Podcasts about Social Security Disability Insurance

Have a comment or question? Click this sentence to send us a message, and we might answer it in a future episode.Welcome to Season 5, Episode 15 of Winning Isn't Easy. In this episode, we'll dive into the complicated topic of "Allsup, and Filing Concurrent Social Security Disability and Long-Term Disability Claims."Join attorney Nancy L. Cavey, a leading expert in disability claims, for an eye-opening discussion on the intersection of ERISA Disability insurance and Social Security Disability benefits. If your Long-Term Disability carrier has suggested using a third-party service like Allsup to handle your SSDI application, you're not alone - but is that really in your best interest? In today's episode, we're pulling back the curtain on what Allsup promises versus what you may actually experience. From the fine print in your ERISA policy to the strategic timing of your SSDI application, we'll explore why many claimants are required to apply for Social Security Disability - often before their Long-Term Disability claim is even approved. Whether you're just starting the claims process or re-evaluating your options, this episode is packed with essential guidance to help you make informed decisions, avoid common pitfalls, and protect your financial future. So, let's get into it.In this episode, we'll cover the following topics:One - Did Your ERISA Disability Carrier Suggest That You Use Allsup to File a Claim for Social Security Disability Insurance? Why the Four Claims That Allsup Makes About Why You Should Use Them to Handle Your Social Security Disability Don't Make SenseTwo - Is Allsup Really Interested in Helping Me or the Disability Insurance Carrier When the Carrier Recommends I Use Allsup to Apply for Social Security Disability Benefits?Whether you're a claimant, or simply seeking valuable insights into the disability claims landscape, this episode provides essential guidance to help you succeed in your journey. Don't miss it.Listen to Our Sister Podcast:We have a sister podcast - Winning Isn't Easy: Navigating Your Social Security Disability Claim. Give it a listen: https://wiessdpodcast.buzzsprout.com/Resources Mentioned in This Episode:LINK TO ROBBED OF YOUR PEACE OF MIND: https://mailchi.mp/caveylaw/ltd-robbed-of-your-piece-of-mindLINK TO THE DISABILITY INSURANCE CLAIM SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR PROFESSIONALS: https://mailchi.mp/caveylaw/professionals-guide-to-ltd-benefitsFREE CONSULT LINK: https://caveylaw.com/contact-us/Need Help Today?:Need help with your Long-Term Disability or ERISA claim? Have questions? Please feel welcome to reach out to use for a FREE consultation. Just mention you listened to our podcast.Review, like, and give us a thumbs up wherever you are listening to Winning Isn't Easy. We love to see your feedback about our podcast, and it helps us grow and improve.Please remember that the content shared is for informational purposes only, and should not replace personalized legal advice or guidance from qualified professionals. 

In this episode, Matt Goolsby and team discuss Tax Deadline, Social Security Disability Insurance affecting Health Insurance, and what's keeping people up at night. #retirement #podcast #show #money #finance #socialsecurity #stockmarket #taxes #estateplanning #medicare #healthcare #SSDI #ACA #affordablecareact

March 10, 2025 Episode 28Should You Apply for Disability After a Stroke? Steps to Take With Sam Schad In this episode of “Stronger After Stroke,” we tackle a crucial question for stroke survivors: Should you apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits? Navigating the SSDI application process can be overwhelming, but knowing when and how to apply can make all the difference. Our expert guest, Sam Schad from Schad Law, has spent his career advocating for individuals with disabilities, managing all aspects of SSDI claims. As one of the first non-attorney representatives eligible for direct payment from the Social Security Administration, Sam has decades of experience helping people present their cases effectively. He also works closely with medical professionals to ensure that patient impairments are well-documented for the claims process. In this episode, we discuss: Key factors to determine if you qualify for SSDI after a stroke The timeline for applying and what to expect during the process The most common reasons claims get denied and how to avoid them How to work with your doctors to strengthen your application What to do if your claim is denied and how to appeal If you or a loved one is struggling with the decision to apply for disability, this episode will provide essential guidance to help you move forward with confidence.

Jim and Chris discuss listener questions relating to Survivor Benefits, Social Security Disability Insurance, and Donor Advised Funds. Before diving into listener questions, Jim shares insights from his recent trip to an industry conference, where he investigated financial planning software options that might align with their Secure Retirement Income Process™ and Fun Number™. The guys […] The post Survivor Benefits, Social Security Disability, and Donor Advised Funds: Q&A #2506 appeared first on The Retirement and IRA Show.

Atlanta Fed economist David Wiczer joins the Economy Matters podcast to discuss his recent research into the Social Security Disability Insurance program.

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 29 of Winning Isn't Easy. In this episode, we'll dive into the complicated topic of "The Intersection of SSDI and ERISA, P2 - Vocational Evaluation." Host Nancy L. Cavey, a seasoned attorney with extensive experience in disability claims, discusses the intersection of SSDI and ERISA claims. While SSDI and ERISA are completely different things, they do share some similarities in process, and are often intertwined in the course of applying for disability. Often, when you're applying for one, you are required to apply for the other. That is why it is vital to be knowledgeable regarding both. In the second part of this multi-part series, your host Nancy L. Cavey will be diving into the specifics of the vocational evaluations applicants will undergo. In this episode, we'll cover the following topics:1 -  The Vocational Denial Toolbox2 - The Game Played at the Any Occupation Stage3 - How to Attack the Common Mistakes Made at the Own Occupation Stage of an ERISA CaseWhether you're a claimant, or simply seeking valuable insights into the disability claims landscape, this episode provides essential guidance to help you succeed in your journey. Don't miss it.Resources Mentioned In This Episode:LINK TO ROBBED OF YOUR PEACE OF MIND: https://caveylaw.com/get-free-reports/get-disability-book/LINK TO THE DISABILITY INSURANCE CLAIM SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR PROFESSIONALS: https://caveylaw.com/get-free-reports/disability-insurance-claim-survival-guide-professionals/FREE CONSULT LINK: https://caveylaw.com/contact-us/Need Help Today?:Need help with your Long-Term Disability or ERISA claim? Have questions? Please feel welcome to reach out to use for a FREE consultation. Just mention you listened to our podcast.Review, like, and give us a thumbs up wherever you are listening to Winning Isn't Easy. We love to see your feedback about our podcast, and it helps us grow and improve.Please remember that the content shared is for informational purposes only, and should not replace personalized legal advice or guidance from qualified professionals.

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 27 of Winning Isn't Easy. In this episode, we'll dive into the complicated topic of "The Intersection of SSDI and ERISA P1 - The Vocational Games That Are Played in an ERISA Case." Host Nancy L. Cavey, a seasoned attorney with extensive experience in disability claims, discusses the intersection of SSDI and ERISA claims. While SSDI and ERISA are completely different things, they do share some similarities in process, and are often intertwined in the course of applying for disability. Often, when you're applying for one, you are required to apply for the other. That is why it is vital to be knowledgeable regarding both. In the first part of this multi-part series, your host Nancy L. Cavey will be diving into the specifics of the vocational games that carriers will play in ERISA claims, and how that correlates with the process of SSDI.In this episode, we'll cover the following topics:1 -  The ERISA Golden Rule2 - Step 4 Overview3 - Step 5 OverviewWhether you're a claimant, or simply seeking valuable insights into the disability claims landscape, this episode provides essential guidance to help you succeed in your journey. Don't miss it.Resources Mentioned In This Episode:LINK TO ROBBED OF YOUR PEACE OF MIND: https://caveylaw.com/get-free-reports/get-disability-book/LINK TO THE DISABILITY INSURANCE CLAIM SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR PROFESSIONALS: https://caveylaw.com/get-free-reports/disability-insurance-claim-survival-guide-professionals/FREE CONSULT LINK: https://caveylaw.com/contact-us/Need Help Today?:Need help with your Long-Term Disability or ERISA claim? Have questions? Please feel welcome to reach out to use for a FREE consultation. Just mention you listened to our podcast.Review, like, and give us a thumbs up wherever you are listening to Winning Isn't Easy. We love to see your feedback about our podcast, and it helps us grow and improve.Please remember that the content shared is for informational purposes only, and should not replace personalized legal advice or guidance from qualified professionals.

National Progressive Town Hall Meeting as US House (Wisconsin) Rep. Mark Pocan talks to callers who are concerned about Biden's viability as a candidate.. Joe Biden could be out of the 2024 election, but how will the Democratic Party be able to put up a fight against Donald Trump?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

GDP Script/ Top Stories for June 26th          Publish Date:  June 26th           From the Ingles Studio Welcome to the Gwinnett Daily Post Podcast. Today is Wednesday, June 26th and Happy heavenly Birthday to NBA HOF Willis Reed. ***06.26.24 – BIRTHDAY – WILLIS REED*** I'm Bruce Jenkins and here are your top stories presented by KIA Mall of Georgia. Mystery Snails Are Invading Lake Lanier and State Officials Say They've Got to Go Gwinnett Schools Budget Includes Higher Raises for Employees Clydesdales Appearance in Gwinnett Promises to Be Second to None Plus, my conversation with Leah McGrath from Ingles Markets on Laura Lynn products. All of this and more is coming up on the Gwinnett Daily Post podcast, and if you are looking for community news, we encourage you to listen daily and subscribe! Break 1: MOG   STORY 1: Mystery Snails Are Invading Lake Lanier and State Officials Say They've Got to Go Lake Lanier is facing an invasive species challenge with the emergence of the Chinese/Japanese Mystery Snail. Georgia Department of Natural Resources officials are concerned about this snail's presence, confirmed to be a reproducing population rather than an isolated case. The origin of these snails in Lake Lanier remains uncertain, but possibilities include their sale in food markets and ownership as pets, despite recent regulations against possessing them in Georgia. These snails pose ecological threats by displacing native species and economic risks by damaging boats and equipment, potentially hindering water access. DNR urges the public, especially anglers and boaters, to prevent further spread by ensuring boats and equipment are clean and by not releasing non-native species into Georgia's waters. STORY 2: Gwinnett Schools Budget Includes Higher Raises for Employees Gwinnett County Public Schools recently approved a $3.2 billion budget for fiscal year 2025, which includes substantial increases in teacher salaries beyond initial expectations. Originally slated for a $3,000 raise, teachers will now receive $4,000, reflecting additional state funding and community feedback. The budget also boosts the cost-of-living adjustment for other employees from 4% to 4.25%. This $32 million in new funding also supports initiatives like more instructional coaches, SAT For All program funding, graduation coaches, and enhanced resources for multilingual and ESOL programs. Additionally, the district plans a slight reduction in its property tax millage rate, pending public input at hearings scheduled for July. STORY 3: Clydesdales Appearance in Gwinnett Promises to Be Second To None The Budweiser Clydesdales, symbols of American tradition, will be in Norcross on July 5th. Their visit supports Folds of Honor, a charity providing educational scholarships to families of fallen service members. The majestic horses will be at B&W Burgers, Buns & Brews from 5-7 PM, with proceeds from Budweiser patriotic packaging sales benefiting the cause. We have opportunities for sponsors to get great engagement on these shows. Call 770.874.3200 for more info. We'll be right back Break 2: TOM WAGES STORY 4: Gates Scholarship paves way for Mountain View grad to pursue college dreams at UGA Luke Vasquez, a recent graduate of Mountain View High School in Buford, has been awarded a prestigious Gates Scholarship from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Out of over 50,000 applicants nationwide, Vasquez was selected as one of 750 Gates Scholars. This scholarship will cover the cost of his undergraduate education at the University of Georgia, ensuring he graduates debt-free. Vasquez plans to study international affairs with aspirations of becoming an immigration attorney, inspired by his family's experiences with immigration. Beyond the Gates Scholarship, Vasquez has received numerous other honors and scholarships, reflecting his academic and extracurricular achievements in wrestling and community service. STORY 5: Georgia Power expands Income-Qualified Discount Georgia Power has expanded its "Income-Qualified Senior Discount" program to include more customers with limited incomes, effective since May 1 following approval by the Georgia Public Service Commission in December 2023. The program now benefits thousands more annually, offering a $33.50 monthly bill discount. Eligibility criteria include being 65 or older with a household income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, or qualifying for Social Security Disability Insurance, Supplemental Security Income, or HUD Section 8. Georgia Power aims to ensure access to affordable energy, offering additional income-qualified programs like EASE and partnering with community agencies for energy assistance. For details, visit Georgia Power's website.   We'll be back in a moment   Break 3: INGLES 8   And now here is my conversation with Leah McGrath from Ingles Markets on Laura Lynn products.   ***LEAH MCGRATH***   We'll have final thoughts after this.   Break 4: INGLES 9 Signoff – Thanks again for hanging out with us on today's Gwinnett Daily Post Podcast. If you enjoy these shows, we encourage you to check out our other offerings, like the Cherokee Tribune Ledger Podcast, the Marietta Daily Journal, or the Community Podcast for Rockdale Newton and Morgan Counties. Read more about all our stories and get other great content at www.gwinnettdailypost.com/ Did you know over 50% of Americans listen to podcasts weekly? Giving you important news about our community and telling great stories are what we do. Make sure you join us for our next episode and be sure to share this podcast on social media with your friends and family. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home Briefing and be sure to like, follow, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by the BG Podcast Network   Show Sponsors: www.ingles-markets.com  www.wagesfuneralhome.com www.kiamallofga.com   #NewsPodcast #CurrentEvents #TopHeadlines #BreakingNews #PodcastDiscussion #PodcastNews #InDepthAnalysis #NewsAnalysis #PodcastTrending #WorldNews #LocalNews #GlobalNews #PodcastInsights #NewsBrief #PodcastUpdate #NewsRoundup #WeeklyNews #DailyNews #PodcastInterviews #HotTopics #PodcastOpinions #InvestigativeJournalism #BehindTheHeadlines #PodcastMedia #NewsStories #PodcastReports #JournalismMatters #PodcastPerspectives #NewsCommentary #PodcastListeners #NewsPodcastCommunity #NewsSource #PodcastCuration #WorldAffairs #PodcastUpdates #AudioNews #PodcastJournalism #EmergingStories #NewsFlash #PodcastConversationsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The largest disability fraud case in United States history is linked to a flamboyant lawyer in a small Kentucky town. Prelude: The history and abuse of Social Security Disability Insurance. –––-–---------------------------------------- BECOME A VALUEDLISTENER™ Spotify Apple Podcasts Patreon –––-–---------------------------------------- DONATE: SwindledPodcast.com/Support CONSUME: SwindledPodcast.com/Shop –––-–---------------------------------------- MUSIC: Deformr –––-–---------------------------------------- FOLLOW: SwindledPodcast.com Instagram Twitter.com TikTok Facebook Thanks for listening. :-) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When people living with MS find themselves unable to continue working due to disability, they turn to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). And when they do, many are surprised to find the long, winding, sometimes confusing road that lies ahead.  This week, disability law expert Jamie Hall joins me to demystify the process of applying for SSDI benefits. Jamie specializes in social security and long-term disability law. And he, literally, wrote the book for the National MS Society on applying for SSDI benefits. We'll also tell you about the amazing work this year's recipient of the Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research is involved in. We're reporting on the progress that scientists are making in penetrating the blood brain barrier (And we'll remind you about why that makes a real difference for everyone living with MS!) We're sharing the details about KYV-101, the experimental CAR-T cell therapy that's been given a Fast Track designation by the FDA. We'll tell you about study results that show people with a university education are more likely to be on a disease-modifying therapy. And we're sharing study results that identify the inequity in geographic proximity to MS care in the United States. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: How to apply for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits  :22 This year's recipient of the Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS research  1:58 Real progress reported in efforts to penetrate the blood brain barrier  7:17 FDA gives Fast-Track designation to CAR-T cell therapy for MS  10:03 STUDY: Having a university education makes it more likely that someone with MS will be on a DMT  13:04 STUDY: Geographic proximity to MS care in the U.S. is far from equal   15:04 Disability law expert Jamie Hall discusses how to apply for SSDI benefits   19:29 Share this episode  38:01 Have you downloaded the free RealTalk MS app?  38:21 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: https://realtalkms.com/336 ADD YOUR VOICE TO THE CONVERSATION I've always thought about the RealTalk MS podcast as a conversation. And this is your opportunity to join the conversation by sharing your feedback, questions, and suggestions for topics that we can discuss in future podcast episodes. Please shoot me an email or call the RealTalk MS Listener Hotline and share your thoughts! Email: jon@realtalkms.com Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the RealTalk MS Facebook group! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the RealTalk MS app or at www.RealTalkMS.com Applying for Social Security Disability Benefits: A Guidebook for People with MS and their Healthcare Providers https://nationalmssociety.org/NationalMSSociety/media/MSNationalFiles/Brochures/Guidebook-Social-Security-Disability-for-People-with-MS.pdf Predictive High-Throughput Platform for Dual Screening of mRNA Lipid Nanoparticle Blood Brain Barrier Transfection and Crossing https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c03509 STUDY: University Education Facilitates Uptake of Disease-Modifying Therapies for Multiple Sclerosis: A Community-Based Study Using the UK MS Register https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13524585231221411 STUDY: Geographic Proximity in Access to Neurologists and Multiple Sclerosis Care in the United States https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000207916 Join the RealTalk MS Facebook Group https://facebook.com/groups/realtalkms Download the RealTalk MS App for iOS Devices https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/realtalk-ms/id1436917200 Download the RealTalk MS App for Android Deviceshttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tv.wizzard.android.realtalk Give RealTalk MS a rating and review http://www.realtalkms.com/review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, @RealTalkMS_jon, and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, RealTalkMS.com. RealTalk MS Episode 336 Guest: Jamie Hall, Esq. Privacy Policy

