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Disability planning and programs: Part 2

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

[Continued from here, discussing links and references from this CDA Web page.]

Step 3 is where we get into “the meat” of disability finance:

Employer sick pay
State benefits
Disability insurance benefits
Workers comp
SSDI/SSI

Employer sick pay, or sick leave, may be generous in one industry, lean in another. At a small company, nothing may be available other than wishes for good luck. Some large and even mid-size companies offer long-term disability policies. Where ever you work, you should learn the specifics of the policy because it may be your first line of defense, even if it runs out long before a health problem is resolved.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, “In some states, such as Hawaii, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island, state law requires employers to provide disability benefits for up to 26 weeks.” (Don’t confuse this with workers compensation.)

Over at CostHelper.com, we see that “Disability insurance provides income to help pay your living expenses if you are unable to work for a significant length of time because of injury or illness. Generally benefit payments are 60 percent of your total salary.”

The CDA page explains that “[d]isability insurance can be an invaluable lifeline for disabled workers and their families:

If your employer offers disability insurance make sure you fully understand what benefits are available to you and how your company’s disability insurance program works.
If disability insurance is NOT provided by your employer, it can be purchased individually at affordable rates. Contact your insurance agent for more information.
Self-employed individuals can also benefit greatly by having disability insurance. Consult your financial advisor or insurance agent for assistance.”

The CostHelper.com page says to “[e]xpect to pay between 1 percent and 3 percent of your annual salary for a good disability plan, according to DisabilityQuotes.com. That works out to $600-$1,800 for someone earning $60,000 a year.”

Earlier, we cautioned not to confuse state disability benefits (if available) with workers comp benefits. In the usual sense, workers comp addresses workers who are injured on the job. However, if work-related, an illness and subsequent disability may be covered by workers comp, too. As the CDA page says, “After a short waiting period, workers’ compensation generally pays a portion of your former wages or salary. Benefits vary significantly by state and are restricted to a specific maximum and minimum amount.” Here’s a link to programs in each state.

As mentioned in our preceding post, SSDI is a form of federal “insurance” that workers qualify for by having paid enough funds into Social Security (from paychecks) by working long enough at jobs with employers who make the payments (including self-employed). Here’s the link to the main disability information page of the SSA, including topics such as basic program information, who is eligible, how to apply and so forth.

In your planning, count on at least a six-month wait before receiving SSDI payments.

SSI is not funded by paycheck contributions but by general tax revenue; it provides cash to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter. The program is designed to help aged, blind, and disabled people, who have little or no income and few resources.

Here is a link to the SSA’s page outlining eligibility requirements for SSI.

Here’s the bracing news: If you don’t have access to any of the preceding resources, you’re pretty much left to your own devices and social-family network. For the “average” long-term disability, you’ll need to cobble together some method to make it for 2 1/2 years.

The first fallback position is personal savings. Then you’re looking at such drastic measures as using credit cards, dipping into a mortgage or retirement funds. Here’s how the CDA page lays it out:

“Personal savings
A small percentage of Americans are lucky enough to have savings, investments or other financial resources that can supplement or replace their income during a prolonged disability. The rest of us, unfortunately, are not so lucky. Any disability, especially one lasting more than 90 days, would quickly drain our savings. After all, Americans’ savings rate is at an all-time low. A full 1/3 of Americans have no retirement savings and no pension, according to the Social Security Administration. Talk about stress!
“Last Resort” income sources
If all else fails, you can begin paying expenses with credit cards, get a second mortgage, take out a home equity line of credit, withdraw money from your retirement plan, and ask family and friends for assistance.”

As you can see, maintaining one’s health is the best option. Of course, no one can do that indefinitely, so financial planning is the next priority. If you’re still healthy, look for ways to promote an even healthier lifestyle. Then, begin your financial planning process.

If you or a loved one needs disability help now, you can use the links provided to contact SSA officials or advocates and disability attorneys.

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Applying for disability benefits from the Social Security Administration can be a daunting and frustrating challenge. For more on the basics of disability, SSI, and SSDI, please click here.You will also have the opportunity to click on information about attorneys who can help you and a link for a free case review.

Tags: Council for Disability Awareness, Disability insurance, financial planning, social security administration, SSA, SSDI, SSI, state disability programs, supplemental security, workers comp
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Can my Social Security Disability Benefits be garnished to pay child support payments?

