The Attorney Advisor Program allows certain staff attorneys to conduct certain prehearing proceedings and issue certain fully favorable decisions on the record (OTR), when appropriate. The Attorney Advisor Program was originally enacted as a two-year … [Read more...]
Social Security Disability Award Rate Continues to Drop
Recent studies indicate a continuous drop in favorable decisions coming from Social Security administrative law judges. For the fiscal year 2018, of the 423,224 decisions made by administrative law judges, only 43% of the claims were awarded. More … [Read more...]
Importance of Medical Records, Continuing Treatment, and Treatment Compliance at Social Security
The first step in any claim for Social Security disability is proving that you have an impairment that prevents you from sustaining gainful activity. To prove the existence of such an impairment, Social Security looks to your medical records, your … [Read more...]
Hearing Wait Time Decreases, but Overall Processing Time Continues to Rise at the Social Security Administration
As is often the case with Social Security, good news usually is followed by bad news. First, the good news: the number of cases awaiting Social Security hearings continues to drop. The bad news: the average time it takes for a claimant to receive a … [Read more...]
Study Reveals Positive Effect of Professional Representation at Social Security Hearings
A Government Accountability Office (GAO) study of hearings-level award rates for disability claims revealed that “claimants who had representation at their hearings, were allowed benefits at a rate nearly 3 times higher than those without … [Read more...]
Potential Changes to Medicare and Medicaid Services in 2018
On January 11, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance to state Medicaid directors, allowing them to waive the current Medicaid rules and impose more restrictive eligibility standards. Among the permissible changes to the … [Read more...]
What Happens to Social Security Benefits during a Government Shutdown?
While the government re-opened on January 23rd, 2018 following a brief shutdown that commenced on January 19th, 2018, the continuing budget resolution passed by Congress only funded the government through February 8th, 2018, at which time the nation … [Read more...]