Schizophrenia, a complex and harrowing illness, presents an ongoing challenge for caregivers. In this groundbreaking book, discover the missing links that empowers you to navigate the labyrinth of decisions and actions required to provide the best care for your loved one.Nicole Drapeau Gillen is a mother who recognized that caregivers like herself often find themselves thrust into this challenging, complex and stressful situation with little clear guidance on how to help a loved one with a serious mental illness.Her goal is to create a practical and actionable handbook that offers valuable insights into caring for your loved ones facing this formidable condition.  With a 35-year background in the business world as a former IT executive and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), NIcole now aims to channel her skills into a more meaningful endeavor - supporting fellow caregivers.She lives in Virginia and loves teaching fitness, taking care of her family and learning how to be a better caregiver.This book addresses everything from setting up disability support, to legal support (guardianship, conservatorship, or power of attorney), to financial support (Supplemental Security Income, Social Security Disability Insurance), to insurance (Medicaid), to estate planning and trusts. It further provides resources on the role of the government, jails, rehabilitation, housing and homelessness.What was your motivation for writing this?3 moms - what are your favorite sections?Nocole - What's happened since the book has been released?Is there anything I would have done differently, now that it is released?What kind of response have I received, and from whom?What has surprised you most in the responses?What's next?Links:Schizophrenia and Related Disorders: A Handbook for Caregivers: https://www.amazon.com/Schizophrenia-Related-Disorders-Handbook-Caregivers/dp/B0CQMM889HSchizophrenia and Other Related Disorders. Handbook For Caretakers Nicole's  Website, Facebook page; and Tiktok.Mindy and her book: https://mindygreiling.com/Randye and her book: https://www.randyekaye.com/Miriam and her book: https://www.miriam-feldman.com/Want to know more?Join our facebook page Our websites:Randye KayeMindy Greiling Miriam (Mimi) Feldman

Leo joins Drew this week as they discuss Medigap in Pennsylvania, whole life insurance, special needs trusts, and Social Security Disability Insurance.  Download and enjoy!

  Welcome Back No-Problem Parents! Today's guest is on a mission. Maria Zondervan has a son with autism who may never be able to support himself fully financially and has made it her life's mission to help others like him, by first helping their parents. Maria specializes in helping parents of special needs children build a financially secure future for themselves and their children that will last generations.   Get the tools & knowledge needed to secure the future for your special needs child: Gov't Benefits, Guardianship, Special Needs Trust, etc. REGISTER FOR THE SEPTEMBER 26th @ 7pm ET - FREE Webinar HERE: NAVIGATING KEY OPTIONS for FAMILIES with SPECIAL NEEDS   There are so many frustrated parents out there without a plan, fearful of the future for their children. Maria guides them into becoming superheroes in their children's lives. She helps parents become well informed, confident, generous, successful real estate investors, who are financially secure and have a nest egg for themselves and their children.   1. The government isn't going to take care of your child. Social Security Disability Insurance, HUD, and Medicare in the United States are vastly insufficient to live on.   2. Taking care of a special needs child is many times more expensive than taking care of a regular child – which is already expensive. If you want a quality life, you can't work 80 hours a week to support your family. You must find a better way to build wealth.   Maria left her biology career after a 26-year tenure to focus on securing a financially stable future for her autistic son through commercial real estate investing. She specializes in recession-resistant assets, such as affordable housing, long-term holds, and value-add apartments that help investors grow their net worth. Through her company, Blue Vikings Capital LLC, Maria helps investors achieve consistent annual returns of 12% or more.   Maria is also the Founder of Valhalla Villas, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing housing and independent living services for autistic adults. She offers investment opportunities in these communities for anyone seeking "forever hold" assets that they can pass on to their heirs, particularly beneficial to special needs parents who wish to ensure the financial security of their children.   Maria's accomplishments demonstrate that financial gain is not the only measure of success; making a positive impact on the world around us is equally important. Learn more about Maria by clicking one of the links: https://linktr.ee/bluevikingscapital https://www.facebook.com/maria.zondervan https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-zondervan-b5b61544/ https://www.youtube.com/@bluevikingscapital https://www.instagram.com/mariazondervan/ Facebook Group: A Bright Future: A Special Needs Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/924001701903257 www.BlueVikingsCapital.com www.ValhallaVillas.org (non-profit)   CLICK HERE: CHECK OUT THE NO-PROBLEM PARENTING RESOURCE PLAYGROUND A variety of RESOURCES for parents that Jaci recommends to help YOU the parent and YOUR children. We don't know what we don't know. I am on a mission to help you find the best (and often unknown) resources for your family so that you can deal with and overcome any problem!   Thank you to our SPONSORS! If your company, product or service would like to partner with No-Problem Parenting and help us, help more families, email admin@helloworldmn.com with subject line: BECOME a SPONSOR   Check it out: Volume 2 No Problem Parenting:; Resources and Stories that Create Confidence and Connection AVAILABLE NOW: Paperback or KINDLE OR Volume 1: No-Problem Parenting; Raising Your Kiddos with More Confidence and Less Fear! Order your copy HERE   Are you ready to become a No-Problem Parent?   Start here: Becoming a No-Problem Parent on-demand program. Just $50!   The most common response I get from parents that have worked with me is “We wish we would've known of you years ago."   To learn more about Parenting Support, be a guest on the show or hire Jaci to Speak at your next event: Schedule a call now: Jaci's Calendar   Want access to ALL of Jaci's favorite resources, training, parenting courses, and all things No-Problem Parenting? Sign up for our NEWSLETTER and get the free Make it Right PDF Download. Listen to Episodes 9 and 23 for more info on the benefits of The Make it Right Technique!     Follow us on FB   Follow us on IG   Follow us on LinkedIn     Hugs and High Fives,   Jaci

Richard Culbertson is a highly experienced Social Security attorney with over 20 years of experience in the field, based in Daytona and Orlando, Florida. He is a skilled and dedicated advocate known for his compassionate approach and personalized attention to clients. Mr. Culbertson has helped clients with a wide range of Social Security issues, including disability benefits, retirement benefits, and survivor benefits. Mr. Culbertson graduated from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 1999 and is a National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives (NOSSCR) member. He is admitted to practice law in Florida before the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. In addition to his legal work, Mr. Culbertson is an active member of his local community, volunteering with non-profit organizations and serving on the board of directors. Key takeaways from this episode: Medical evidence is necessary for disability cases, so Culbertson established a separate agency to assist clients with health insurance coverage. The three main possibilities for health insurance coverage are Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Medicare is the gold standard and covers those 65 and older or those with Social Security Disability Insurance for 24 consecutive months. Medicaid is a welfare program for low-income individuals, but the choice of doctors is limited. The ACA offers coverage depending on the financial situation and eligibility criteria. Private insurance companies may have their requirements in the group policy, such as requiring a person to get Medicare, which could lead to issues with coverage and payments. Veterans may not have health insurance coverage through the VA, which could lead to problems with Medicare coverage. Coordination of benefits is essential, as it determines who pays first and who pays second and having multiple types of coverage can be beneficial in covering high medical expenses. Medicare has different parts, including Parts A and B, which cover hospital and medical insurance. Part C, or Advantage programs, are offered by private insurance companies and provide additional coverage beyond what Parts A and B cover. Part D covers prescription drug costs, and supplements are available to cover costs not covered by Parts A and B. Supplements become available to those aged 65 or older, and insurance companies cannot deny coverage due to pre-existing conditions. Connect with Richard:  Connect with Attorney Richard Culbertson Phone Orlando: 407-894-0888 Daytona: 386-253-6811 Leesburg: 352-728-5552 Email Orlando: orlando@culbertsonlawgroup.com Daytona: orlando@culbertsonlawgroup.com Leesburg: info@richardculbertsonlaw.com Connect with Gary: Website: sbadvisors.cc/ Facebook: facebook.com/SmallBusinessAdvisors LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gary-d-heldt-jr-388a051/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even though you pay into the Social Security system, it's not designed to benefit you. Especially if you want disability benefits. Attorney and Social Security Disability Expert Spencer Bishins shares his experience with the Social Security Disability Insurance benefits application process. Spencer is one of the many attorneys hired by the Social Security Office to help them determine who qualifies for benefits under (SSDI) from a legal standpoint.Has your application for SSDI been rejected? If you believe you do qualify but you're confused about the process this episode is for you.What is SSDI? (2:40)Who pays for SSDI? (2:52)What qualifies as a disability (7:00)How is disability determined (by age) by the Social Security Administration? (9:40)What does the application for SSDI look like?Bio: Spencer Bishins has a master's degree from the London School of Economics, and a law degree from Florida State University. After law school, he worked in the private sector for two years prior to joining the Social Security Administration (SSA) in 2010. He worked at the Appeals Council for almost four years, reviewing thousands of disability decisions for compliance with SSA's complex rules and procedures. (cont'd).Grab a copy of Spencer's book, Social Security Disability Revealed.Connect with Spencer: Instagram - @snihsibs | website: www.bishinspublishing.com This podcast is hosted by Captivate, try it yourself for free. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

What's the line when it comes to stories about political candidates? We discuss both breaking Jennifer Dorow stories: one about her son and the other about the liquor license she and her husband want for their gun range. The mess that is Social Security Disability Insurance  in Wisconsin. The economy, apparently, is pretty, pretty good. TikTok is not going going down without an (expensive) fight. W I W B TCivic Media

Richard Culbertson received his Juris Doctor degree from Western State College of Law in 1975. He was admitted to the California Bar in that same year. He was subsequently admitted to The Florida Bar. He spent the first twenty years of his career providing legal services to low-income individuals through non-profit legal aid and legal services offices.    He opened his own office in 1996. He is Board Certified in Social Security Disability Advocacy by the National Board of Legal Certification Specialty, which the American Bar Association accredits. Richard has spoken at many seminars on Social Security issues sponsored by community organizations, County and State Bar Associations, and the National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives.  Attorney Culbertson now handles nothing but Social Security cases and related Medicare issues. He has handled thousands of cases from pre-application through the United States Supreme Court.   The Culbertson Law Group consists of five attorneys who represent Social Security claimants. The Group includes two certified specialists and one former Social Security Administrative Law Judge. Here are some of the beneficial topics covered on this week's show: Attorney Culbertson shares why the Social Security Administration denies disability.  Understanding the different levels when seeking disability. How Covid has caused a backlog of cases and  Why any benefit of the doubt goes against the claim and the claimant?  When should you first seek help from a disability attorney? The difference between Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income The steps and processes when you are found disabled and what to expect.  Listen to this and previous episodes:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grow-your-business-and-grow-your-wealth/id1521874291 Connect with Attorney Richard Culbertson Phone Orlando: 407-894-0888 Daytona: 386-253-6811 Leesburg: 352-728-5552 Email Orlando: orlando@culbertsonlawgroup.com Daytona: orlando@culbertsonlawgroup.com Leesburg: info@richardculbertsonlaw.com Connect with Gary: Website: sbadvisors.cc/ Facebook: facebook.com/SmallBusinessAdvisors LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gary-d-heldt-jr-388a051/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

