Keeping our Disability Programs Updated
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: August 19, 2021
As we continue to reflect on the 60th anniversary of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) this year, it’s worth noting some of the ways the program has evolved over time. A lot has changed since DI started in 1956! We continuously work to ensure our programs keep pace with rapid changes in medical care, healthcare delivery models, assistive technology, and workplace requirements.
- Medical care: Our disability programs have strict eligibility criteria, and beneficiaries must have severe impairments. For many of the most severe impairments, we rely on comprehensive listings of disabling conditions to make our disability decisions. We update the listings periodically to keep pace with advancements in medical care and assistive technologies. This year, we published comprehensive updates to the medical listings for respiratory, neurological, and mental disorders.
- Technology: Medical records are essential for making our disability determinations, and each year we make nearly 15 million requests for records from healthcare providers and organizations to make medical decisions on about three million disability claims. Now, participating healthcare organizations send us medical records electronically through health information technology. With electronic records transmission, we can obtain medical records in seconds or minutes. That lets us obtain a claimant’s medical record, review it with the aid of automated decision-support, and make a determination faster than ever before. We currently can receive electronic medical records from about 7,000 healthcare facilities across the country, and are adding new providers and facilities on an ongoing basis.
- Healthcare delivery: Because we rely heavily on medical evidence, we adjust our policies to keep up with changing healthcare delivery models. For example, we’re looking into the types of medical professionals that frequently provide care, and are considering whether telehealth – such as providing healthcare consultations remotely by video – might improve the medical evidence we can gather for certain populations.
- Updating Vocational Information: By law, we consider an applicant to be disabled if their medical condition prevents them from doing any job in the national economy, given the applicant’s age, education, and work experience. That means we need detailed information about the physical and mental requirements of a wide range of occupations in the national economy. We work with the Bureau of Labor Statistics to update this information and keep pace with the changing world of work.
We’re proud to live up to our mission to “deliver Social Security services that meet the changing needs of the public.”
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Tags: Disability, social security disability benefits
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Gina Clemons, Associate Commissioner, Office of Disability Policy
Gina Clemons, Associate Commissioner, Office of Disability Policy
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Tony S.
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) receives “such sums as necessary” mandatory appropriations for payments from the General Fund to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, the Employees Health Benefits Fund, and the Employees Group Life Insurance Fund. OMB historically fails to calculate total federal budget spending from OPM FY 2017 Budget pages 230-232 plus administrative costs on page 1. If OPM can agree with the President elect regarding total federal government FY 2017 OPM spending of $50.9 including $37.5 billion for Civil Service Retirement and Disability, $45 million for life insurance, $13.0 billion for employee health benefits, OMB can agree with 18% growth in OPM administrative costs to $321 million. OMB currently wildly estimates federal spending on OPM at $96.1 billion FY 2017. Agreement between OPM and OMB regarding $50.9 billion FY 2017 federal government payments would reduce the deficit by $45.2 billion.
The Government’s share of the cost of health insurance for annuitants as defined in sections 8901 and 8906 of Title 5, United States Code; the Government’s share of the cost of health insurance for annuitants (who were retired when the Federal employees health benefits law became effective), as defined in the Retired Federal Employees Health Benefits Act of 1960; and the Government’s contribution for payment of administrative expenses incurred by OPM in administration of the Retired Federal Employees Health Benefits Act.
Tony S.
When OMB Director Suan Donovan was promoted from HUD Secretary there was a precise agreement between OMB and HUD on the $38.088 million in HUD spending FY 2015 that supported growth to $20 billion in housing assistance and continues to growth although it is no longer accounted for the same way. To resolve the inexplicable distortion of the HUD budget by mandatory program receipts FY 2016 OMB is going to have to return to the $38.1 million agreement with HUD FY 2015 plus 2.8% annual growth. 2.8% annual growth allows for 2.5% agency spending growth and 3% annual growth in housing assistance that makes up about 60% of HUD spending. So that OMB estimates HUD spending at $38.1 billion FY 2015, $39.1 billion FY 2016 and $40.1 billion FY 2017. The FY 2000 HUD spending remains $30,781 million. HUD underwriting is needed from the FY 2015 agreement Donovan seems to have betrayed in confusion regarding the value of undistributed offsetting receipts.
Tony S.
Hospitals & Asylums
Dear Mr. Plump:
I can’t wait to complain about the Commerce Budget injunction bug that nearly destroyed 75% of the FY2018 federal budget surplus when the FY 2017 OMB Historical Table 4.1 Commerce spending estimate was reduced from $11.1 billion to $10.5 billion – wrong – the right answer to Penny’s confusing accounting, the injunction was trying to drive home, is $9.75 billion summary + FY 2017 budget publication. I hope I am not betraying my nation by declaring that I hope to have the first draft of the CY 2017 budget done in two days, by the winter solstice., for sale to the President elect, but I have not done SSI and SSA administrative costs yet and after attending a Standing Rock Winter Solstice Storytelling last night, must be praying.
