You Can Help Us Enhance Our Disability Process
Reading Time: 1 MinuteLast Updated: March 24, 2016
As a part of our commitment to bring you world-class services, Social Security is looking for ways to improve how we develop and evaluate medical evidence relating to severe limitations in attention, concentration, and persistence. The Social Security Act sets out a strict definition of disability. Our agency pays benefits to eligible people who can’t work because of a disabling mental or physical condition expected to last at least one year or result in death. This medical condition must prevent the person from doing not only their previous work, but also any other substantial work in the national economy.
Gathering and assessing medical evidence is a key part of how we make our decisions. On Wednesday, March 30, we will host our next National Disability Forum, Developing and Assessing Medical Evidence for Extreme Limitations in the Ability to Focus on Tasks.
The discussion will focus on the level of severity at which impairment-related limitations in attention, concentration, and persistence can prevent people from working. For example, at what point does the inability to focus cause enough ‘off task’ behavior that someone would be unable to do any job in the national economy? What are employer expectations around productivity and reasonable accommodations for affected people? Are there standard tests for assessing and evaluating these ailments, and who should be consulted to evaluate a person’s capacity to focus on job-related tasks?
Your input will help us further enhance our disability determination process. You can share your ideas about how our disability determination process can better serve individuals with extreme limitations in attention, concentration, and persistence on our IdeaScale page or by commenting below.
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About the Author
Gina Clemons, Associate Commissioner, Office of Disability Policy
Gina Clemons, Associate Commissioner, Office of Disability Policy
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Jenny C.
Hello. Have been off from work since being laid off from job of 22 years. Due to past injuries form mugging, I have severe sciatica nerve pain, degenerative arthritis of the spine; these things makes me unable to walk, sit or stand over a period of time. Also depression for many years (taking anti-dep). Do you think that I would be eligible to apply for disability?
Lindan
A lot would depend on your age, education, and the type of work you did…also possibly your weight.
DisabledSupporter
Do you have “an inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity (SGA) by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment(s) which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months.”?
If so then you are well on your way as that is what disability means to SSA. Good luck though getting SSA to follow their own rules.
SGA is $1,130/month or more (for the year 2016). The amount has tended to increase ever so slightly each year.
tony
The courts have allowed hypothetical such as “low production work or occupation” for PACE and “no constant change” for PERSISTENCE.
Once you get the hypothetical correct, there will be less cases Remanded.
tony
It is easy to get approved because the SSA is stuck on an hypothetical question to ask the Vocational Expert(VE).
The SSA was good when they came up with the other hypothetical like limited or occasional contact with supervisor, no coworker contact, and no public contact. There were still job people can do where they work with objects instead of working around people.
The SSA need to look at POMS DI 22511.005 Documenting the Impact of a Medically Determinable Mental Impairment on an Individual’s Ability to Work. “Strengths and weaknesses in areas of concentration can be discussed in terms of frequency of errors, the time it takes to complete the task, and extent to which assistance is required to complete the task.”
A possible hypothetical would be occasional errors, extended time to complete task, and some assistance to complete task.
Carlos G.
From experience in trying to help a Vietnam Vet who was suffering from PTSD the denial at time of first application is standard procedure. It appears that SS is working with the National Bar Association to keep attorneys employed while putting deserving individuals thru the “wringer” hoping they will give up or hire an attorney
DisabledSupporter
The problem with the “first steps” is that SSA sends the application to “state agencies” that have no idea what they are doing, and when you get denied the first time, in many states they’ll send it back to the exact same state agency that knew nothing the first time to again give you inaccurate information about your ability to work. SSA should be processing and evaluating the applications in house, not state agencies that are constantly making mistakes and errors and give our disabled the run around.
Your remark about SSA disrespecting military members is not isolated, and worse for a ‘invisible disability’, SSA will really put you through the wringer for having that vs. a physical disability that can be seen. It’s very sad how this organization is treating Americans who worked their whole life then rely on insurance that premiums were taken from their pay without any consideration of the workers right to opt out.