Friday, June 25th, 2010

To answer this question, you must determine what type of Social Security Disability benefits you are currently receiving. The Social Security Administration offers two types of disability benefits: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

Supplemental Security Income or SSI is a social security disability benefit given to certain qualifying individuals including: the aged, blind and disabled who meet certain income and resource levels. Income and resource levels change each year and can be found on the Social Security Administration’s website. Supplemental Security Income is given to these individuals for clothing, housing and food expenses.

The federal government funds Supplemental Security Income through general tax revenues not the Social Security Trust Fund. The federal government treats Supplemental Security Income as a public welfare benefit similar to food stamps and does not consider Supplemental Security Income or SSI to be income for the purposes of child support payments. Therefore, the federal government does not allow Supplemental Security Income benefits to be garnished.

In contrast, Social Security Disability Insurance or SSDI was money paid into the Social Security Trust Fund through employment taxes based on a percentage of the employee’s earnings. The goal of the Social Security Trust Fund is to allow for the replacement of income for certain employees who become disabled and are unable to work.

According to the federal government, the Social Security Disability Income or SSDI benefit is considered a substitute for lost wages and is eligible to be garnished for child support payments. One benefit of Social Security Disability Insurance, however, is children of qualifying disabled workers who receive Social Security Disability Insurance payments may be eligible to receive Social Security Disability Insurance or SSDI benefits until a certain age (18 under most circumstances) and these SSDI payments may be subtracted from the child support amount owed.

If you have questions regarding your Social Security Disability benefit or the garnishment of you Social Security Disability benefits to pay for child support, it is important to contact a Social Security Disability Attorney who can answer all of your questions. Social Security Disability Attorneys can also answer questions about applying for Social Security Disability Benefits or help you recover any Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income benefits you may have lost.

Tags: disability, Disability insurance, Law, Social Security (United States), social security administration, Social Security Disability Insurance, Supplemental Security Income, United States
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Disability benefits explained from square one: Part 1

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

OK, we’re going to cover a lot of ground in the next few installments, so let’s start with a quick review of the basics.

The acronyms SSDI and SSI refer to the most well known programs that help people who develop long term disabilities. Both are administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA), and each is notorious for being cumbersome, slow, and difficult for the average person to deal with–which is why many who need disability help turn to professional advocates and attorneys who specialize in the field.

SSDI = Social Security Disability Insurance, which pays benefits to workers (and some family members) who qualify; the basic qualification to receive these insurance payments is that you have:

worked long enough to have paid
enough Social Security taxes through payday deductions

to fund your “insurance account.” In other words, if your work history comprises jobs that did not pay–or pay enough–into Social Security, in most cases you won’t qualify for SSDI.

In that case, however, you may qualify for SSI, which stands for Supplemental Security Income–this program is not based on payments made from jobs but does award benefits based on financial need.

Together these two programs account for the bulk of what most of us consider the disability program for Americans. However, as mentioned, jumping through the hoops can be maddening, and the built-in delays can result in a payments arriving so slowly that the claimant has already died.

For a quick example of how slow the SSA acts, have a gander at its disability front page. As of post time, you can look to the top, upper right of the page and see a link to a press release with the following headline:

Social Security Administration Attacks Disability Backlog

Which sounds like a good thing, right? Well, it is–always good to catch up on a backlog.

But notice the dateline ===> Tuesday, October 9 , 2007

Shoot, we have more recent, more accurate info right here, toward the end of a May 2010 post in which we discuss delay issues among the various states.

That being said, SSI/SSDI remain the most publicly known disability programs. But they’re not the only alternative.

The Council for Disability Awareness (CDA) is a nonprofit organization that says its purpose is to inform and educate “the American public about the widespread and growing frequency of disability, and the financial impact it can have.”

However, judging from its “members page,” one might infer the group has an interest in selling disability insurance. That being said, however, the Web site does indeed offer a wealth of information.

For one thing, here’s a page about “reducing your chances” of becoming disabled. Pretty standard stuff: wellness tips such as “quit smoking, get regular checkups,” and so forth. Of course, most people don’t think about disability until a family member or they themselves become disabled.

But the statistics suggest that all adults should be aware of at least the basics of disability. For instance, it seems to be a common misperception that “events” cause most disabilities: a car wreck, an accident at work or home, etc..