INTRODUCTION: Spencer Bishins has a master's degree from the London School of Economics, and a law degree from Florida State University. Working for SSA for more than 10 years, he drafted or reviewed thousands of disability decisions. After leaving SSA, he wanted to help demystify the complicated disability system. His first book, Social Security Disability Revealed: Why it's so hard to access benefits and what you can do about it, explores the obstacles that disability claimants face as they try to access benefits. INCLUDED IN THIS EPISODE (But not limited to): ·      SSA System Demystified ·      Veteran's Concerns ·      The Impact On The LGBTQIA+ Community·      Are Drugs & Alcohol A Factor?·      SSI Vs. SSDI·      Medicaid & State Level Implications·      Acceptable Income Levels·      The Way Claims Are Handled ·      Treatment Record Hassles·      HIV Rules ·      How Approvals & Denials Are Decided·      The Impact Of Politics·      Interesting Info On The Kinds Of Judges That Decide Cases CONNECT WITH SPENCER: Website: https://www.bishinspublishing.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/BishinsPublishingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bishinspublishing/Twitter: https://twitter.com/bishinspub  CONNECT WITH DE'VANNON: Website: https://www.SexDrugsAndJesus.comWebsite: https://www.DownUnderApparel.comYouTube: https://bit.ly/3daTqCMFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/SexDrugsAndJesus/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sexdrugsandjesuspodcast/Twitter: https://twitter.com/TabooTopixLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devannonPinterest: https://www.pinterest.es/SexDrugsAndJesus/_saved/Email: DeVannon@SexDrugsAndJesus.com  DE'VANNON'S RECOMMENDATIONS: ·      Pray Away Documentary (NETFLIX)o  https://www.netflix.com/title/81040370o  TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk_CqGVfxEs ·      OverviewBible (Jeffrey Kranz)o  https://overviewbible.como  https://www.youtube.com/c/OverviewBible ·      Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed (Documentary)o  https://press.discoveryplus.com/lifestyle/discovery-announces-key-participants-featured-in-upcoming-expose-of-the-hillsong-church-controversy-hillsong-a-megachurch-exposed/ ·      Leaving Hillsong Podcast With Tanya Levino  https://leavinghillsong.podbean.com  ·      Upwork: https://www.upwork.com·      FreeUp: https://freeup.net VETERAN'S SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS ·      Disabled American Veterans (DAV): https://www.dav.org·      American Legion: https://www.legion.org ·      What The World Needs Now (Dionne Warwick): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfHAs9cdTqg  INTERESTED IN PODCASTING OR BEING A GUEST?: ·      PodMatch is awesome! This application streamlines the process of finding guests for your show and also helps you find shows to be a guest on. The PodMatch Community is a part of this and that is where you can ask questions and get help from an entire network of people so that you save both money and time on your podcasting journey.https://podmatch.com/signup/devannon  TRANSCRIPT:Spencer Bishins[00:00:00]You're listening to the sex drugs and Jesus podcast, where we discuss whatever the fuck we want to! And yes, we can put sex and drugs and Jesus all in the same bed and still be all right at the end of the day. My name is De'Vannon and I'll be interviewing guests from every corner of this world as we dig into topics that are too risqué for the morning show, as we strive to help you understand what's really going on in your life.There is nothing off the table and we've got a lot to talk about. So let's dive right into this episode.De'Vannon: Spencer Bishins is the author of the Eyeopening book Social Security Disability Revealed why it's so hard to access benefits and what you can do about it baby. Now in this episode, we're peeling back the pages to give you an inside look at what really goes on inside the Social Security Administration.And as you can guess, it's lots of Tom Foolery lies honey scandals in every [00:01:00] imaginary type of deception. Listen close, learn some new shit. Share this with a bitch, you know, and reach out to me and let me know what bothered you the most about what you found out about the Social Security Administration.Hello, are you beautiful and special people out there? And welcome back to the Sex Drugs in Jesus podcast. My name is Hubert and I'm your house. And I have with me the mentally stimulating, mind opening, feeling spilling. Spencer Bishops and he is an author and he has come to help us out a lot today.Spencer, how are. Spencer: I'm good. How are you? I am De'Vannon: fan fucking, Spencer: and I, I, I have to say that is the most unique intro I've had so far. No one has given me that exact same intro yet, , [00:02:00]De'Vannon: god damn it. And they never fucking will unless they steal my shit. So, I mean, that's bowing to happen. So so Spencer, he, he wrote a book, it's called Social Security Disability Revealed.Oh, there it is. Beautiful. Why it's so hard to access then to fits and what you can do about it. So, Spencer Bishop, he has a master's degree from the London School of Economics and a law degree from Florida State University. Go FSU now. He worked for the Social Security Administration for more than 10 years.Then he pieced out from them motherfuckers because he wanted to demystify the complicated disability system. This book here, Gonna help you overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of you getting your damn money. Especially after we work, they take all goddamn damn money outta our check and then when we want it, they don't wanna give it back.Ain't that some shit? [00:03:00] Fucking Spencer: bitches. You don't even need me. That's just summarize the whole book right there, . Yeah. So. De'Vannon: I'm gonna pull up the table of contents and read just a few of the chapters and then, I mean, read, read a few of the chapter titles just cause I found them to be interesting. And then, and then right after that, I'm gonna let you tell people why you wrote it and who you are, in your own words.But I thought, I just thought the, the table of contents would like, kind of spill some of the t. So some of the chapter titles from this book are called like after the hearing the Appeals Process, permanent Mental Health Conditions, drug Abuse and Alcoholism, child claimants, deceased Claimants and Widow Claimants Firing Your Representative, and fraud, waste and Abuse.You know, this, this book has 34 chapters in it. So during this podcast show here, and I don't know, we might have to have you back on for a second [00:04:00] time, but be it once or twice, we won't be able to cover all this. So, Y'all wanna get your money, gonna have to get this booked here. So we're thankful that you, after having worked there, gave us this testimony.Now tell us why you did this in your own words and who you are.Spencer: Before I do that, I just wanna say, I promise what's in those chapters is far more interesting than the titles themselves. I wanted to do some more like catchy chapter titles and my editor suggested, no, just tell people what's in the chapters.Don't get too fancy with the chapter titles themselves, but the actual content is far more interesting. So I worked for Social Security for 11 years. During the first four years, I reviewed thousands of cases on appeal decisions that had already been written. And then I went before, as you say, before I pieced out.I spent another seven years at the hearing level actually writing decisions for [00:05:00] administrative law judges. So, and I wrote almost 2000 decisions. So with a sample size that large, as you can imagine, I learned a lot about who gets paid, who doesn't, how judges make the decisions that they make, what techniques they use to deny cases, even when there's really good evidence suggesting someone is disabled.And as you said in the intro, everyone who has paid into the system, that's your. If you work, if you've paid the social security tax, whether you're an employee or have been an employee, or are, or have been self-employed, either way you've paid the social security tax. Mm-hmm. , and that's why it's called an entitlement because you are entitled to get money if you qualify.But I learned a lot of the ways that Social Security and its judges look at people and medical records that should qualify for benefits and figure out ways to deny those [00:06:00] claims. And so I wanted to present the information that I had learned about what the Social Security disability process is. Cause it, it, you know, it's the government and it's, it's social security.It's like two things that if you are not sleeping well, you know, just think about those right. And it'll be your cure for insomnia. And so most Americans don't want to think about boring things like the government or social security or government benefits until you actually need them. If you get hurt, injured, have some sort of chronic condition or something, all of a sudden it ain't so boring anymore, right?Then you realize, wow, this is something that I actually need. I really need to know how to work this system. I need to know how to play the government game, and so that I can give myself a decent chance of actually getting these benefits that I've paid for. Mm-hmm. , De'Vannon: show us the [00:07:00] money. We need our money. So how many people do you think are on disability right about now, and about how many applications do you think come in a year?Spencer: So it wasn't long ago that it was like 2 million applications a year. I think now it's somewhere between around 1 million applications a year. I don't know if we're still above that number or not. And somewhere around nine or 10 million Americans are on are receiving disability benefits. And for social security overall, I think it's like 40 million.It's a lot because that baby boomer generation is in the retirement zone and in like another 10 years as they've died out. I mean it sounds heartless, but that's just statistics and math and reality. Right. At the point where they've died out, the number of overall recipients will probably come down, but the number of disability recipients probably hold pretty steady over time.Okay, De'Vannon: [00:08:00] so, so somebody, it's a, it is a state benefit as I understand it, or is it federal? Spencer: No, it's a federal benefit. When you apply, the first place your application goes is to your state agency and someone at the State Department of Health is responsible for making that initial decision. But if you're approved, it comes out of the federal pot of money, either the Social Security Trust fund for Social Security Disability Insurance, or for supplemental security income, which is a different program.It just comes right out of that plot of general revenues in federal income tax that we all pay. But, but it's federal both ways. So at the initial level and at the reconsideration level, which is the second, second step of the process, it's a state employee making the decision, but still as to whether or not you can get federal money.Okay. So, but, but as I [00:09:00] talk about in the book, Their decisions can impact the state budget too, which is why they're not neutral decision makers. They're not disinterested parties. There's a conflict of interest because if they approve you at the, if that state employee approves you for ssi, you can then get the Medicaid.And Medicaid is a federal state partnership, right? So it's a state employee deciding whether or not you should be approved for ssi, but knowing if they approve you, it's gonna cost the state money from their Medicaid program. So what would you do if you were that state employee and you could potentially cost the state lots of money and your boss has told you, stop costing our state.It's a conflict of interest, isn't De'Vannon: it? Yeah. They do shit like that. That's why I don't work for anyone anymore because bosses are bitches. So you mentioned ssdi. I, so what is the difference between SS I versus [00:10:00]S S D Spencer: I? Yeah, so, and I, and I cover this more in depth in part one of the book. But SSDI is, so I think it, you used to work for someone then, right?Were you ever an employee, W2 employee and you got a pay stub? Yeah. Most of us have done that at some point. Right? On that pay stub, you see three federal taxes coming outta your paycheck every two weeks. Federal income tax. But then there's also the social security and Medicare tax, that social security.Goes to pay for the Social Security Trust fund. And normally we think of that as retirement. I got something I get when I'm an old bart. Right? Don't have to worry about that now. But that also pays for the disability program, which think of that like as your retirement benefits, but sooner if you become disabled and unable to work.So that tax pays for both of those programs, which are kind of really the same [00:11:00] program. That's ssdi Social Security Disability Insurance, that tax you pay. Think of that like an insurance premium that you're paying. And then you have this insurance coverage and you have to have that insurance coverage in order to file an insurance claim.So it operates like an insurance company in that regard. Separate from that is supplemental security income. And that program is really for people who either, who don't have that. Insurance that I just talked about, because they haven't paid enough into the social security system to earn enough credits.So that could be stay at home parents, it could be young workers who haven't paid in long enough. It could be recent immigrants, it could be older people who are retired and haven't worked in the last five years, and so their insurance ran out. So for whatever reason, maybe you just can't get that S S D I insurance.Well, you can go file a claim for [00:12:00] ssi and as I said, that comes out of just regular income taxes. But because that's not an earned benefit, you didn't pay that insurance premium. It's a lot more unstable of a program. First, there's asset and income limitations, so if you have even a little bit of money or you're earning even a little bit of money, you're not gonna qualify.And even if you get approved, it's like 800 bucks a month. And if you work part-time, they'll offset that 800 bucks a month. And as I talk in the book, they'll even offset it for other things. Like let's say you're homeless, so you're crashing on someone's couch. Social Security will say, well, you're getting air quotes pre-read, and they'll deduct whatever they think the value of that is from your ssi.So that SSI program, it's there. And for some people it's all they can get, but it's really not a very good or very useful program. [00:13:00] So the SS D I program is much better. It's an earned benefit. And with that you can get Medicare coverage if you're disabled, which helps with healthcare. If you're not working, you don't have private health insurance.Right. And the other great thing about the S S D I program, the insurance program is that you can actually work. And still get paid benefits at the same time. And that's totally allowed. And the reason Social Security allows that is they want people to try and go back to work. So they let you collect your benefits while you're getting back into the workforce and making sure you can do it.Oh, De'Vannon: that's so sweet of them. I Spencer: know, right? Yeah. But people get confused cuz they're like, my neighbor's disabled and I saw him out pushing a lawnmower and they think like people are gaming the system by working while collecting disability. But that's just a misunderstanding of the system. System actually wants you to go out and try and work [00:14:00] to see if you can do it.And then if you do that long enough, then you graduate from the S S D I program. And they stop your benefits and you return to the workforce. So it's actually a good thing that we let people collect benefits and work because otherwise nobody would go back to work. Right. And that's what we want. We want people who can go back to work.To go back to work if possible. De'Vannon: So if somebody's working in collecting those benefits, is there like a maximum amount of income they can work? I mean can bring in in order for that to Spencer: happen? You read the book didn't you? ? I can tell. Cause that's an excellent question. And you know the answer is yes, there isSo there's a maximum amount of money that you can be earning per month when you're an applicant and a separate number. That's a maximum that you can earn after you're already receiving S S D I benefits. And that amount is lower. And the thing is, if you work and [00:15:00] earn under that amount, You can just keep working indefinitely as long as Social Security keeps paying you your benefits.If you exceed that amount, that's fine, but you only get to exceed that amount for nine months. At the point where you've exceeded that amount for nine months, social Security decides that's what, how they decide that you can go back to work. And so that amount changes every year. But I believe it's $970 this year in 2022.So if you are getting benefits, you're allowed to work. But if you exceed $970 per month, it actually isn't a lot to think about it, right? Like if you're making 50 bucks an hour, it's 20 hours a month or five hours a week. So it doesn't take a lot to show that you can go back to work, but that's what social Security wants to see.They don't need to see that you're working 60 hours a week. They just need to see enough to know that they can cut you loose. [00:16:00] And that you'll be okay on your own. Mm-hmm. and, and that number is a little higher when you're an applicant. It's $1,350 per month that you can work and earn and still claim, Ben still file an application for benefits because that amount indicates that even though you can work, you're probably not doing full-time work.If you exceed that amount, social Security decides that's, that means you can probably show that you can do full-time work and you're not disabled. Mm-hmm. . De'Vannon: So why thank you for that breakdown. Why, why or so many people not at the beginning of the process? Well, we talked about Spencer: one reason already, right?Which is that when you go to the state agency, you, when you first file your application, someone at your state government, usually it's the State Department of Health. Some like $40,000 a year bureaucrat is gonna look at your disability claim and basically like, Make a decision on your life. They'll look [00:17:00] at your medical records and your work history and they'll make a decision as to whether you're disabled.But as I talked about a few minutes ago, they're a state employee and they work for people who wanna keep the state Medicare costs down. So one reason is there's a conflict of interest and they just wanna save the state money. But another reason is, I mean, just think about your own medical records, like they're probably, you probably, if you went to try and get all your medical records for the last couple of years today, you'd have a hard time doing it.And if you have physical impairments, that mean you can't leave your home. So when your doctor says, just come pick 'em up at our office, maybe that's hard to do. Or if you have mental health impairments, Agoraphobia or anxiety, depression, you can't deal with other people. It might be hard to talk to people in, in your doctor's offices.I, not too long ago, a doctor literally told me, we'll [00:18:00] fax you the records. What's your fax number? Like it was 1987. So it's often just really hard for people to get their medical records, to get them organized, to make sure they're complete, to get records from all the different places they've been getting treatment.So I guess they even back up from that. The first thing is sometimes it's hard for people to just get medical treatment. In the United States, 80% of people get their health insurance from work. So if you can't work, cause that's why you're filing a disability claim, right? You can't work, you lose your health insurance, well then you can't go get medical treatment.So the first obstacle is, I can't even get treatment. So how am I supposed to get records? Even if you can get treatment, it's sometimes hard to literally get the actual pieces of paper from your doctor. And then you've gotta get it all organized and give us a social security. You've also gotta fill out their application, their other endless paperwork, like functional reports rely on them probably losing [00:19:00] something along the way and making you fill it out again.Or like, oh, sorry, we lost some of your medical records. Can you like go get those a second time for us? Thank you. It's just barrier after barrier after barrier. The social security puts in your way, a lot of it with very specific intent to keep you from getting through the process and getting a favorable decision on your claim.They know it's hard for Americans without a job and insurance to get treatment. They know it's hard for Americans to gather medical records. Our medical record keeping system in the United States is. In France, everyone has a card. It's kinda like your driver's license and it's like it's got a barcode on it and that card you can take to any medical facility in the entire country and they scan it and they can immediately pull up your entire medical history.In the UK they have something similar with their National health Service and [00:20:00] during the pandemic, within one week, they knew every single British citizen who was a high risk for Covid and they were able to deliver food boxes to those people's homes because they knew where they lived and they did it within one week because they had that information.It was well organized. They knew exactly where to find it, and they knew how to keep people safe. And in the United States, we still have doctors saying, we'll fax you your records. It's ridiculous. But Social Security knows that this is happening. So they know that the records that they're gonna get when you first file your application are gonna be kind of a mess.So is it any surprise that they're denying over 70% of people at that initial application? Somewhere along the line, someone gets tripped up. They don't fill out a form, right? They don't get certain medical records in they can complete, they miss a meeting with someone with the Social Security Office.They can't [00:21:00] go see. Social Security will send you to see this doctor that they basically pay to give you an opinion that you're not disabled. They literally tell you you have to go see a doctor. And we're paying that doctor, and those doctors know to send Social Security and opinion saying that you can work.Otherwise they're not gonna keep getting referrals. And so if you cooperate, you'll probably get an opinion saying you can work. And if you don't cooperate, social says, security says you're not cooperating. So like at some point, one of everything that I've just said will trip up most people and that's why most claims get denied at the initial level.I do know someone who got approved at the initial level, but he was like, he was in the hospital for several months and like, you know, you can imagine how many thousands of pages of medical records that was and they all came from one source. That's the kind of case that social security probably [00:22:00] approves at the initial level, but that's a very rare situ.De'Vannon: Mm. Well y'all of, y'all wanna find out how to circumnavigate that sort of issue. You better grab a copy of this book now. Talk to me about any kind of implications related to, hum. Human immuno efficiency virus, hiv. Spencer: Yeah, so Social Security has a listing for, I it's in the immune disorders section and let's see if I can get it right.I think it's listing 14.08. I haven't been with Social Security in a year, so we'll see if how close I came to that. But the thing is, the social Security listing requirements, they're really strict. And so while every. I was wrong. It's 1407, so I was close though. And [00:23:00] the requirements are super strict for every impairment listing and HIV is no exception.So if you meet the requirements, you can be found disabled without social security considering your work history or whether you could work. That's to talk about in section two of the book, how that's just a medical determination. But you have to have not only the infection diagnosed, but you have to have something else that is either resistant to treatment or requires hospitalization.And that has to happen three or more times in a 12 month period. And there's a list of what these other diagnoses have to be, or you have to have something else for a full 12 month period. Or you have to have repeated manifest manifestations of your disorder. At least two. So there's so many requirements is my point.And that's the case with all the social security [00:24:00] listings. It's not just like an HIV diagnosis. It'll say, you know, an HIV diagnosis with this, this, this, this, and this. And the last thing will have like three elements under that. And that's only like the most severe case is end up meeting these listings.And so for most people, the way that they're found disabled is based on their functioning. So if you don't meet this very specific list of requirements, what social security does is they say, okay, you didn't, you're not disabled medically, but how does your impairment now impact your functioning? What are your functional limitations?And is there a job you can do in the national economy? And so I think with I probably a lot of it is fatigue. And, and there and there may also be difficulty standing and walking or lifting because of fatigue. Do I have that right? As far as like, those are kind of typical functional [00:25:00] limitations someone might have.De'Vannon: I don't really feel like there's like a limit to limitations with someone with HIV man because hiv. Lowers, you know, the immune system and it depends on that person's body. Spencer: That's a great point. Yeah. So you could have gastrointestinal issues, you could have breathing issues, and then of course, it's really common when people have any kind of physical impairments.It's really, really, really common to then have mental health impairments as well. Actually, I, I would say most cases that I saw that had anxiety, depression, PTSD, listed as impairments, they were secondary to some sort of physical condition, be it musculoskeletal or respiratory or an immune system disorder, like hiv.And so, yeah, when you take into account all of this person's impairments and all the ways that it impacts the mind and body, what happens is social security [00:26:00] comes up with a list of functional limitations and then they go to a, a vocational expert, a jobs expert, and they say, Here's a hypothetical person with a bunch of limitations.Are there any jobs in the national economy that person can do? And as I talk about in the book, the thing is when they ask that question, when the judge asks that question, they already know the answer. And here's, I'll give you an example. If I say, I have a hypothetical person who can only work six hours of an eight hour workday, are there any full time eight hour jobs that person can do?We already know the answer is no. Right? Cause the person can only work six hours out of an eight hour workday. So there are certain limitations that SSA judges and attorneys, there are certain limitations that they know will result in a finding of disability. And certain limitations that they know will not result in a finding of disability because there are jobs out there that someone can do with [00:27:00] those limitations.So that's where it becomes a really. Personalized review of your situation where the judge and the attorney looking at the case, have to look at your very specific medical records. Look at what you're telling doctors, look at your overall functioning, look at your attempts at work and see if you couldn't work, why you couldn't work, and try and figure out for this one specific person what that specific person's individualized limitations are based on their personal medical situation.Because as you said, something like HIV and other impairments as well impact people on such an individualized basis at that point. It really, it is about getting into the fine details of that person's medical record to understand what it is that person can or could not do on a 40 hour per week basis.