Lindan
I suspect you do not know how the DDS and the federal components interact. The federal SSA components review a significant percentage of DDS decisions. The occasions when the state agencies might not know what they are doing are likely to be quickly corrected. Neither the DDS nor SSA has an interest in denying people unjustly. Both have the intent to follow the law and the rules as they exist.
tony
The other thing the has to be excluded from the limitation asked to the Vocational Expert(VE) is if the person missed 3 days from work. That is also a symptom from the limitation. They must first prove that the have the severe impairment that would cause them to miss the 3 days from work.
tony
Social Security Act sets out a very strict definition of disability. The SSA’s has the only valid test for measuring concentration, persistence, and pace.
The WHODAS 2.0 doesn’t test for concentration, persistence, and pace.
SSDI is only getting by on borrowed money. SSDI will go broke in 6 years again if nothing is done. It is the SSA’s definition of disabled you must go by.
tony
The “failure to complete tasks in a timely manner” is not a functional limitation but the end result of “deficiencies of concentration, persistence or pace.” Thomas v. Barnhart, 278 F. 3d 947 Court of Appeal 9th Cir.
They are not limitations but symptoms. It is similar to how the SSA’s policy refer to pain as a symptom instead of a limitation.
karen
my hubbie had severe psoriatic arthritis. we went to file for disability as it had affected his hands, shoulders, knees, and feet….he had sugery on the hands, knees, and feet, but not the shoulders as doctors said they were inoperable due to the severity of psoriatic arthritis.
We were told by the lady at S.S. he may be turned down on the first application, …days later we received a call from a gentlemen giving us an appt. with S.S. doctor, we went and he couldnt believe the shape my hubbie was in. He wrote his determination and we received S.S. right away. We definitely were blessed.
The psoriatic arthritis went to his heart about two years later, and he started having V-Fib. and just this past year 2015 he died from cardiac arrest due to the V-Fib.
From reading and also talking with others, I know they have had the issue of being turned down and waiting and waiting…we did not have that and I feel badly for others who are even still waiting.
This may sound stupid, but, heck I watch these judge shows on tv and people are on disability for the darndest things and they are still working and getting disability. Maybe if S.S. had the resources, (which I am sure is hard to do with cutbacks) but watch those shows and then get the people who are taking advantage of the system and then maybe people who truly need it would be on the system.
just saying…
Layla
In order to collect disability benefits, you must: 1) Have a medically proven impairment; 2) The impairment must be SEVERE. If your records indicate your impairment is ‘moderate’, you will not be approved. 3) The restrictions on your daily life due to the impairment, must be documented by a reliable source such as a doctor. How far you can walk, how long you can sit, etc. A letter from your spouse or a friend is not sufficient. The claimant is responsible for making sure all relevant medical records are in your SSA file. Another thing to remember…People work everyday with aches, pains, diabetes, high blood pressure, headaches, backaches, etc. These are not reasons for being approved for disability. Disability is approved for those with a severe medical impairment that severely restricts their daily activities and their ability to work a job that will earn them SGA, and for which they have detailed medical records that show not only that a severe impairment exists, but also how it restricts them.
Don J.
I think there should be a better method for making sure the judges are actually qualified to make the determination. Someone other than a previous office manager should be making the decisions. These are life and death decisions and medical background should be a basic requirement for the judges. You would not want a waitress treating you for a chronic illness so why are unqualified people without medical knowledge allowed to make SSDI decisions?
Jenna Y.
Thank you for your comment. When you apply for Disability benefits, we send your application to the Disability Determination Services office in your state, and they make the disability decision based on medical evidence.
You can visit our Disability Benefits webpage for more information on who decides if you are disabled.
DisabledSupporter
“When you apply for Disability benefits, we send your application to the Disability Determination Services office in your state, and they make the disability decision based on medical evidence.”
And you are certain this is actually what is happening in the “DDS”? You may want to step up patrols or better yet, dump the whole DDS’ program nationwide. The amount of errors and wasted time and resources that come out of these state agencies is horrendous.
The disability process would be hugely enhanced by getting these “3rd parties”, that know nothing of actual federal regulations, out of the process and keeping all claims in the SSA from the get go. That would hugely help put an end to the “tossing of the ball” that happens when responsibility for errors at the DDS’ are not cleaned up by SSA.