The Federal Regulatory Energy Commission is due a fine and Standing Rock reservation is due compensation for mace, rubber bullet, water torture compensation for the non-use of force and territorial aggression by oil companies trespassing on tribal land protected by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission pipeline rerouting decision of September 2016 under 24USC154. Let the $1,000 fine per Standing Rock tribal member plus protestors offended be split between the US and Standing Rock tribal water torture compensation payments for $500 civil damages to impoverished protestors, tribal members and water diviners.
Accounting for the White House Office of Management and Budget (WHOMB or OMB) requires a stronger back than passing the Marine Corp physical fitness test (PFT) 50-100 push-ups, 50-100 crunches and three mile run in chest pain causing boots everyday. To pass, what I call, the secret service PFT a Director of OMB must be able to carry their encrypted Mac laptop computer with them in a backpack while they jog three to fifty miles a day for cardiovascular health and sleep with it off the grid, like I do. I nearly died trying to balance the budget in a home in 2009 and now that I am in shape and homeless I am hoping the White House will recuse all Democratic-Republican (DR) two party system political applicants for OMB Director, with particular prejudice against lawyers (non-accountants by definition) and settle our differences honorably by hand to hand accounting with me – the disability beneficiary of Hospitals & Asylums (HA).
Donald Trump may appoint me ‘Disability beneficiary’ of WHOMB, in lieu of or with a Director, for the agreed price of maximum allowable social security disability and retirement benefits for life, without the interference of Congress, because I am hoping to teach Donald Trump to account for the WHOMB Historical Tables himself. If the President elect is able to publish the Excel spreadsheet accounting himself, with these directives, he might not need to pay $95 million to staff OMB in conflict with the disability beneficiary who has kept the oft hacked national accounts since the $66.6 billion wartime supplemental of 2004 left the author of the $20 billion US portion of the $33 billion Iraq Reconstruction Fund settlement, the largest war reparation in world history, uncompensated and personated by the zombie international trade law firm Sanders, Squire and Demsey.
The President may purchase this budget from the author for the maximum allowable social security disability and retirement to produce a more detailed FY 2017 baseline budget, with a minimum of political interference. For the same price of having respectfully purchasing the balanced federal budget from the author of Hospitals & Asylums (HA), currently administrated +/- $666 a month for more than 42 months without automatic raise to $700 mo. (Revelation 13:10) by the Acting Commissioners of the Social Security Administration (SSA), the President can even nominate and confirm the author Social Security Commissioner at that same lifetime maximum social security benefit price for a first two year term, to afford the 42 year old homeless disability beneficiary a retirement home, with a second draft of the Social Security Amendments of January 1, 2016 HA-6-6-16 http://www.title24uscode.org/ss1.htm
The second draft will be done first thing calendar year 2017 to enable the President elect to use the federal budget contents in this document to make his first week of January to first week of February budget content submission to Congress under 31USC(11)§1105(a). It will exclude other agencies and focus on the social security programs, and will include this entire document in a second part to the Second Summer Solstice Instructions to the Board of Trustees of the Old Age Survivor and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Funds to tax the rich to end poverty in 2020 beginning with 16-24 SSI benefits to the families of poor children. The President must take the time to agree with Hospitals & Asylums (HA) to be right for free in the Excel format used by the Executive Office of the President to record agency congressional budget justification federal spending estimates and produce the Historical Tables of the WHOMB under Art. 2 Sec. 2 of the Constitution. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is asked to create a table to account for the exact amounts of agency congressional budget authority and federal spending for submission and comparison to OMB Table 4.1 Outlays by Agency.
To begin accurately accounting for Cabinet budget requests the President must do the eight hours of work it takes to abolish the non-agency Allowances and Other Defense Civil Programs rows and reduce undistributed offsetting receipts before 2009 by the amount of the repealed Other Defense Civil Programs row in OMB Table 4.1 Outlays by Agency, and reduce the deficit and debt totals from 2009 as directed in Chapter 0 of this budget. Federal government priority goals for the new administration are set under 31USC§1120 – (1) to streamline the Affordable Care Act and create a Public Health Department with less than $1 trillion annual historical federal spending, (2) to reduce the corporate tax rate, (3) to legislate an automatic 3% annual increase in federal minimum wage, social security and welfare benefits, to grow faster than 2.7% average consumer inflation, (4) to promote 2.5% health annuity, insurance premium inflation, agency non-welfare spending, administrative and professional wage growth, (5) to legislate a 6% tax on coal, oil, gas and electricity exports, (6) to pay social security beneficiaries the 6% annual cost-of-living adjustment the DI trust fund ratio can afford in 2017 and (7) to tax the rich the 12.4% OASDI tax on all their income so that SSA would pay SSI to 16-24 million poor children in 2017 and end poverty by 2020. It is too late to balance the FY 2017 budget but it is not too late to tax the rich to end child poverty calendar year 2017. If the rich are taxed and SSA is responsible for SSI costs the FY 2018 budget will be balanced despite any corporate tax rate reduction. This work ensures that budget proposals of agencies are consistent with system-wide priorities for maintaining and improving the quality of Federal statistics maintained by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act as codified at 44USC§3504(e)(2). To alphabetize or prioritize Table 4.1 Outlays by Agency?
