Continuous disability reviews required by Social Security Administration

August 22, 2012

Dr. Marnin E. Fischbach’s commentary in “Fix the Disability System: Patients Are Gaming It — at High Cost to Themselves and Society” stereotypes people who seek disability as fraudulent and self-interested. An attorney who specializes in Social Security disability cases disagrees with him, according to the Post Gazette.

Fischbach states that the Social Security Administration (SSA) makes no effort to check to see if the individual remains disabled. The Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) attorney contends that this is not true. Social Security requires continuing disability reviews, and administrative law judges instruct Social Security to review individuals because of the expectations of their improvement.

The SSA will then gather current records from treating doctors to determine if the beneficiaries of SSDI continue to experience significant functional impairment.

Fischbach further states that SSDI beneficiaries have a vested financial and psychological interest in not getting better, but it can take more than a year for some to qualify for Social Security disability. And when these individuals are not working, they are under a great deal of financial stress. Without work, these individual remain at home feeling isolated and unproductive.

SSDI beneficiaries have genuine and serious issues. Their goal is to obtain benefits so that they can recover and become productive members of society again.

If you or someone you know needs help with a benefit claim, contact the disability lawyers at Fleschner, Stark, Tanoos & Newlin.