As many people are aware, Congress will soon be making recommendations for a number of potential spending cuts designed to help reduce spending and lower the U.S. national debt. It’s quite possible, even likely, that these cuts could involve significant changes to Social Security benefit programs including Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
Approximately 10 percent of the United States population speaks Spanish as a first language, and these individuals will now have access to a wider variety of Social Security Administration (SSA) services in their native tongue. The SSA recently announced additions to the popular Spanish version of their award-winning website. Users are now able to complete their applications for Social Security retirement benefits, Medicare, and Extra Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Costs online in about 15 minutes, entirely in Spanish.
In light of recent nationwide attention to reform of federal funding for the Social Security programs, we feel that it might be helpful to review some of the fact regarding how such programs, including the SSA’s disability benefits programs, are funded.
Under current federal law, disabled Americans who receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits are eligible for Medicare coverage after two years of entitlement to disability benefits.
Nearly 28 million Americans have diabetes, and the number is rapidly rising. To help raise awareness of diabetes education and prevention, buildings around the globe lit up blue the evening of November 14th in honor of World Diabetes Day.
The South East Michigan Health Information Exchange, based out of Ann Arbor, Michigan, has recently announced that it has been officially tested, approved, and is now functioning as part of the Nationwide Health Information Network Exchange.
Disabled citizens will soon be better accommodated at Taco Bell restaurant franchise locations across California, due to a recent class-action lawsuit ruling in their favor.
The first week of October, 2011, the presiding judge in a controversial class-action lawsuit case filed in 2002 against Taco Bell, a restaurant chain owned by Yum Brands, Inc. based out of Louisville, Kentucky, determined Taco Bell restaurants were guilty of violating both federal and California state laws which protect disabled citizens from discrimination and unequal opportunity.
Delores Holton, a 60 year old resident of Fairview Heights in Southwestern Illinois, recently pled guilty to a single count of concealing material from the Social Security Administration. Ms. Holton, who had been receiving Social Security Disability benefits from 2002 through 2008, was using two separate Social Security numbers in order to conceal relevant information from the SSA. She faces sentencing in January of 2013 and could face up to five years in prison in addition to being required to pay back six years’ worth of disability benefits.
In a continued effort to address concern for the rising number of disabled and unemployed citizens in the U.S., the Department of Labor has recently expanded its Disability Employment Initiative to include organizations in 7 new states. Through this program, roughly $21 million will be awarded to state organizations that already offer assistance for the unemployed and/or underprivileged.
Those who have been through the struggle to get approved for Social Security Disability benefits know that it’s hard enough to get accepted the first time you apply. Well over 50% of initial applicants are denied benefits, nationwide. The levels of the appeal process usually increase your chances, at the loss of time and money. However, there is still no guarantee you will receive a fair hearing.