Annual spending by the White House is reported in the Executive Office of the President row of White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) historical table 4.1 Outlays by Agency. Presidential spending has normalized after a 2004-08 wartime high of $7.7 billion FY2005 to an estimated $409 million FY 2017, 1.5% growth since $403 million were spent by the White House FY2016. The President elect may use the federal budget contents in this documents to make his first week of January to first week of February budget content submission to Congress under 31USC(11)§1105(a). The President must submit any supplemental or additional budgeting changes and re-appraisements to Congress before July 16th of every year whereby 30 September appropriations occur for the next fiscal year beginning 1 October under §1106. The Director and Deputy Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (WHOMB) are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, three Assistant Directors and as many as 6 other officers are hired under 31USC§502.
Spending categories of the Executive Office of the President are Compensation of the President, The White House (WH) Executive Residence (EXR), White House Repair and Restoration (WH R&R), Office of Administration (OA), National Security Council & Homeland Security Council (NSC & HSC), Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), Office of the Vice President (OVP), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Unanticipated Needs, Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), United States Trade Representative (USTR) and Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).
$380 million for the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Act of 1988 must be abolished from the Executive Office of the President congressional budget request under the Slavery Convention of 1926 to reduce White House spending from $755 million FY2016 to $409 million FY 2017, exactly like WHOMB says. Best budget award goes to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The President must recuse the Republican press and work with independent publishers who are right like HA.
tony
Hopefully all the money spent on updating the vocational information pays off. It is more than just information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
https://www.ssa.gov/disabilityresearch/occupational_info_systems.html
When will it be implemented?
Katherine
I want to know why your SSDI changes to SSA when you become 65, especially if you’re still disable. Also, don’t
You have to pay taxes on your new SSA account ?
Ray F.
Hi Katherine, Social Security benefits are handled through the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Funds. Under current law Social Security disability benefits can only be paid to individuals under full retirement age. Full retirement age had been 65 for many years. However, beginning with people born in 1938 or later, that age gradually increases until it reaches 67 for people born after 1959. Social Security disability benefits automatically change to retirement benefits when disability beneficiaries attain their full retirement age. The benefit amount will generally remain the same. Also, some people who get Social Security have to pay taxes on their benefits. You’ll be affected only if you have substantial income in addition to your Social Security benefits. For more information, contact the Internal Revenue Service. Thanks.
Steven V.
It amazes me that we got a .03 raise this year but every time I go to the grocery store, I wished products just went up 03. I don’t see how people can afford food anymore, and I know it will get better, HA!
Tony S.
Social Security Amendments of January 1, 2016 HA-6-6-16 http://www.title24uscode.org/ss1.htm
Sec. 1 Disability Insurance Tax Rate
To make orphan a qualifying disability for SSDI or $777 SSI (2017). To amend the DI tax rate from 1.80% in 2015, to 2.37% in 2016 to 2.40% in 2017, to a sustainable rate of 2.20% in 2018 when all the Baby Boomer shall have retired. The OASDI Trust Fund must be biased to protect the DI trust fund from being quickly depleted by bearing the combined costs. To increase the 0.9% DI tax in 2015 to 1.2% DI tax for employees and employers in 2017 and 1.1% in 2018 under Sec. 201(b)(1)(S) of the Social Security Act 42USC(7)II§401.
Sec. 2 Old Age Survivor Insurance Tax Rate
To amend the OASI tax rate from 10.60% in 2015, to 10.03% in 2016, to 10.00% in 2017 and 10.20% in 2018 and thereafter to prevent the DI fund from being depleted and OASI Trust Fund from premature deficit. To decrease the 5.30% OASI tax in 2015 to 5.00% in 2017, to 5.10% in 2018, for employees and employers without increasing the overall 12.4% OASDI under 26USC(C)(21)(A)§3101 and 26USC§3111(a)(as hacked in 2016) or 15.3% OASDI and Hospital Insurance (HI) Federal Insurance Contribution Act tax-rate under 26USC(A)(2)§1401.