[00:28:00]I'm De'Vannon: gonna get a little bit ahead of myself here since you're, since we're talking about the individualization of it all. Before we had, before, before this recording here, we had talked about a remand rate, a remanding, and you were telling me how not necessarily each and every last review is individualized.Yeah. So can you talk to us about that? Cause I don't want people thinking that they're necessarily going to get special attention, . Spencer: Well, it's, the thing is, it's kind of a mix because the judge who's deciding the case and the attorney who's their staff attorney, who's actually writing the decision, and that was my job, to write the actual decisions for the judges.They do look at every individual's medical records and they do conduct an individualized review of every case at the same time. You are both an individual person but also a statistic because while you're being looked at as an individual case, [00:29:00] that judge has 50 cases that they're doing every month, which means they're doing about 600 case, five to 600 cases a year.And then that hearing office is doing a few thousand cases a year. And then your region is doing 10,000 cases a year or 20,000 cases a year. And then that means nationally it's, you know, over a hundred thousand cases a year. And at each level of the process, you have people looking at the big picture.What is our pay rate? How many cases are we paying? How many are we denying? Is that pay rate too high? Are we getting too much pressure for members of Congress? Cause we're paying too many cases. Maybe we need to bring down the number of cases we're paying. And then if that happens, that filters all the way down to your individual judge who starts thinking.Maybe I'm paying too many cases, maybe out of my 600 cases this year, instead of paying 200, maybe I should pay 1 75 or one 50. And so now they're thinking about which cases [00:30:00] that they may have paid. Now they're gonna deny instead. And that's where you become both the statistic at an individualized person.Because yeah, they're looking at your individualized situation, but they're sitting there thinking, headquarters is telling us to pay fewer cases this year. Maybe this is one that I should be denying. Maybe a week ago I would've paid it. And maybe today, after getting that email from headquarters, maybe today, I think about denying this case.And so it's both and every case is both. You're constantly being evaluated as an individual and a statistic. And that can be really hard on the person writing the decision because. My job was to write the decision the judge wanted. So I don't actually get to decide whether the person's disabled or not.I just have to justify whatever their decision is. And so I would often see cases that I thought there was [00:31:00] really good evidence to approve the person, solid evidence, showing their diagnoses. Say it's something like hiv. I saw a lot of HIV cases. I see their diagnosis. I see their, their test results with cdr CD four, sorry, CD four levels over 200.And I see white count levels that were, were low. And I see other limitations. Difficulty walking long distances. Or someone would say, you know, I tried to go back to work and I just got too tired and I had to quit that job after a week. And the judge would be telling me, we're denying this case. I'd be like, why this?This is really good evidence for I making an individualized analysis saying, I think this is good evidence. I think we should approve this. But then that judge has these external factors that they're thinking about that [00:32:00] in addition to looking at you as an individual, they're also thinking about this case as a statistic.And sometimes when those things, you know, come into conflict, sometimes I then have to write a decision that I don't wanna write or that I don't think the evidence. De'Vannon: Well, I'm so happy you have a soul. You know, I, I know not everybody in the Social Security Administration does, but and you have filled that soul out onto these pages, so I appreciate the, the love that I feel reverberating from you, man.Now there is this book, cuz this little book called The dsm and y'all, that stands with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. And I think now we're on like the DSM five, it's gone through a few changes over the years. Yeah. So there's a word in there called gender dysphoria. Spencer, and I don't care for that word, dysphoria.However, [00:33:00] that is what is in that book. And so talk to me about what that means and then what it means for dis for the, for these disability claims. Spencer: Yeah. It doesn't mean much. Well, we'll just boil it down to that. So, after the revisions to the DSM happened in 2013 We did start to see diagnoses of gender dysphoria.Andhere's the thing, I'm not a doctor, I'm not a medical professional. The medical training that the lawyers at Social Security who make the legal decisions, the medical training they're given isn't how to look at a person and make a decision. It's really more how to read medical records. Cause that's what we need to do.We need to read medical records and know how to find, know how that evidence translates into the legal aspects of disability. Right? And so if I'm reading a psychologist or psychiatrist's [00:34:00]report and I see a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, I'm not making a decision on whether or not that's accurate. Cause I don't have medical training.All I know is, okay, this one individual medical. Offered that diagnosis. And so what happens then is if the judge, the, the, the definition of a medical impairment for social security is any medical condition that causes even the most minimal impact on any kind of functioning. And so if you were diagnosed with gender, if a person is diagnosed with gender dysphoria and there's even like the slightest amount of a lack of functioning in some kind of area, so like a lack of concentration or I have difficulty getting along with other people because they don't understand my, my choices or my body or what's happening with me, [00:35:00] that's enough.And so the good thing is judges are, they're not rejecting that completely. The judges will di will take that diagnosis of gender dysphoria. And they'll put it in the decision and they'll call that a medically determinable impairment. The problem is having a medical impairment isn't enough because what we talked about is you ha then have to have work related limitations in order to find someone disabled.And there, I, I just, I had my experience from working with the agency and through mid 2021 judges, in my experience, were just not able to find much in the way of specific work related limitations due to that diagnosis. And maybe that's actually a good thing. Maybe that's kind of progressive in saying like, we don't, we, we understand that this diagnosis is there, but like whatever gender you identify with doesn't impact your ability to [00:36:00] do a job.So on the one hand, if it's, if someone's really struggling with that and they're having anxiety or depression, Or PTSD or personality disorder or suicidal ideations, that could be a separate diagnosis alongside gender dysphoria and that could have work related limitations. But my experience is the gender dysphoria itself doesn't really result in, in and of itself work related limitations.And so that's really not gonna be a basis for finding someone disabled and unable to work. De'Vannon: I hope. I hope not. And because people should be able to identify sexually as they want, be non-binary, whatever the case may be, without any sort of negative implications. Spencer: Yeah. And can I say, can I say one other thing?I also saw a lot of medical reports where the person [00:37:00] identified as a member of the LGBTQ community and there was no diagnosis of gender dysphoria. And that was probably a more. Maybe a younger doctor or more progressive doctor who is like, I I the pa, there's nothing wrong with the patient. They're telling me they're lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual.It's not a diagnosis. And so I'm just gonna focus on their anxiety or depression or these other things they're telling me about. I don't need to focus on how they identify. That's not a diagnosis. In the same way that if someone is a cis I'm not gonna diagnose them with something either. So I saw a lot of medical reports where the medical professional, it just, it didn't matter.It wasn't a thing. It wasn't important. It wasn't, they were what they were focusing on in their medical evaluation. And then other doctors who I could tell just by the [00:38:00] language that they were using were probably baby boomer generation, and maybe they just didn't understand that 25 year old who was coming in and, and talking to them.De'Vannon: Right. And then, and then you, you mentioned that you wrote the decision. The judge, judge did not write the decision, so I wanna be sure that, that, that we're super clear on on that. So the judges don't actually write the decisions. What, what was your exact job title again? Tell us so that we can know. Sure.Spencer: So my job title is Attorney Advisor, and here's the way it works. Social Security is a massive system with over a million applications a year. Several hundred thousand cases are going to the hearing level. There's about a thousand judges Nation. Several thousand other support staff and they're seeing several hundred thousand cases.The numbers are absolutely massive and that means you really need an assembly line in order to keep things moving efficiently. [00:39:00] Cause as it is, people have to wait like a year to get a hearing with a judge. So if you're waiting that long and you're thinking like, why is it taking so long? That's ridiculous.It's just because of the enormous scope of the system. So the judges are doing about 50 hearings per month, so that's about 12 hearings per week. So in a 40 hour week, they're doing about 12 cases. So that's like three to four hours per case. And during that three to four hours, they're doing a, a pre-hearing review of all your records so that when you come into your hearing, they know what's going on with you.They have some idea of your medical history and your work history before they even see you. Then they're doing about a one hour hearing, and then they may have to look at some evidence again after your hearing. And then they write this list of instructions and agency shorthand and I talk about this process in the book, they write this list of instructions and they give it to an attorney, [00:40:00] staff, attorney like me, and then the attorney takes 4, 8, 10, 12 hours to actually write the decision.That's where we're looking at every single one of your medical reports, looking at all the doctors you saw, any medical opinions that are in there from your medical sources, thoroughly, completely evaluating all of that in complete sentences so that, you know, we looked at everything and then that decision gets handed back to the judge, and most of them honestly just sign it.They don't even read it, they don't edit it. They just. They've already spent three and a half hours on the case. They don't have time to do anything else, so they just sign it. Other judges will read through it, make some changes here and there, and tinker with it, and then sign it. But they're really spending very little time in the actual decision.Their job is to just big picture, like approve it or deny it. That's my decision. [00:41:00] My, my staff goes and, and breaks that decision down and, and does the full analysis, and then the judge signs it. So when you get it, it looks like Judge John Smith wrote the decision, you know, wrote this comprehensive 15 page decision.But in reality, they're just taking credit for someone else's work. De'Vannon: Okay, now let's talk about drugs, man. Drugs. Let's talk Spencer: about drugs. . De'Vannon: This is the sex drugs and Jesus podcast. So, you know, the marriage Iana is like super useful and shit. And so like, and, and then we have all these hallucinogenics starting to come up, you know, lsd, celly, masculine and all of that.What are the implications of that? Can since somebody having like medical treatment like that hurt their chances to get approved? Spencer: Yes and no. I was a government attorney, so I'm gonna give you the government answer. So there is a chapter in the book that com [00:42:00] thoroughly discusses how drugs and alcohol work.It. Chapter 26, it's called Drug Abuse and Alcoholism. I don't like those terms, by the way. Those terms come directly from a law passed by Congress in 1996, and that's the law that social security still uses. To decide if drugs or alcohol should be a factor in your case. And there's guidance from 2013 as to about how they apply that.But here's the basics. If you're using any kind of drugs or alcohol, and that's the what causes you to be disabled and unable to work. Social Security can deny you benefits, but if it's secondary, in other words, if they remove the drugs and alcohol from consideration and consider everything else, if you would still be found disabled, then they still find you disabled.So it really has to be the drugs or alcohol use that tips you over the line, right? That that puts you [00:43:00] from, maybe you had limitations, but you could still work full-time and you were not disabled. And then if you're using drugs or alcohol and now you're disabled, that's the point where Social Security says We're applying that law.We're finding that Congress says, if that's the reason that you can't work and you're disabled, then we're gonna find you not disabled. But it has some interesting implications because a lot of people do use drugs for, or alcohol, I guess not alcohol, but a lot of people use different substances for treatment.Right. And there's a lot of states where it's legal. I worked in the state of Washington where cannabis has been legal and you could walk into a store and buy it for eight years now, and the stores are everywhere. Anyone who's been to Washington or Colorado, I think they've got a lot now in California, knows that you just go into cannabis or you show your id, they scan your id and you can buy things to [00:44:00] smoke, chew.They have drinks, they have gummies they have like bath salts. Not bad baths, just like fizzies that you put in a bath to soak in for mu to like help your muscles relax. And so a lot of people use these to help reduce their symptoms so that they can try and go back to work. Luckily the judges do understand this and you have different judges, right?You have some judges that are on one end of the political spectrum and other judges that are more conservative and more hard, harder to deal with when it comes to drugs or alcohol. But even those judges understand that in certain states, cannabis is illegal and people can just go to sore and buy it, and that a lot of people are using it in order to try and improve their medical situation, not to make it worse.So my experience, the judges are actually really good at doing that analysis and [00:45:00] not just looking at what you're using, but why you're using it and how it impacts you. And some of it is self. People ask me like, well, how do they know you're using substances? Some of it is self-declared because they're gonna make you fill out function reports and that's all under penalty of perjury and they're gonna ask you if you are using any drugs or alcohol.And so if you lie, that's really, that's a bad thing. So most people will just declare it, and as I talk about in the book, it really is best to just be honest with Social security and just tell them if you've been using something and why? Because it's not that difficult for a qualified, knowledgeable social security representative to explain to the judge why you were using that substance and why that's not the reason you're disabled, that there's some other reason that you're disabled.That use of that substance was in some way a brand of [00:46:00] self-treatment. And in a lot of cases it is. . And then there are some cases where it's not, and you can tell that the person has a substance addiction and maybe that's their only impairment or their other impairments only surface when they're using substances.And and, and so that's, that's what that analysis is. It's trying to figure out what the core reason is for you being unable to work full time. De'Vannon: Okay. Thank you for that. And I wanna lean more into exactly what type of people these judges are. When we were, before getting ready for this interview, you were telling me, you know, these bitches make like 180 k a year.I don't remember if there's bonuses and stuff like that, but what, what was Spencer: the Probably, I don't know. I'm not a judge, but they probably have some kind of bonus. De'Vannon: But what was important to you? You told me that you said a lot of them were JAG officers and [00:47:00] and that stands for Judge Advocate General.These are people who were in the military, military officers. And so talk to me about the incompatibility, the incongruence the incongruency that you found in between how the health level and the age level of these judges versus the people who they're Spencer: judging. Yeah, so it's not everybody, but a lot of new newly hired judges, a lot of them are from the military because the whole federal government gives a, a preference, a hiring preference to veterans.I think it's the only group where when you're filling out an application for a federal job, your federal employment from the USA Jobs website, it's the only identified group that gets a hiring preference. And that's across the whole federal government. And so, of course, a job with social security, it's a federal agency, is no different.So there tend to be a lot of people who [00:48:00] were lawyers in the military or their lawyers and then maybe they were separately in the military and maybe they had another job in the military. But there are a lot of lawyers who have military service, either past service where they're veterans or maybe past plus current service where they're still in the reserves.And those people will apply to be ALJs, administrative law judges and social security. They'll hire people in their fifties, but they'd rather hire people in their forties so that they can train those people and then have those people working for them for 20 years instead of 10. So I noticed when I was working for Social Security, a lot of judges in their early to mid forties, a lot of judges with military service and if whatever branch of the military they're in, that means they're probably.Going to be fairly physically fit, probably they're not gonna have substantial health conditions because substantial health conditions usually keep you [00:49:00] out of the military. And so you get these young fit judges who like to get up at 5:00 AM who have multiple jobs because they might be judges, but they're also in the reserves and maybe they like, you know, go volunteer somewhere and they go to the gym for two hours a day.So they're physically fit, they're mentally fit, they're really active people. And then they have people coming in front of them who don't have a college degree, who have been working a really hard job where, you know, like construction work, working in a warehouse or nurses' assistants. Or like delivery people.I mean, sometimes we're at a gas station and we see like the pre, the people unloading drinks into the cooler and we don't think about how much they have to lift on a daily basis. Cause they're constantly lifting these [00:50:00] cases of beverages onto these carts. Mm-hmm. and people who have jobs like this, you know, where you're doing that 50 hours a week after 5, 10, 15 years, at some point you're either gonna have some kind of acute injury or your body's just gonna totally break down over time.And people come in and they're, they're in pain. Maybe that means they're on narcotic medications so they're not able to fully concentrate. They maybe have mental health impairments as well cause they can't work. So they're anxious and depressed. And these like, you know, super, the fittest people on the planet are standing up there.Sitting up there cuz they also have a sedentary sit down air conditioned job. Right. And they're literally passing judgment. Over people who have had a life that is totally different from theirs as far as education, upbringing, where they live, what kind of childhood they had, what kind of job training they've had, what kind of job opportunities they've [00:51:00] had, what kind of medical situations they're in, their lack of ability to get treatment.They have no health insurance. The judges have federal employee health plans. And so you get people, these judges who they're just, they're looking at people who they, a lot of times they can't identify with at all. And they're saying things like, well, I can work. Why can't that guy, I can't tell you how many times I heard that.When I would go and let's say the judge says it's the denial. And I look through the medical records and I go to the judge and I try and convince them that they should change that to an approval. Cause I can do that. The person writing the decision talks to the judge all the time. Talk through the evidence, talk about what they're seeing.Hey, maybe we should change this decision until it's signed. It's changeable. And I would go to talk to the judges all the time about like, look, there's this medical evidence and I, I think this guy has these opinions and I think that maybe we should consider paying this case. [00:52:00] And I would hear things like, well, I can work.Why can't he? Or, you know, I, I, I come to work, I, I I commute an hour a day each way that guy could do it. He's fine. And these aine statements that are detached from reality. And that's where I think the, the personalities and the upbringing and the medical situation of the judges comes into play. And I have observed that as judges get older, as they themselves experience certain medical conditions that come with age, like.Oh my, I threw out my back. I need to have back surgery. Or, you know, maybe now I, I, I hit 50, now I need glasses and I didn't use to before. Or something happens medically in their lives as they age. And you do, I, I would see that the judges start to get more sympathetic over time. They start to understand [00:53:00] pain, frustration, lack of mental acuity and they start to be able to sympathize more with the stories that they're being told and to say, yeah, you know, actually now I do believe this person, this person is 55 and, and they worked in a warehouse for 25 years and they threw their back out.And I can see on an MRI that their back is totally destroyed, and they're telling me they're in too much pain to work. I now have back pain myself. So now I get what they're saying. And so that does cause this disconnect between these like young fit judges who kind of come in swinging with denials and older, more seasoned judges who I think tend to be more sympathetic to people and have higher pay rates raise.Their pay rate tends to go up over time. De'Vannon: Okay. Okay. I'm gonna [00:54:00] ask you Spencer: So can I, can I just say one thing? Who your judge is, is something that you can't choose. You as I talk about in the book, there's certain things you can control and certain things you can't control and you can't control who your judge is.And the reason that's important is I wrote the book because I want people to understand. How to get through this process, regardless of who your judge is, regardless of how much of you know, how, how mu, how much difficulty the agency is gonna put you through everything that I've talked about so far.Let's assume you get every single one of these barriers put in your way. I want you to know what all of these barriers are so that you can navigate them. Even a low paying judge, that young fit military judge, maybe they're a 20% payer, but if they're paying 20% of their cases and they have five hearings today, that means statistically they're still gonna approve one of those five people today, right?And so I want you to [00:55:00] know how you can gather the right medical records and present the right case and h and have the right representative sitting with you and work together so that you can present to that judge a situation, a story. Where even the most hardcore, low paying fit military judge says, yeah, that's a pretty good presentation.I think we'll approve that one. I'll use my discretion to deny the next floor, but I don't feel like I have any discretion here. And that's what you wanna do, is you wanna take away that discretion. You wanna make those judges feel like There's nothing I can do about this. This is a solid case. I'm gonna approve this one, and I wanna give you the tools to be able to do that.And that's why I wrote the book. De'Vannon: So, so you mentioned it um, a 20% or so. Talk to us then about the like the approval rates and kind of like how these [00:56:00] judges are rated. And then I want you to tell that story about that one judge who they you know, I think they took like her telework away and they gave her like extra training or whatever.Spencer: Yeah, so the, there is, as we talked about earlier, you're not only a person, you're also a statistic, right? And so headquarters, cuz they're getting pressure for members of Congress and to testify, testify in front of congressional committees. And then that pressure just makes its way down the system to the individual judges.And so if the agency wants to pay fewer cases, if they're getting pressure, Hey, we're paying too many cases, let's pay fewer cases. And that pressure makes its way down to the judges. They're also pressured to pay fewer cases and they're, the judge will tell you, I'm an independent decision maker and I can make whatever decision I want and I'm not bound by any prior denials.And all of that is true and every judge has the authority to [00:57:00] approve any specific case. But they also are looking at the 50 cases for that month and thinking about how many. Do I wanna approve this month? Because I know if I approve too many, I might get hassled. And I knew a judge and I worked for a judge that had a fairly high pay rate and he kept getting hassled by, by his superiors, by the, the higher ups within the agency who basic, they didn't tell him you're paying too many cases because like they don't want that on the front page in the New York Times, right?But they would say things like, we think maybe you need extra training. Maybe you don't fully understand how our agency works. Maybe you don't fully understand the definition of disability, so we're gonna give you extra training. And they would like make him sit through hours and hours and hours of extra training that he didn't wanna do.That's annoying. And that's a pressure point, right? That's a way of [00:58:00] saying like, you know, we're gonna make you an offer. You can't refuse. You, you start denying more cases or there's gonna be consequences, but they don't use the word consequences. And yeah, as you said, I wrote for another judge and they took away her telework.People like working at home, we found that during the pandemic, right, and the judges can work from home, especially during the pandemic, when all the hearings, with telephone hearings, there's no reason why they can't work from home. And that my job, just writing and reviewing your medical records, which are all on the computer, we can all work from home.And so the pressure point for that judge, they knew she liked working from home. So that pressure point was, you do what we need you to do, where we're gonna take away your telework. And so while the judge tells you they're an independent decision maker, you have to understand that they're looking at your specific records, but they're also thinking about themselves.The judges are human. They're thinking about their, [00:59:00] their salary, their health insurance benefits. They don't wanna get fired. They also don't wanna get transferred. They don't wanna be hassled. And so, you know, they're public servants, but of course, even public servants are thinking about their own wellbeing and their own job and their own families.And so when that pressure comes down on them from above, they're gonna, they're gonna react to it and and a fairly reasonable way and in the way that the management wants them to. So that does also happen. I wrote a lot of favorable decisions when I worked for Social Security. I, I just wanna make sure as we get near the end here, and as we conclude, I want people to understand I did write a lot of favorable decisions.But I noticed certain things about those cases. I noticed how well those medical records were put together, how those medical opinions were worded, how those representatives that represented those people presented that case. And so I know with this large [01:00:00] sample size of cases, I have some idea of the things that work, even with low paying judges, the things that can work to get an approval and the things that don't work or the things that people don't do that they should do when they're presenting their case.And so, and that's, that's what really made me say, I need to write a book. I need to get all this knowledge that I have on paper and out to the general public. Because some of this isn't necessarily publicly known information, but it's not necessarily trade secrets either. Right? The law is a certain way and the law defines disability a certain way.And a lot of this is just education that social security doesn't provide you. They're not telling you how to present your disability case, but over time, I've seen the things that work. And so I wanted to present this educational guide to let people know, here are the things that you can do to [01:01:00] present your case in a way to give yourself the best possible chance of success.De'Vannon: And I think you've done quite well, you know, a very good job at doing that. Talk a little bit about like, especially for veterans, you know, since I'm a veteran, just to kind of like talk about that a little bit, you know.Spencer: So just we can cover that real quick. The, the way the VA decides if someone's disabled is different from Social Security because the VA is not only looking at whether your medical conditions are connected to your service, whereas social security doesn't care why your impairments occurred. They are.But the VA also then asks about whether what your fitness is to return to some kind of military duty. And so there are a lot of veterans that will get a hundred percent service connected rating because their impairments are connected to their service and they're found to not be able to return to whatever their military duty was.Asks, can you [01:02:00] do any job in the national economy? And so there are a lot of judges who will see a hundred percent service connected disability for a veteran and just say, okay, that's enough for me. I'm gonna find them disabled. But I wrote a lot of denials for people who at 80, 90, a hundred percent service connected ratings.And it's because even though they couldn't do military duty, they could do other work in the national economy like being a cashier and. There is somewhat of a disconnect between the definitions and the two systems, and that's why it's really important for veterans or military families to also understand how social securities rules operate.Because you can't assume that just because you're a veteran and that maybe your judge is a veteran, you can't assume that's gonna help you out. Actually, again, I wrote decisions for judges who are veterans who looked at a veteran claimant with a hundred percent rating and said, well, I'm a veteran and I can work, so why can't he [01:03:00] and denied those claims.So you have to know the system, you have to know the rules, and you have to know how things work within the Social Security disability system. You can't just assume because you're a veteran or because you have a hundred percent rating that things are gonna work out well for you when you get in front of the social security.De'Vannon: Okay, well there you have it. Y'all's website is visions publishing.com. The social medias of Facebook, Twitter, , Instagram. Of course, all of this is going to go in the show notes, as it always does. So as always with my guests, I'd like to let you have the last word. I thank you so much for your time today, Spencer.Are there any final closing remarks you'd like to say? Spencer: I just wanna say we, we've gone over like the first part of the subtitle today, right? A lot of why it's so hard to access benefits. But I just wanna conclude on a more positive note with the second half of the subtitle, which is what you can do about it.There are specific strategies, there are ways you can get around things. At the [01:04:00] beginning I talked about how Social security will send you to see this doctor who's being paid to say you're not disabled. Well, there are strategies that you can use to counter. That you have to go to that exam. But there are ways that you can get evidence to counteract that medical opinion that do work.There are things that you can present in your medical record or ways that you can testify at the hearing. There are strategies that you can use to try and convince even the lower paying judges that you're not disabled, that you can't work full-time, but they're not things that you would necessarily think.For example, people think like, oh, if I try and work part-time, that might hurt my disability claim. It actually helps your disability claim. So if someone's a disability claimant and you see them working, they might be working because they're representative has told them, this will help your disability claim.And I explain why that is in the book. So don't make assumptions and don't take anything. Social [01:05:00] Security tells you at face value. They're not there to help you. They're not on your side, they're not on your team. They're. They're really there. The Social Security disability system is trying to keep people out and trying to deny as many people as they can so that they can have those benefits for people who are collecting retirement later on.So be your own advocate. Get your own information, educate yourself, hire a good representative, and use the strategies that I'm teaching you about and they will. I can't guarantee you'll be approved, but I can say that these strategies are what you need to give yourself the best possible chance of being approved, even if you get a lower paying judge.De'Vannon: All right, there y'all have it. The name of the book is Social Security Disability Revealed, why it's so Hard to Access Benefits and What You Can Do about It. Thank you [01:06:00] so much, Spencer. Spencer: Thank you for having me.De'Vannon: Thank you all so much for taking time to listen to the Sex Drugs and Jesus podcast. It really means everything to me. Look, if you love the show, you can find more information and resources at SexDrugsAndJesus.com or wherever you listen to your podcast. Feel free to reach out to me directly at DeVannon@SexDrugsAndJesus.com and on Twitter and Facebook as well.My name is De'Vannon, and it's been wonderful being your host today. And just remember that everything is gonna be all right.  

