

The national, toll-free number may be helpful for general information or routine tasks such a changing your address, but some questions can only be answered by field office staff, such as if a requested document had been received.

Another issue with using the toll-free number is if you do not have a land line or limited minutes on your phone. Often the hold times can be extraordinary, using up a disability claimant’s precious pay-per-use minutes.

Many disability applicants do not own computers, and many also may not know how to use one. SSA often reminds us that many of their forms and publications are available online, but that is useless to someone who does not have a computer.

This is another reason why having representation on your claim is helpful. Attorneys’ offices have staff that can make these phone calls for you, research information on ssa.gov, and stay on top of your claim. Many attorneys’ offices also have good rapport with the local SSA field office representatives, making it easier to get questions answered in a timely manner.

Are failed attempts at contacting SSA causing a road block in your claim? If so, contact us today and make an appointment for the office closest to you. We are happy to serve the Mentor, Cleveland, Ashtabula, Akron, Canton, Lorain, Youngstown and Toledo areas for your convenience. Learn more by visiting our website, www.balinlaw.com. We look forward to helping you!

 Written by Anna Westfall & edited by Paulette F. Balin

Honesty, Compliance, and Side Effects: How Medical Records Tell Your Story

In past blog entries, we touched upon the importance of continuous medical treatment as well as the importance of being honest with SSA. Today we will look at the importance of being honest with your doctor, your relationship with your doctor, how this affects your medical records and subsequently, your disability claim.

1.       Honesty: When a doctor asks you how you are, tell him!  Don’t give him/her the “canned” answer of fine, good, etc.  Most people with mental or physical disabilities do have good days and bad days, but be honest!  Examples:  Have you been in pain?  Maybe you aren’t today, because today’s a “good” day, but what about yesterday or over the weekend?  Are you depressed (due to pain, inability to work, etc.)?  Do you have a new symptom?  This is part of your written medical record.

2.       Compliance: This matters greatly in the eyes of SSA, as well as your doctor!  Examples: take meds as prescribed.  Go to physical therapy if referred.  Don’t miss counseling appointments.  Judges frown upon non-compliance issues and may deny you partially because you were not following your doctor’s advice to help improve your health.  This is part of your written medical record.

3.       Side Effects: All meds have side effects, some worse than others.  Fatigue, dizziness, nausea, diarrhea, etc. Tell your doctor!  In addition, when asked, list them on any SSA forms. Reports of side effects are just as important as the conditions the medications are treating, as they can also interfere with your ability to work.  This is part of your written medical record.

Doctors, nurses and other medical staff notate everything you tell them at your doctor visits. They also make observations regarding your presentation, such as if you are walking with a limp or you seem particularly depressed. Doctors and nurses can usually tell if someone is lying or exaggerating. This is also made part of your written medical record, and if SSA sees these kinds of notes, it ruins your credibility and may harm your claim.

If your current doctor does not seem sympathetic to your situation, or you feel you are not getting the proper care, it is OK to find a new doctor. It is a wide misconception that you must stay with the same doctor throughout the life of your disability claim. This is helpful if you have a good relationship with your doctor, but pointless if you do not. If you cannot clearly communicate your medical issues and consequently cannot get the treatment you need, it is important to start looking for a “second opinion.” Since the basis of your disability claim relies heavily on your medical records, it is vital to have treating providers who you feel comfortable with and have your best interests in mind.

It is vital to remember that YOU are the most important factor in your disability claim. Attorney representation can paint a vivid picture and submit compelling arguments for a finding of disability, but only if the underlying facts are there as found in the written medical records. The medical treatment record and the limitations opined by the treating doctors provide a strong foundation, and with this, we can help you build the Taj Mahal!

Written by Anna Westfall & Anita Feldkamp, edited by Paulette F. Balin & Andrew November

Need help with your claim? Learn more about us by clicking here! We have offices in Mentor, Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Youngstown, Toledo, Ashtabula and Lorain to serve you better!

What is COLA?

COLA stands for Cost of Living Adjustment. This is utilized by SSA in order for retirement, disability and SSI benefits to keep up with inflation. As the cost of living rises, so must the benefits of retirement, disability and SSI recipients so they can still afford their food, medical care and rent.

COLA was enacted in 1973. It consists of a formula that is used to calculate what the COLA adjustment for the year should be. It is based on increases in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). The CPI-W is calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics each month.

SSA must use the average CPI-W for the third quarter of the last COLA year to calculate the next year’s COLA. The last year a COLA was issued was 2011. Therefore, SSA used CPI-W from the third quarter of 2011, which was 223.233. Since it is lower than the CPI-W from the third quarter of 2012, which was 226.936, there is a 1.7% difference between the two numbers. This is the COLA for 2013. If there is an increase, it must be rounded to the nearest tenth of one percent. If there is no increase, or if the rounded increase is zero, there is no COLA.

COLA’s become active in December because those benefits are payable in January of the following year.

COLA has also been scrutinized over the years as members of Congress and others have tried to devise a better system for beneficiaries to keep pace with the cost of living. Instead of using the CPI-W as the base for figuring COLA, the CPI for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U) has been proposed to be used.

The C-CPI-U, which has been measured monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics since 2002, measures the price of a basket of goods that changes in response to the relative price shifts of various goods. For example, if a raise in the cost of beef causes people to buy more chicken, then the C-CPI-U would have a higher weight on its chicken component and a lower weight on its beef component.

Dean Baker, a co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, stated:

“If it (the C-CPI-U) were adopted as the basis for indexation, then benefits would fall by 0.3 percentage points each year compared to the current law. This lower adjustment would accumulate through time so that after 10 years, beneficiaries would be seeing Social Security checks that are 3 percent smaller, after 20 years 6 percent, and after 30 years would be 9 percent smaller.”

Baker goes on to say that because Social Security beneficiaries have substantially different consumption patterns compared to other Americans, an Elderly Index (CPI-E) has been considered for use instead of the CPI-W. Healthcare and housing make up the greatest part of a Social Security beneficiary’s consumption, and elderly people in particular have fewer opportunities for substituting across items to take advantage of changes in relative prices. They are also less mobile which also causes problems as far as being able to substitute.

Baker concludes his statement by saying an “honest discussion” would be necessary to determine the best route for calculating future COLA. If the C-CPI-U would be used, it would be a dishonest way to cut benefits as those who would be hit the hardest are the oldest beneficiaries. They also tend to be the poorest. Overall, the ability for every American to be able to afford their food, housing and medical care is a critical need that must be handled carefully, so no one is left out in the cold.

Written by Anna Westfall


Need help with your claim? Contact us by clicking here! We have offices in Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Ashtabula, Mentor, Youngstown, Lorain and Toledo for your convenience!