Social Security Disability Payments and the Stimulus Package

For a number of years, people have been talking about how the Medicare and Social Security system are potentially not sustainable in its current incarnation.  This will come as dire news to anyone looking to secure Social Security disability payments.  Right now there is a backlog for approvals as well.  In short, the Social Security disability system is not as stable or efficient as it could be.

This is yet another reason to work with a Social Security disability attorney, as a lawyer will be able to navigate this very tough and complicated process and ensure that your future SSD payments are not delayed.  In 2008, the average amount of time to process a Social Security disability application was 480 days.  Now imagine trying to receive benefits without an attorney: if you file information incorrectly, you could be looking at double that amount of time.  Worse yet, it could mean no claim at all, regardless of the amount of time it takes.

The stimulus package could help this scenario, but that is no reason to think you can go it alone.  Though there may be new measures in place to speed up the process, there are still a record number of people filing a SSD claim.  Close to 800,000 people filed a claim in 2008.  The SSD workload is set to increase significantly in the coming years.

The Economic Recovery Bill

The economic recovery bill has a number of provisions that will help the Social Security claim process go more smoothly:

1. $500 million to help the Social Security Administration process the increasing influx of disability applications.
2. $400 million to improve the computer capability of the SSA – currently utilizing outdated technology.
3. $4.2 million to help people with certain disability receive additional SSI income.

All told, the system should hopefully be better.  Again, it must be stressed that a Social Security attorney is still necessary.  Even if the SSD application process goes more smoothly, it’s still going to mean a long haul for most applications – possibly a year or more.  What this means ultimately is that when you hire a Social Security attorney the process will now go faster, which is very good news.  But you will still need to gather all relevant medical information, accurately dot the “i’s” and follow complicated regulations, so hiring representation is your best avenue towards getting benefits as quickly as possible.

Given the fact that new processes are going to come about via the stimulus package, it is even more necessary to hire an attorney who keeps up with all developments in the Social Security system.  California, in particular, has a large backlog of SSD applicants, given its high population relative to other states.  So while it is very good news measures are being taken to fix a sometimes cumbersome system, you will need an advocate to help you correctly file your application whenever new changes go into effect.  It’s important to remember also that new regulations can occur on a state level as well, in addition to a federal level, so California has particular laws to help SSI applications get processed.