But according to CDA, which claims to base its figures on the latest available census data and on info from the Centers for Disease Control, the most common causes of disability are injuries or accidents but rather:

“Illnesses like cancer, heart attack or diabetes cause the majority of long-term disabilities. Back pain, injuries, and arthritis are also significant causes.
“Most are not work-related, and therefore not covered by workers’ compensation.
“Lifestyle choices and personal behavior that lead to obesity are becoming major contributing factors.”

Oddly enough, this CDA page is quite contradictory, both in overall tone and in these specific statements (emphasis added):

“It strikes like a bolt from the blue: unwanted, unexpected, unwelcome. Unfortunately, many of us are totally unprepared for the financial hit that disability can bring.
“Most Americans live paycheck to paycheck. There’s little or no money left for unexpected emergencies like an injury or illness – the primary causes of disability.

Perhaps the intention was to say something like, “unless you injured in an accident or taken with sudden illness, disability can creep up on you, until there’s a sudden realization that your condition leaves you in financial peril.”

At any rate, the CDA’s suggestions are sound as far as how to think about finances in the event of a disability, including:

Your sources of income, monthly expenses and lifestyle
The impact a long-term disability could have on them
Preparing a plan of action to address the crisis

Step 1 is, basically, preparing a budget. (The page has a link to a “calculator” routine.)

Step 2 is to, as may be expected, isolate and trim unnecessary expenses.

Step 3 is where we get into “the meat” of disability finance:

Employer sick pay
State benefits
Disability insurance benefits
Workers comp
SSDI/SSI

That is where we will continue the discussion in Part 2.

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Tags: Census Bureau, Centers for Disease Control, claims backlog, Council for Disability Awareness, disability information, Disability insurance, disability payments, Social Security, SSA, SSDI, SSI
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Capitol Hill attention to benefits, Medicaid stalled as Congress takes another break

Friday, June 11th, 2010

Congressional action–and lack of it–is not only affecting unemployment benefits but also is intertwined with effects on Social Security programs and Medicaid.

According to a May 28 CNNMoney.com piece, “Democrats [in the House] spent much of the week trying to round up votes to extend the jobless benefits deadline,” and the “House voted Friday to extend the deadline to file for federal unemployment benefits, but not before the Senate recessed for a week-long Memorial Day break. So jobless Americans will start running out of benefits after June 2.”

“As a result,” says a May 29 BusinessWeek article, “19,000 Americans will see their jobless benefits interrupted by June 5, with that number projected to grow to more than 320,000 by the end of the second week of June, according to the Labor Department.”

Apparently, the Memorial Day break was not enough respite. One headline, from the June 10 edition of The Miami Herald, tells the tale: “Congress takes long weekend, lets jobless benefits hang.”

From that article: “Meanwhile, the National Employment Law Project estimated that 325,000 people won’t be able to collect benefits. This is the third time that Congress has missed on a deadline for extending the benefits; it’s expected that they’ll get paid retroactively.

“In addition, people laid off after June 1 won’t be eligible for government help with their health insurance, and the government’s program to fund summer jobs – which had been expected to provide an estimated 330,000 jobs for at-risk youths – remains unfunded and thus stalled.”

Also up in the air is what happens to needed legislation for Medicaid.

According to the May 28 CNNMoney.com piece, “The final version, approved by a 215-204 vote, extended the deadline to file for unemployment benefits through November, but jettisoned sending $24 billion in Medicaid assistance to the states and extending the 65% federal subsidy for COBRA health insurance premiums.”

The May 29 BusinessWeek article reports: “Lawmakers also left without Senate action on forestalling a long-scheduled 21 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors, set to take effect at the end of this month. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it will delay paying physicians’ claims to give Congress more to time to act.

“ ‘This is complete mismanagement of a health-care program that America’s seniors and disabled rely on,’ said American Medical Association President J. James Rohack in a statement.”

Now–two holiday breaks later–says an MLive.com piece posted today, the Senate “measure does not provide state aid for Medicaid and welfare nor does it include any of the revenue-generating tax increases in the Democratic bill.”

