As part of a campaign to reduce the number of people awarded Social Security disability, the Social Security Administration has changed the rule about how much weight to accord opinion statements from treating doctors. Under the old rule, it was presumed that the treating physician had a special knowledge of the patient, and those opinions …
President Trump Proposes Cuts of 72 Billion Dollars From Social Security Disability
The White House’s federal budget proposes to reduce federal spending for Social Security disability by 72 billion dollars over the next ten years. In addition, it proposes to cut 600 billion dollars from the Medicaid budget, in addition to the 839 billion dollars in Medicaid cuts proposed by the US House of Representatives. This would …
Hearing Delays Likely to Worsen Under Proposed 2018 Federal Budget
The proposed 2018 federal budget that the President is sending to Congress cuts the budget for the Department of Health and Human Services by 12.6%, amounting to $16 billion. These budget cuts are likely to cause further downsizing of staff at the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, where disability cases are heard, and the field …
Social Security Disability Asthma Listings Revised Effective October 7, 2016
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has revised its listing for asthma (3.03), effective October 7, 2016. If you meet a listing, provided you do not have a job, you will be considered disabled without regard to your age, education or work history. The new listing includes criteria that are based upon displaying a forced expiration …