Disability benefits can be absolutely vital for those who are eligible for them. These come in the form of Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance, federal programs overseen by the Social Security Administration. But, applying and re-certifying for these benefits an be complicated, and the benefits themselves are often not enough to live on. To learn more about what it's like to navigate the disability benefits system in Tennessee, we're joined by community members with firsthand experience. Then, we're taking a look at how the system works with an independent living specialist and a state official. But first, it's @Us. Host Khalil Ekulona and senior producer Steve Haruch respond to listener feedback and preview future episodes. Guests:  Rachel Kestner, who lives with cerebral palsy Haizey Peden, who lives with seizures Marissa Smith-Fletcher, independent living specialist at Empower Tennessee Kevin Wright, assistant commissioner of Rehabilitation Services at the Department of Human Services

Social Security Disability Insurance helps support millions of Americans, but it's a slow-moving program that rejects most people who apply. This Jobs Friday: The 10 million working-age people who are neither working nor seeking a job — and they're living with a disability. For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Did you know that most employers offer disability insurance plans, but most employees don't sign up for them? Maybe it's the It won't happen to me syndrome or thinking that Social Security will fill the income gap if someone becomes disabled. We'll discuss that today on MoneyWise. The good news is that nearly 80% of employers offer short-term disability benefits, and about 65% even offer long-term benefits for disabled workers. The bad news is that only about 35% of workers take advantage of either form of disability coverage. That's a recipe for financial disaster because the Social Security Administration says 25% of working adults will experience at least a temporary, disabling ailment before retirement. And the National Institutes of Health says that more than 20 million workers report a work disability each year. The main physical causes are back and neck problems, while depression and anxiety top the list of mental ailments. Many uninsured workers may not realize the financial impact that a disability may cause. About half of them need a full two years to recover financially from those lost paychecks, according to a study by the insurance carrier Cigna. One reason workers may not sign up for employer disability plans is that they don't think they need it. They may think that anyone who pays FICA taxes into the Social Security system is automatically covered for disability. And yes, that's true. But, the basic coverage provided by the Social Security Disability Insurance program is just that, basic. The average monthly SSDI benefit is only $1,200. These days, that may not even cover the rent or mortgage payment, let alone put food on the table for a family temporarily without income if the breadwinner can't work. And despite what many might think, it's not that easy to qualify for SSDI. A disability must put the worker out of commission for at least a year. Plus, it can take a long time to get through the bureaucratic red tape at the Social Security Administration. So if your employer offers disability insurance, you should take advantage of it. If your employer doesn't offer a disability plan, you can get an individual policy from most insurance providers. But what exactly are you buying? Disability insurance comes in two basic forms: short-term and long-term. Short-term plans will cover up to 70% of your salary. Long-term plans will cover up to about 60%. So, even the best disability policies won't cover all of your lost income if you suffer a disabling ailment. And that's why we always urge you to have 3 to 6 months' living expenses in your emergency fund. Otherwise, a disability will mean going into debt to meet your monthly obligations. As you shop around for disability insurance, you'll quickly find that some plans are more expensive than others. Several factors can affect the level of premiums you'll have to pay. These include not only the amount of benefits the plan would pay but also something called the elimination period. That's the length of time between when you sign up for a policy and when the coverage begins. This, of course, is to prevent an uninsured person from experiencing a disability and then applying for insurance. Unlike healthcare, disability insurance does not cover pre-existing conditions. Then there's also the benefit period, and as the name suggests, it's the length of time that the policy will provide benefits for your disability. Finally, exactly which conditions constitute a disability under the plan will affect its price. Something else you should know about employer and individual disability insurance: The conditions that would qualify you for benefits under those plans are far less stringent than for Social Security disability. Instead of having to demonstrate that you're completely disabled, you may only have to show that you can't do the same type of work that you're doing, and the qualifying length of your disability will likely be less than the 12 months required for SSDI. Having adequate disability insurance is a must if your family depends on your income. 1 Timothy 5:8 tells us,If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. We hope that clears up any misunderstanding you may have had about disability insurance. On today's program, Rob also answers listener questions: ● What is the wisest thing to do with a home after retirement is set? ● What factors should you consider when considering the best job to take from a financial perspective? ● How do you determine the best thing to do with a whole life insurance policy? RESOURCES MENTIONED: ● CHministries.org Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000 or email them to Questions@MoneyWise.org. Also, visit our website at MoneyWise.org where you can connect with a MoneyWise Coach, join the MoneyWise Community, and even download the free MoneyWise app. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1085/29