And various states are plenty concerned. Here’s some snippets from a roundup at today’s Kaiser Health News:

From The Boston Globe: ” ‘The Massachusetts delegation sent letters yesterday to House and Senate leaders urging them to support an extension of Medicaid funding that officials in Massachusetts and other states say is vital to prevent drastic cuts in services and increases in layoffs.’ Newly elected Republican Sen. Scott Brown did not sign the letter because the proposal would add to the federal deficit. But the 11 Democrats in the delegation were adamant that the extension be approved. ‘Governor Deval Patrick and state lawmakers have been counting on the extension to fund about $800 million of next year’s budget.’ “

From the Charlotte Observer: “Legislators are at odds about what to do regarding ‘a $500 million hole that may appear in that budget if Congress doesn’t act on a Medicaid extension. Both the state Senate and the House have adopted versions of the budget that include the Medicaid money. … Now lawmakers are nervously waiting to hear whether Congress will approve the Medicaid extension bill that at least 30 states are counting on to help avoid teacher layoffs and other cuts’ “

From The Denver Post: “If Congress chooses not to approve a six-month extension of Medicaid help to the states, Colorado could face a $211 million budget hole and the prospect of another cut to K-12 education or other programs. Medicaid, a state and federally funded program that provides health care for the poor, now covers about 500,000 Coloradans. During the recession, the federal government has increased its share of Medicaid funding to the states, which have seen tax revenues plunge as Medicaid enrollment rose.”

Tags: benefits, benefits law stalled, Congress takes a break, Medicaid, unemplyment
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Cancer victim dies before benefits arrive; three charged, two convicted in terroristic threats against SSA

Saturday, May 8th, 2010

A few weeks ago, we discussed the case of a Farmington, New Hampshire woman who was fighting terminal cancer while waiting on her disability checks to start arriving. Heather Russell, 47, was hoping to live long enough to see her cousin get married this month, and then a niece’s wedding in June.

She made it to the cousin’s ceremony but died early April 27–and still had never seen even one disability check for the Stage IV small-cell lung cancer diagnosed in May 2009.

First check was expected this month

According to the online version of Foster’s Daily Democrat, Russell “was supposed to see her first disability check [in late May], at the end of the mandatory five-month waiting period disability insurance recipients have to endure. An agency spokesperson has said the delay is to ensure aid is going to people who are truly disabled. There is a bill in Congress to abolish the waiting period.”

Unfortunately, Russell’s case is more the rule than an exception. The SSI/SSDI process is notorious nationwide for the backlog of cases, even in regions that have shown improvement. According to an April 19 report in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, North Texans are waiting about two months less for hearings than they were a year ago, an improvement related to “a plan launched last year [that] has helped speed turnaround. The agency hired 147 administrative law judges, who hear appeal cases, and 1,000 support staff in fiscal 2009, according to the agency.” More hiring is planned for this year, according to SSA.

National rate improving, but still tedious

Nationwide the 2008 backlog of 750,000 cases required a national average wait-time of 514 days, according to the S-T, down this year to 697,437 cases requiring an average 442 days, although some areas still experience delays of well over 600 days.

The article also succinctly summarizes the cruelty of the trap so often faced by those in the queue: “While they wait, applicants get no medical benefits or financial assistance. If they find temporary work to make ends meet until they get a ruling, they risk having their claim denied because they are considered employed.”

White powder and threats of violence

In three recent, apparently unrelated cases, judges have handed down two prison sentences to men convicted of terroristic behavior toward the SSA. Two of the men, one of whom was to be arraigned on May 7, mailed letters containing talcum, or baby powder, to various agency offices, intending to mimic the post-9/11 anthrax scare.

According to a May 3 report in the Las Vegas Sun, “A convicted felon who made threatening telephone calls to several Social Security offices after his benefits were terminated was sentenced Friday to 46 months in prison and three years of supervised release, Nevada’s U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden said today.”

Described as a 54-year-old “whose address is unknown to authorities,” Leon Muhammad “was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt. Muhammad, who was arrested on Dec. 17 in Columbia, S.C., pleaded guilty on March 31 to making threatening communications in interstate commerce. He was sentenced at the top of the available sentencing range because he had two prior violent felony convictions in New York and New Jersey and was determined to be a career offender.”

Man had, then lost, benefits

Muhammad was said to have begun receiving benefits in 2005, but in November 2009 SSA dropped him. “Between Nov. 20 and Dec. 3, Muhammad made several threatening telephone calls from Las Vegas to Social Security call service centers in Baltimore, Salinas, Calif., and Auburn, Wash., in an attempt to secure the reinstatement of his benefits. At one point, Muhammad told a representative that if he did not receive payment in his bank account by a set time later that day, he would go to the Social Security office in Las Vegas, where he was vacationing, and create another ‘Valentine Blood Bath.’ ”

A few weeks earlier, a district judge in Alabama, according to an April 21 piece at al.com, “sentenced a Haleyville man to seven months in prison for mailing a letter containing white powder and photos of the 9/11 attacks to the Social Security Administration in Cullman.