Sec. 3 6% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) 2017
To compute beneficiaries a 6% COLA 2017 to compensate for the depriving the people of their 3% COLA in 2016 and ensure beneficiaries receive a 3% annual COLA every year thereafter to stay ahead of average inflation of 2.6% in 2016 under Section 215(i) of the Social Security Act 42USC(7)§415(i). To legislate a 2.4% DI tax rate to pay for a 6% COLA for calendar year 2017 and 2.2% DI tax rate and 3% COLA every year forseeable year thereafter.
Sec. 4 3% Annual Raise in Minimum Wage and Welfare Benefits
To legislate an automatic minimum wage increase of not more or less than 3% annual growth, that should be affordable to employers so that irregular large increases in federal minimum wage do not result in layoffs due to private labor budget constraints, rounded to the nearest nickel, from $7.25 an hour in 2016, to $7.50 in 2017, to $7.75 an hour in 2018 and 8.00 in 2019 etc.’ in one final sentence at 29USC§206(a)(1)(D). All other welfare programs, food stamps, TANF, etc., should budget for a 3% raise to stay ahead of inflation, plus beneficiary population growth of 1%, 104% of previous years costs. Managerial and professional wages are expected to grow around 2.5%.
mark a.
I have requested an informal hearing concerning all my SSA benefits. I sent all info to sabre street, Virginia Beach, Va. office suite 100 attention claims unit. concerning the severity of my disabilities. Yes it is sever but how do you measure severity ?
Mark R.
Ray F.
Hi Mark. The Social Security Act sets out a very strict definition of disability, much different than the requirements for other government programs. We pay disability benefits to people who are unable to work because of a medical condition that is expected to last one year or more or to end in death. No benefits are payable for partial disability or short-term disability. To learn more about the process we use to decide if you are disabled under our rules, visit our Disability Planner: How We Decide If You Are Disabled. Thanks!
Brenda K.
My grandson is 24 and has had epileptic seizures since birth. Though he takes 5 meds everyday SSI said he can work so they cut off his check. He is not allowed to drive due to his condition. How can we stop this insanity and have his SSI continue?
Ray F.
We are sorry to hear about your grandson’s situation. If he was recently denied Social Security benefits or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for medical or non-medical reasons, and if he does not agree with our decision, he has the right to file an appeal. He may request an appeal online and provide documents electronically to support his appeal.Thanks.
Ike H.
We didn’t get a 3 percent raise,we got a 3 tenth percent raise. My raise was $1.40 cent .look like i should be eligible for ssi, with the little money i get a month. I worked hard all my life. I’m 69 now with arthritis and still trying to fumble around and try to work. I need help what can i do, I can’t pay my bills, please what is my options.
Womack
In my opinion, become an independent contractor and sell your “life knowledge” online. Become a life coach. The cost for a license or permit are a nominal fee. If you present yourself as a trustworthy guide, the snowball will grow. Many of today’s young adults have no sense for the world. Word of mouth in the working class indicates both parents are forced to work or single parents are forced to work 2, sometimes 3 jobs with little time for parental guidance. Working parents send their children to public school to be ignored until 18 years old. Unless our financial system is reformed to support it’s own citizens FIRST, this wage slave cycle will never change. I believe change must be made in the way workers live and allow others time to adopt this change. Then will we see our economy shift to benefit all. Then will the need for financial assistance become obsolete. Keep your head up. Ike.
Cherry
Hi, it,s really such a pity that I didn,t get an e-mail from you, actually I did but I checked another mail, that,s so stupid of me.. Anyway, I hope that it was not my last trip to Wiesbaden I ablueotlsy adore your purse as I,m a hige fan of vintage things, they,re always so charming and unique
Ray F.
Hello Mr. Hammond, you can find out if you are eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or other benefits by visiting the Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool and answer a few questions. You may also be eligible to receive additional assistance from the state where you live. These services include Medicaid, free meals, housekeeping help, transportation or help with other problems. You can get information about services in your area from your state or local social services office. You can also visit the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) web page for more information. We hope this information helps.
Razan A.
HI: How can I get Help to my Rent ….From. my SSa Or Texas Star + Plus ? I have this card. STAR+Plus but. Can’t activated ? Thanks for helping me out to get a good Penafitt.
Ray F.
Hi Razan. Individuals may be eligible to receive assistance from the state where they live. These services include Medicaid, free meals, housekeeping help, transportation or help with other problems. You can get information about services in your area from your state or local social services office. You can also visit the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) web page for more information. We hope this helps.
Bert
Yo mate! It seems like we have some common taste in music as well as the interest in documentary films.I will check out your work as soon as i´we got my broadband up and running. (just mooved into a new flat.) Keep up the good work!Good luck with the TP-BjroPect.