Did you know that most employers offer disability insurance plans, but most employees don't sign up for them? Maybe it's the It won't happen to me syndrome or thinking that Social Security will fill the income gap if someone becomes disabled. We'll discuss that today on MoneyWise. The good news is that nearly 80% of employers offer short-term disability benefits, and about 65% even offer long-term benefits for disabled workers. The bad news is that only about 35% of workers take advantage of either form of disability coverage. That's a recipe for financial disaster because the Social Security Administration says 25% of working adults will experience at least a temporary, disabling ailment before retirement. And the National Institutes of Health says that more than 20 million workers report a work disability each year. The main physical causes are back and neck problems, while depression and anxiety top the list of mental ailments. Many uninsured workers may not realize the financial impact that a disability may cause. About half of them need a full two years to recover financially from those lost paychecks, according to a study by the insurance carrier Cigna. One reason workers may not sign up for employer disability plans is that they don't think they need it. They may think that anyone who pays FICA taxes into the Social Security system is automatically covered for disability. And yes, that's true. But, the basic coverage provided by the Social Security Disability Insurance program is just that, basic. The average monthly SSDI benefit is only $1,200. These days, that may not even cover the rent or mortgage payment, let alone put food on the table for a family temporarily without income if the breadwinner can't work. And despite what many might think, it's not that easy to qualify for SSDI. A disability must put the worker out of commission for at least a year. Plus, it can take a long time to get through the bureaucratic red tape at the Social Security Administration. So if your employer offers disability insurance, you should take advantage of it. If your employer doesn't offer a disability plan, you can get an individual policy from most insurance providers. But what exactly are you buying? Disability insurance comes in two basic forms: short-term and long-term. Short-term plans will cover up to 70% of your salary. Long-term plans will cover up to about 60%. So, even the best disability policies won't cover all of your lost income if you suffer a disabling ailment. And that's why we always urge you to have 3 to 6 months' living expenses in your emergency fund. Otherwise, a disability will mean going into debt to meet your monthly obligations. As you shop around for disability insurance, you'll quickly find that some plans are more expensive than others. Several factors can affect the level of premiums you'll have to pay. These include not only the amount of benefits the plan would pay but also something called the elimination period. That's the length of time between when you sign up for a policy and when the coverage begins. This, of course, is to prevent an uninsured person from experiencing a disability and then applying for insurance. Unlike healthcare, disability insurance does not cover pre-existing conditions. Then there's also the benefit period, and as the name suggests, it's the length of time that the policy will provide benefits for your disability. Finally, exactly which conditions constitute a disability under the plan will affect its price. Something else you should know about employer and individual disability insurance: The conditions that would qualify you for benefits under those plans are far less stringent than for Social Security disability. Instead of having to demonstrate that you're completely disabled, you may only have to show that you can't do the same type of work that you're doing, and the qualifying length of your disability will likely be less than the 12 months required for SSDI. Having adequate disability insurance is a must if your family depends on your income. 1 Timothy 5:8 tells us,If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. We hope that clears up any misunderstanding you may have had about disability insurance. On today's program, Rob also answers listener questions: ● What is the wisest thing to do with a home after retirement is set? ● What factors should you consider when considering the best job to take from a financial perspective? ● How do you determine the best thing to do with a whole life insurance policy? RESOURCES MENTIONED: ● CHministries.org Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000 or email them to Questions@MoneyWise.org. Also, visit our website at MoneyWise.org where you can connect with a MoneyWise Coach, join the MoneyWise Community, and even download the free MoneyWise app. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1085/29

Did you know that most employers offer disability insurance plans, but most employees don't sign up for them? Maybe it's the It won't happen to me syndrome or thinking that Social Security will fill the income gap if someone becomes disabled. We'll discuss that today on MoneyWise. The good news is that nearly 80% of employers offer short-term disability benefits, and about 65% even offer long-term benefits for disabled workers. The bad news is that only about 35% of workers take advantage of either form of disability coverage. That's a recipe for financial disaster because the Social Security Administration says 25% of working adults will experience at least a temporary, disabling ailment before retirement. And the National Institutes of Health says that more than 20 million workers report a work disability each year. The main physical causes are back and neck problems, while depression and anxiety top the list of mental ailments. Many uninsured workers may not realize the financial impact that a disability may cause. About half of them need a full two years to recover financially from those lost paychecks, according to a study by the insurance carrier Cigna. One reason workers may not sign up for employer disability plans is that they don't think they need it. They may think that anyone who pays FICA taxes into the Social Security system is automatically covered for disability. And yes, that's true. But, the basic coverage provided by the Social Security Disability Insurance program is just that, basic. The average monthly SSDI benefit is only $1,200. These days, that may not even cover the rent or mortgage payment, let alone put food on the table for a family temporarily without income if the breadwinner can't work. And despite what many might think, it's not that easy to qualify for SSDI. A disability must put the worker out of commission for at least a year. Plus, it can take a long time to get through the bureaucratic red tape at the Social Security Administration. So if your employer offers disability insurance, you should take advantage of it. If your employer doesn't offer a disability plan, you can get an individual policy from most insurance providers. But what exactly are you buying? Disability insurance comes in two basic forms: short-term and long-term. Short-term plans will cover up to 70% of your salary. Long-term plans will cover up to about 60%. So, even the best disability policies won't cover all of your lost income if you suffer a disabling ailment. And that's why we always urge you to have 3 to 6 months' living expenses in your emergency fund. Otherwise, a disability will mean going into debt to meet your monthly obligations. As you shop around for disability insurance, you'll quickly find that some plans are more expensive than others. Several factors can affect the level of premiums you'll have to pay. These include not only the amount of benefits the plan would pay but also something called the elimination period. That's the length of time between when you sign up for a policy and when the coverage begins. This, of course, is to prevent an uninsured person from experiencing a disability and then applying for insurance. Unlike healthcare, disability insurance does not cover pre-existing conditions. Then there's also the benefit period, and as the name suggests, it's the length of time that the policy will provide benefits for your disability. Finally, exactly which conditions constitute a disability under the plan will affect its price. Something else you should know about employer and individual disability insurance: The conditions that would qualify you for benefits under those plans are far less stringent than for Social Security disability. Instead of having to demonstrate that you're completely disabled, you may only have to show that you can't do the same type of work that you're doing, and the qualifying length of your disability will likely be less than the 12 months required for SSDI. Having adequate disability insurance is a must if your family depends on your income. 1 Timothy 5:8 tells us,If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. We hope that clears up any misunderstanding you may have had about disability insurance. On today's program, Rob also answers listener questions: ● What is the wisest thing to do with a home after retirement is set? ● What factors should you consider when considering the best job to take from a financial perspective? ● How do you determine the best thing to do with a whole life insurance policy? RESOURCES MENTIONED: ● CHministries.org Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000 or email them to Questions@MoneyWise.org. Also, visit our website at MoneyWise.org where you can connect with a MoneyWise Coach, join the MoneyWise Community, and even download the free MoneyWise app. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1085/29