“U.S. District Judge Karon Bowdre also sentenced Patrick Bryant Wilson, 41, to three years of supervised release, including seven months of home confinement.”

The deal was part of plea agreement reached in December. According to the defense attorney, Wilson was hurt on the job where he was a a regional manager and subsequently lost the job. He applied for benefits and was denied.

He used his home address

According to the plea agreement, says the article, Wilson “dropped off a letter Aug. 25 at the Cullman post office that was addressed to the Social Security Administration and listed Wilson’s home as the return address, according to his plea agreement. A postal worker noticed it was leaking a white powder, which was later determined to be baby powder. The letter also included two photos of the Twin Towers burning.”

In California, Timothy Cloud not only sent threatening letters to SSA offices but also addressed one to the president at the White House. Moreover, he had a “Plan B,” as explained by this piece in The Sacramento Bee:

“So far, Timothy Cloud’s seems to be working out for him. . . .

” ‘I mailed the envelopes … to those addresses because I hoped people would think it was anthrax,’ he wrote [in a statement to federal agents]. ‘I mailed the letters because I was mad. I knew I would be caught.

” ‘I do not regret sending the envelopes because that was my retirement plan. Either I was going to get Social Security or I was going to jail.’

Cloud is described as a 62-year-old homeless man with a record as a sex offender. Apparently well known on the streets, he seemed to be going about his hand-to-mouth routine when agents finally caught up with him.

‘Three hots and a cot’

His attorney, whom Cloud was initially reluctant to accept, was quoted as saying: “All he wanted was three hots and a cot,” said his attorney, Assistant Federal Defender Matthew Bockmon. “He was frustrated with Social Security over denial of benefits to which he feels entitled.

“This is a pathetic case of a homeless person making a desperate cry for help. He’s been on the streets a long time; long enough that he was sick of it.”

Tags: anthrax, backlog, cancer victim, denial of benefits, Heather Russell, social security administration, SSDI, SSI, threats
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Social Security Administration using Nationwide Health Information Network to gather medical information

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

In March, the Social Security Administration became the first government entity to begin using the Nationwide Health Information Network Information Network (NHIN).

NHIN was developed to establish a nationwide service to share quality, secure, common information in a timely manner and allow medical providers to share a wealth of information for better medical care. The goal of the Social Security Administration is to receive and evaluate medical records in minutes instead of weeks or even months.

The Social Security Administration processes on average three million Social Security Disability applications each year and requests over fifteen million medical records from medical providers across the United States. Unfortunately, each of the over 900,000 medical providers who currently provide medical information have to gather the data manually.

The federal government and the private sector partnered together to create a system which will allow a secure exchange of medical information between patients and medical care providers. The immediate access of medical information will hopefully decrease the time it takes for the Social Security Administration to receive medical records, which is currently one of the main barriers to making timely Social Security Disability decision.

According to Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, the NHIN system is a “safe and secure method for receiving electronic medical records and will allow us to improve our service to the public by cutting days, if not weeks, off the time it takes to make a disability decision.”

This is great news for the 2.6 millions individuals who apply for Social Security Disability benefits as well as everyone involved in the medical documentation process. With the development of the NHIN system, medical professionals will be able to spend less time in the labor intensive process of gathering and submitting medical records and more time treating patients.

How does the Nationwide Health Information Network Information Network (NHIN) work?

NHIN will allow the Social Security system to send electronic messages to certain medical facilities listed as treating facilities on the patient’s Social Security Disability application. The electronic message will automatically request the medical record and the treating facility will respond by providing the medical information on line. Within minutes, all relevant medical information will be easily viewed and evaluated by the Social Security Administration. Medical codes may also be assigned to certain medical conditions which will allow the disability examiners to obtain the records and evaluate the Social Security Disability applications more quickly.

The Social Security Administration has developed new technologies in the last few years including NHIN, the online application process and hiring more employees in an effort to speed up the Social Security Disability determination process. This is good news for the millions of unemployed, disabled Americans who are waiting for Social Security Disability benefits.

If you are one of the millions of applicants waiting for a decision, or if you have been denied Social Security Disability benefits, hiring a Social Security Disability Attorney can increase your chances of being awarded Social Security Disability benefits at all stages of the disability application process.

Tags: National Health Information Network, social security administration, Social Security Disability Benefits, Social Security Disabiltiy
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