Across many safety net programs, workers with low income and their families face the threat of a sudden and unexpected loss of benefits if their earnings increase too much, sometimes resulting in a net decrease in overall income. Policymakers have long worried that the phenomenon, often described as the cash or benefits cliff, discourages work and reinforces dependence on public assistance. Over the past decade, the Social Security Administration has launched two national demonstrations intended to mitigate this so-called cash cliff effect in the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program. The latest episode of On the Evidence explores the results of those demonstrations and what they mean for future efforts to address program cliffs in the SSDI program and many other safety net programs. Our guests for this episode are John Jones, David Wittenburg, and Diane Beaver. Jones is an economist at the Social Security Administration in the Office of Research, Demonstration, and Employment Support who has overseen several large-scale randomized controlled trials testing potential changes to the SSDI program, including two discussed on this episode: the Promoting Opportunity Demonstration (POD) and the Benefit Offset National Demonstration (BOND). Wittenburg is a senior fellow at Mathematica whose research on interventions to promote employment for people with disabilities includes evaluations of POD and BOND. Beaver is an advisory services analyst at Mathematica who spent more than a decade at a community nonprofit counseling people on how work and other entitlements would affect their Social Security benefits. In that role, she played a part in implementing POD and has firsthand knowledge of what beneficiaries experience as they navigate the patchwork of program rules that govern the amount of government aid people can receive for housing, food, child care, health care, and other needs as their work status changes. Find a full transcript of the episode here: mathematica.org/blogs/why-a-national-demonstration-to-mitigate-the-cash-cliff-in-one-safety-net-program-didnt-increase Read the final evaluation report on POD: https://www.ssa.gov/disabilityresearch/documents/POD_Final_Evaluation_Report.pdf Read the final evaluation report on BOND: https://www.ssa.gov/disabilityresearch/documents/BOND%20Deliv%2024e2%20FER%20Vol%201%2020181018.pdf Find a summary of lessons learned from several decades of demonstrations by the Social Security Administration to test policy ideas in the Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs: https://www.ssa.gov/disabilityresearch/demonstrations/lessons.htm Learn more about the Ultimate Demonstration referenced at the tail end of the episode: https://www.ssa.gov/disabilityresearch/documents/Simplification_Demo_TEP_Final_Report_Final%20Remediated.pdf Watch a recorded discussion between Pamela Herd and Sebastian Jilke, professors at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, about administrative burden in the Social Security Disability Insurance program: https://www.ssab.gov/announcements/ssab-to-host-experts-on-researching-and-evaluating-equitable-access-to-social-security-programs/

Please join us on as we welcome two experts in the field of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) provide an overview of these public benefits for Mito patients. Topics to be covered in this conference call include: Overview of SSI and SSDI programs; The differences between SSI and SSDI; Social Security’s definition of disability as it pertains to mitochondrial disease; How SSDI is designed to work, eligibility criteria, and the full range of SSDI benefitts; The application and appeals processes for SSI and SSDI; Resources available to support SSI and SSDI applications and appeals processes; Information on SSI and SSDI benefits for adult disabled children; Returning to work after obtaining social security benefits (the "Ticket to Work Program"); Specific challenges for individuals with mitochondrial disease in applying for SSDI and how to address them; and The benefits of professional representation and how to evaluate representation options. About the Speakers: Annette Hines has been practicing in the areas of Special Needs, Elder Law and Estate Planning for over fifteen years. She received her JD from Howard University School of Law, her MBA from Suffolk University and her BA from the University of Vermont. Her clients include individuals and families of children with special needs, the elderly and others in the community. Ms. Hines is the mother of two daughters, one of whom passed away from mitochondrial disease in November of 2013. Her personal experience as the mother of a child with special needs fuels her passion for quality special needs planning and drives her special understanding and dedication to her practice. Prior to practicing law, she founded and directed the nonprofit home care company, Special Families-Special Care, Incorporated which created a new standard for caregiving and a greater pay scale for caregivers. After leading the company to $1.5 million in revenue and 50 employees, she merged it with Shriver Clinical Services Corporation of Natick, Massachusetts and shifted her focus to her law practice. In addition to her membership in the Massachusetts Bar Association, she is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), the National Academy of Special Needs Planners (ASNP) and the Massachusetts Association of Women Lawyers (MAWL), serving most recently as President. Recognized as a Distinguished Citizen by ARC Massachusetts and cited for public service by both the Massachusetts State Senate and House of Representatives, Ms. Hines works tirelessly on behalf of people with disabilities. Ms. Hines served as President of the Massachusetts Association of Women Lawyers for 2008-2009 and serves on the Board of Directors for a number of local non-profit organizations. Tai Venuti has more than 20 years of health education, marketing, sales, community and public relations experience in nonprofit, government and corporate arenas. As Allsup's manager of strategic alliances, she develops and grows relationships with organizations that share the company's commitment to empowering people with disabilities to live lives as financially secure and healthy as possible. Ms. Venuti is a former journalist and public relations executive. She previously managed national public health campaigns for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She holds a master's degree in public health from St. Louis University, a bachelor's degree in journalism from Michigan State University, and is accredited by the Public Relations Society of America.

In this episode of Taralets Talk, Navy veteran Kevin Perez returns as a guest for the second time to share his experience and knowledge about pain management in the US for the disabled. He shared his views on what you need to do when diagnosed with chronic pain, the professional care or help he received, and how to support those suffering from chronic pain. Episode highlights:What spinal stenosis is and what can worsen it.How he discovered he suffers from spinal stenosis.Pain and debilitating effects of chronic pain in someone's life.Medical treatments he received and managing his pain.Dealing with depression and his forced retirement from the Navy.Biggest misconception about people like him with disability.Knowing when it's necessary to get professional help for your mental health. How he came out of a dark place and changed his perspective to ease into his new normal. Link to find out more about our guest here: LinkedIn | Short Bio Guest Quotes:"Most of it mentally accepting what I can't do anymore. And more like looking at what I can do."  "You have to get out of the thought process of, ‘I can't do this anymore.'"  Have questions, comments, or concerns? We'd love to hear from you. Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Audible | Amazon Music | Goodpods | iHeartRADIO |  

Have you ever wondered how accessibility, employment protections, or other ADA issues play out in US territories like the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico? People with disabilities in US territories are still protected by the ADA, but they often face unique issues, like limited  transportation options or the lack of Social Security Disability Insurance coverage. In this edition of Ask About the ADA taken from a Northeast ADA webinar with our affiliates, Archie Jennings, Mildred Gomez, and Nellyber Correa explain some of the challenges experienced by people with disabilities in our region. NortheastADA.org

Two-thirds of people diagnosed with dementia are women. Plus, 13 million women in the U.S. either live with Alzheimer's themselves or are caring for someone who has it. Dementia and Alzheimer's expert Tanesha Tyler-Carr is back to discuss these statistics during Women's History Month. As programs and services coordinator for the Alzheimer's Association Dallas and Northeast Texas Chapter, she draws from her experience to discuss: -Alzheimer's and women -Women as caregivers -10 warning signs to look out for Women often take on added responsibility as “sandwich generation” caregivers – that is, caring for their children as well as aging loved ones. This position can cause increased stress and the tendency to put their own health on the back burner. It's important to stay on top of your health no matter your situation. Topics discussed: -Dementia and Alzheimer's -Women with Alzheimer's -Female caregivers -Women's health -Low-income caregiving resources Takeaways from this episode: -Warning signs of Alzheimer's includes short-term memory loss, extreme personality changes, and extreme changes in routine that causes significant disruption to everyday life. -Care consultation is a free service offered by the Alzheimer's Association, offering information about programs and services and one-on-one conversations about referrals and care plans. -To apply for discounted or free aid, try reaching out to agencies at the beginning of the fiscal year, when there's more funding available. -Go through Social Security Administration to get paid as a caregiver and see if your loved one qualifies for Social Security Disability Insurance. -Self-care is vital: You can't care for someone else as effectively when you don't care for yourself first. Resources mentioned in this episode: Get 24/7 support from the Alzheimer's Association: 1-800-272-3900 10 Early Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer's: https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/10_signs Department of Disability services: https://www.usa.gov/disability-services Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) https://www.hhs.texas.gov/providers/long-term-care-providers/area-agencies-aging-aaa To suggest a topic, be a guest or to support the podcast please email Lori@Loriwilliams-seniorservices.com For more senior resources and to sign up to the newsletter please visit: https://www.facebook.com/LoriWilliamsSeniorServices/ https://www.instagram.com/theloriwilliams/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/theloriwilliams/ https://loriwilliams-seniorservices.com/aging-in-style-podcast/

Walt Kasmir, RN, Leading Gerontologist, Grief Counselor, and Certified Senior Advisor (CSA)®, invites survivors of COVID-19 victims to share their grief journey. Mr. Kasmir is also seeking professionals to share their expertise in the area of loss, grief, and end-of-life issues.   My channel is "Critical Conversations, " where experts provide insider perspectives on medical, legal, financial, and end-of-life issues. These episodes will be on our Grace For Grieving Podcast and Playlist.Topics include:• Definition and Benefits of a Geriatric Care Manager• How to navigate long-term care, and get organized for "Aging in Place"• How to find community-based services that help you stay at home longer• How to find funding for home improvements for older adults• How to find legal assistance for older adults• How to pay for assisted living and nursing homes• How to choose the right assisted living facility• How to tap into your innate resilience.• How to cope with aging• How to care for your aging parents• How to cope with grief and much more!*******We'd Love to Connect, Here's How: ▶️  FOLLOW Off Walt Kasmir on Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/waltkasmir ▶️. FOLLOW Walt Kasmir on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WaltKasmir▶️. FOLLOW Walt Kasmir on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GraceForGrie...*******Share, Like, and Subscribe to this content on all social media!Other Services Offered By Walt Kasmir, RN, and Certified Senior Advisor (CSA)®:   * Social Security Disability Applications and Appealshttp://SSDIAnswers.com   * Geriatric Care Management https://MonacrchCareManagement.com/se...   * Advance Care Planning   * Grief Counseling   * Eldercare Training  Blessings!Walt Kasmir, RN,  Social Security Disability AdvocateCertified Senior Advisor (CSA)® |Geriatric Care Manager | Podcast HostPhone: (929) 344-1669

Webcast URL: https://knowledgewebcasts.com/know-portfolio/consumer-law-a-comprehensive-guide-cle/ Short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD) insurance plans are a crucial part of employee benefits. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of these disability claims has relatively spiked along with pandemic- and mental health-related disabilities. However, employers and plan sponsors grappled with assessing the eligibility of such claims. It has also heightened the risk for potential litigation. These issues underscore the need for employers, plan sponsors, and insurers to carefully manage their STD and LTD insurance plan coverage to avoid pitfalls. Also, the public policy environment for Social Security Disability Insurance, an integral part of most LTD benefits, is changing. Listen as knowledgeable employee benefits practitioners Denise Y. Tataryn (Nolan, Thompson, Leighton & Tataryn, PLC) and Mark J. Warshawsky (American Enterprise Institute) provide an in-depth discussion on short- and long-term disability benefits claims and Social Security disability. Speakers will also present recent regulatory developments and share best practices to avoid pitfalls in this evolving regulatory climate. For any more information please click on the webcast URL at the top of this description.

Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits I’m Katelyn Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana. Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss topics related to personal injury law. Today’s question comes from a caller who became disabled and unable to […] The post Ep 113 – Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits first appeared on Personal Injury Primer.

Today on All Home Care Matters, we are going to be discussing Medicare. First, we will be talking about what Medicare is and how it differs from Medicaid and other insurances. Then, we'll look into how you can apply and receive Medicare before moving on to talk about how Medicare can help you and your family.   If you're ready to learn more about Medicare then let's get started.   According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Medicare is a federal health insurance program created in 1965 for people ages 65 and over, regardless of income, medical history, or health status. It was expanded in 1972 to cover certain people under age 65 who have a long-term disability. There are currently over 60 million people in the United States on Medicare.   In 1945, President Truman called for the creation of a national health insurance plan but was unsuccessful. President Kennedy also tried to create a similar plan, but he was also unsuccessful in his attempt. Finally, nearly twenty years later, President Johnson signed Medicare into existence. Former President Truman got to see his idea come to life and he got to play a major role in it when he and his wife Bess, were the first two Medicare beneficiaries.   During the first year, nineteen million Americans signed up to receive Medicare. Over the years, there have been many changes and additions to Medicare legislation. Just last year, regulations were added due to the Covid-19 pandemic. If you are interested in seeing what regulations were added or changed due to the pandemic, you can find a good overview on the Commonwealth Fund's blog. You can find a link to the blog in our show notes for this episode. You can also visit medicare.gov for more information on the current and up-to-date regulations and stipulations on Medicare.     There are three parts of Medicare, Part A, Part B, and Part D. Medicare Part A covers inpatient hospital stays, care in a skilled nursing facility, hospice care, and some home health care. Medicare Part B covers certain doctor's services, outpatient care, medical supplies, and preventive services. Medicare Part C helps cover the cost of prescription drugs, including many recommended shots and vaccines. For more details on each of the individual parts of Medicare, visit medicare.gov.     Almost everyone over 65 is eligible for Medicare Part A and most do not have to pay a premium either. If you or your spouse are eligible for Social Security payments, you are likely eligible for Medicare Part A, as well. In order to not pay a premium, you must have paid payroll taxes for more than ten years. For those with disabilities that are under 65, generally, if you receive Social Security Disability Insurance, then you are eligible for Medicare. In 2016, 15 percent of Medicare beneficiaries were under 65 years old. There is, however, a two-year waiting period to get Medicare this way. But if you are diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as ALS, or end-stage renal disease, which is permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a transplant, there is no waiting period for Medicare eligibility.   Earlier, we told you about the three parts of Medicare, and you may have wondered why we didn't include the fourth part for Part C. Part C does exist, but it is actually separate from Medicare… in a way. Medicare Part C is what is known as Medicare Advantage. Medicare Advantage is one of the options you have when deciding how to get your Medicare coverage. With Medicare Advantage, you enroll in a private health plan, such as a health maintenance organization, or you may be more familiar with it by the abbreviation HMO, or preferred provider organization, or also known as a PPO, and receive all Medicare-covered Part A and Part B benefits and typically also Part D benefits. Basically, it is an all-in-one coverage plan that bundles the original Medicare options.   President Clinton signed Medicare plus Choice into law in 1997 and it was updated and changed to Medicare Advantage in 2003. Since then, enrollment in Medicare Advantage has grown. Last year, more than 24 million beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage, and enrollment is expected to grow to 26 million this year.   If you are interested in pricing and Medicare plan options, please visit medicare.gov for more information.   Medicare and Medicaid often go hand in hand, but people tend to get them confused. Medicare is an insurance program, whereas Medicaid is an assistance program. Medicare is also a federal program, while Medicaid is run by state and local governments. With Medicare beneficiaries you usually have to be over the age of 65 to qualify, but there are no age restrictions with Medicaid. Medicaid provides Americans with free or low-cost health coverage to low-income people, families and children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with disabilities. To see if you qualify for Medicaid, visit healthcare.gov.   If you are having trouble remembering which one is which, remember that Medicare provides care, or insurance plans, while Medicaid aids needy families. Now, we know that Medicaid is no longer just for people with low-income, but the majority of people using Medicaid do have low-incomes and remembering that is easier than trying to say Medicaid comes to the aid of low-income people, families and children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with disabilities.   Medicare is a federally funded insurance that is open to almost everyone over the age of 65 and it is often more cost-efficient than private insurances. Private insurances, however, have more options and pay scales to choose from. Private insurances offer things that Medicare doesn't, like dental, vision, and hearing. Oftentimes, you may be able to find a plan that will work with Medicare and use it to cover what Medicare will not.     When choosing a Medicare plan, medicare.gov suggests considering costs, coverage, your other coverage, prescription drugs, doctor and hospital choice, quality of care, and travel when deciding between what sort of coverage you need. You can find more information on what you should consider when choosing coverage at medicare.gov.     Cost is a big determining factor when choosing an insurance plan. If you are paying for insurance completely out-of-pocket Medicare is most likely the option for you. If your employer provides insurance for you, they may pay part or all of your monthly premium, even after retirement, but that all depends on your employer. They all differ, as they all have different private insurance companies and plans.   According to Medical News Today, the average monthly premiums for private insurance in 2019 cost families $20,576 per year, the cost for individuals $7,188 per year, and cost for families $6,015 per year after their employer covered part of the cost. Medicare Part A typically has no monthly premiums and Medicare Part B has a standard monthly premium of $148.50, resulting in $1,782 a year.   Private insurance is open to everyone, so if you do not meet the age requirement or one of the other stipulations for Medicare, private insurance is always an option.   If you are interested in signing up for Medicare, visit medicare.gov to start the process. If you are 65 and receiving Social Security, you may have already been automatically enrolled, so make sure you double-check before you try to sign up. There are also only certain times of the year that you can sign up for Medicare, just like with private insurance. Depending on when you are trying to sign up, you may have to wait for the next enrollment period.   Once you are enrolled in Medicare, there are a few things you should do right away. You can find a Welcome to Medicare checklist on medicare.gov or the links in our show notes if you would like to look at the full list. First, you need to decide what Medicare coverage you would like. You can choose from the Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage. If you choose the original Medicare, you can also choose additional coverage to go along with it. Next, you need to give Medicare permission to talk to someone you trust.   If you are getting Medicare for your loved one, you need to fill out the Authorization to Disclose Personal Health Information form so that Medicare can interact with you directly. Then, go online and create a Medicare account at medicare.gov. From here, you can manage your Medicare information anytime, create a list of your prescriptions, view your Original Medicare claims status, pay your Medicare premiums, and more. You can also print an official copy of your Medicare card if you need it. Make sure you tell your doctor about your new Medicare plan and if you have other insurance, make sure to let Medicare know, as well.   During the first year you have Medicare, you can schedule a free “Welcome to Medicare” preventive visit with your doctor. It includes a review of your medical and social history related to your health and counseling about preventive services that may be right for you. During your first year, you should also find out what your Medicare plan covers. You can find out by visiting medicare.gov/coverage or you can use their free app, What's Covered.   If you are on Medicare and you have a limited income, you may qualify for financial help. Visit medicare.gov to see if you are eligible to get help paying your Medicare health and drug costs. You should also get into the habit of filing and checking on your claims to make sure you are not being charged for services you never received.   If you choose a Medicare Advantage plan and would like to change or add on to your plan, you can do that, but make sure you do it within the first three months. If you would like to add or remove drug coverage or switch to an original Medicare plan, as long as you do it within the first three months of having Medicare, you can do so with no penalties or waiting period. If you decide you want to change your plan after the first three months, you can still do that, but only during certain times. Medicare Advantage's open enrollment is from January 1st through March 31st. During this period, you can switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another, switch from Medicare Advantage to Original Medicare, or enroll in Medicare Advantage for the first time.   The annual open enrollment period for Medicare is in the fall from October 15th through December 7th. During this period, you can change or add to your Medicare plan or enroll in a new Medicare plan. Any changes you make to your coverage will begin on January 1st. There are a few other times you can add or change your Medicare coverage plan like if you reach the age of 65, you lose your insurance, or you move. For more information on Medicare enrollment, visit medicare.gov.   If you or your loved one have questions about Medicare and cannot or do not have access to the internet or a computer, you can call 1-800-MEDICARE, or 1-800-633-4227 at any time. If you have difficulties with hearing or speech, you can also call their TTY number, 1-877-486-2048.   If you or your loved one are struggling to understand Medicare and everything that comes with it, know that you are not alone. Many people don't understand Medicare, which is one of the reasons we have decided on discussing Medicare today. With your State Health Insurance Assistance Program, otherwise known as SHIP, you can get free and personalized health insurance counseling. A trusted insurance agent or broker can also help you understand Medicare and help you go over the options provided to determine the best plan and coverage for you.   Before Medicare and Medicaid were created in 1965, roughly half of seniors were uninsured. Today, both programs cover nearly one-third of all Americans. Without Medicare and Medicaid, a significant number of Americans would be unable to afford the medical care they needed to stay healthy and productive. These programs have saved countless lives since being established. Without them, many seniors would not have been able to afford a stay in the hospital and most likely would have avoided going, even if meant refusing life-saving treatment.   Many seniors worry that their medical expenses will ultimately fall on their loved ones and end up refusing to seek medical help when they need it, but with Medicare, they can seek the help they need and not worry about the financial burden. According to Medicare.gov, Medicare covers 23 types of preventive services, including flu shots and diabetes screenings. Some of these services are free, and for others, you only have a small copayment or deductible to pay, depending on which plan you have.   Medicare can help you and your loved one by providing them with insurance that allows them to seek medical help, but also allows them, and you, peace of mind. If you haven't already, join the millions of families that use Medicare to help ease some of the financial burdens that come with aging. Combined with private insurance, you can make sure your loved one is covered and never has to worry about their medical expenses. When neither you nor your loved one has to worry about the costs, you can enjoy spending time together and making memories with them.   If you have any questions about Medicare, please visit medicare.gov for more information. You can also talk to your insurance agent or broker. They should be able to help you go over your options and find the best coverage for yourself or your loved one. You can also visit Medicare on Facebook and Twitter. They post content regularly that you may find helpful.   We want to say thank you for joining us here at All Home Care Matters, All Home Care Matters is here for you and to help families as they navigate long-term care issues. Please visit us at allhomecarematters.com there is a private secure fillable form there where you can give us feedback, show ideas, or if you have questions. Every form is read and responded to. If you know someone is who could benefit from this episode and please make sure to share it with them.   Remember, you can listen to the show on any of your favorite podcast streaming platforms and watch the show on our YouTube channel and make sure to hit that subscribe button, so you'll never miss an episode. Next, on All Home Care Matters we are very excited to share with you that we have some very special guests who will be joining us over the next few episodes. Stay tuned you won't want to miss these interviews!     Sources: https://www.medicare.gov/what-medicare-covers/your-medicare-coverage-choices/whats-medicare   https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/an-overview-of-medicare/   https://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/health/fs149_medicare.pdf   https://www.medicareresources.org/medicare-benefits/medicare-advantage/   https://www.hhs.gov/answers/medicare-and-medicaid/what-is-the-difference-between-medicare-medicaid/index.html   https://www.healthcare.gov/medicaid-chip/   https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/is-medicare-better-than-private-insurance#what-private-insurers-offer   https://www.medicare.gov/media/9211   https://www.medicare.gov/blog/medicare-and-medicaid-keeping-americans-healthy-for-50-years   https://www.medicareresources.org/basic-medicare-information/brief-history-of-medicare/   https://www.medicare.gov/what-medicare-covers/your-medicare-coverage-choices/consider-these-7-things-when-choosing-coverage              

Episode 22:  Jeff Roberts, a personal injury attorney in Murray Kentucky, also handles social security disability claims for his clients.  He's handled social security cases since 1992, when he first began practicing.  These cases have to do with disability or SSI, not social security retirement issues.   Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a benefit for those who have met the requirements for work history and what has been paid into the system.  These benefits help people when they become disabled.  Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is paid out based on financial need.  People who receive the SSI benefits typically have little to no income.  The disability requirements are the same for SSDI and SSI.  The non-disability requirements, however, are different. SSDI claims can be filed at the same time as a KY workers' compensation claim, a state disability retirement claim and sometimes a personal injury claim.  Jeff explains that it may be beneficial to have an attorney who can handle these multiple claims from a case expense and an efficiency basis.  The attorney would be familiar with the status of each claim and can manage the overlap so as to maximize the potential financial benefits for the clients.  At times, if the claims are properly managed, the settlement agreement of one of the claims could negatively impact the amount of the benefit of the other, related claims.  Social Security Disability Insurance In a nutshell, to qualify for SSDI, assuming you've met the work history requirement, is that you are unable to currently work a 40-hour work week.  There are Listings of Impairment that can be considered in determining a person's eligibility for disability.  Depending upon the types or number of listings, a person may qualify fairly easily (e.g. inoperable cancer).  You may not need to hire an attorney if you meet the proper criteria. Bi-Polar, Schizophrenia and other Mental Health Impairments People are sometimes surprised to find out that just because they have been diagnosed with a condition doesn't necessarily mean they qualify for SSDI benefits.  It comes back to how the condition impacts the person's ability to perform work.  Medical testing and medical records are important because they provide documented proof of a person's condition.  But again, it's how the condition affects you and other issues.  A person's education level, his/her past work history and other factors are also considered. Age is another determining factor for Social Security Disability Insurance benefit.  The older a person is when they file a claim for SSDI benefits, can have a positive impact on the claim.  There's a break in the decision-making process if the person is age 50 and there's another break at age 55.  This means, one set of work restrictions could be disabling for a 58-year old that would necessarily be seen as disabling for a 48-year old. When reviewing the person's work history, if they've spent their time doing heavy, manual labor, and now they're limited to a low weight restriction, the Social Security Administration (SSA) may say the person qualifies for SSDI benefits because the possibility of retraining the individual for something they've never done is relatively low at 59-60 years of age.  If the person is only 30 year of age, the situation may be viewed differently by the SSA. Cognitive Impairment Some individuals may have very low cognitive abilities, for a variety of reasons.  The Supplemental Security Income benefit provides a social safety net to provide some level of income to help those individuals. If someone has a work history, but later develops a mental health issue, he/she may also qualify for SSI benefits.  For instance, if someone is diagnosed as being bi-polar, but their ability to manage the condition with medication or other treatments becomes less effective, he/she may now qualify for SSDI and SSI benefits. PTSD and Social Security Benefits Some people who have experienced trauma are now no longer able to work in a normal setting due to the noise or the anxiety they experience around other people.  We often think of people who have served in the military who are sometimes likely to suffer from PTSD symptoms.  But, they aren't the only ones. The majority of the PTSD cases Jeff has handled from a Social Security perspective have involved women who have experienced trauma from sexual abuse or physical abuse.  The PTSD of these traumatic experiences can often prevent someone from working in an office or factory setting until they've received significant therapy, counseling and possibly medication, if at all. Social Security Benefits vs. Not Working For the majority of individuals, holding down a job is far better than going on social security disability from a physical, mental and financial perspective.  Most of the people Jeff sees would prefer to work, if it's possible.  There may be an option of the individual returning to work or taking a job.  If this happens, and it seems to be feasible, there are a lot of positive aspects to pursuing the opportunity.  You should let your attorney know this is happening, but again, the opportunity to return to work may far outweigh the money received through disability benefits. Head Trauma and Brain Injuries Consider the possibility that someone fell, was hit in the head or involved in a car accident that resulted on significant head injuries and/or brain trauma.  This person may be able to file a successful claim for Kentucky workers' compensation benefits, file a motor vehicle accident claim and also be eligible to file for social security benefits.  Jeff finds that when head trauma and/or brain injuries are present, it's often beneficial for him to speak with the person's family members or spouse.  Doctors explain that brain injuries may result in a loss of memory, trouble communicating or personality changes.  The injured person may not realize they are exhibiting any of these symptoms.  These conditions and symptoms are often referred to as “hidden injuries.”  It's also another reason the proper medical testing and/or medical records are so important to the success of the social security disability claim.  Jeff understands how to work with physicians to ensure the proper documentation is included in the injured person's file. For more information, visit www.JeffRobertsLaw.com. This podcast is meant to provide information and is not legal advice.  Jeff's principal office is located at 509 Main Street, Murray, Kentucky.  Co-host Jim Ray is a non-attorney spokesperson.  This is an advertisement.  

When a chronic condition prevents you from working, you might find yourself filling out a disability claim. But what happens when it’s denied? And how can you fight to receive your health benefits?All of this ties back to ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. This week’s guest, ERISA lawyer Glenn Kantor, helps us understand how ERISA impacts patients on employer-sponsored health plans.Plus, a look inside the fight for marriage equality within the disability community. Kaitlin Kerr shares her story and explains how patients with disabilities could lose their Social Security Disability Insurance upon entering an interabled marriage. Guest:Glenn KantorFounding Partner, Kantor & Kantor LLP.Glenn Kantor is founding partner of Kantor & Kantor LLP. As a young attorney, Glenn saw the injustice of wrongful insurance denials and created a law firm to represent individuals seeking to obtain their rightful benefits. Glenn is committed to ensuring that clients receive the benefits they are entitled to under their insurance policies or group health plans.Glenn also represents family members to obtain wrongfully withheld life insurance benefits in situations regarding DUI deaths, domestic partnerships, failure to disclose, and improper enrollment. He works with elderly clients to help them obtain long-term care benefits that they are entitled to under their long-term care insurance policies.In 2011, Glenn worked with California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones to help pass California Insurance Code Section 10110.6, a law that prevents disability insurance companies from inserting language into policies that gives them the discretion to deny claims.Glenn earned his J.D. from the University of Southern California Law Center. Links:Glenn KantorHow the American Rescue Plan will Improve Affordability of Private Health CoverageMarriage in the Disabled Community: More Complicated Than You May ThinkMarriage, Ableism, and Social Security DisabilityThe Marriage Penalty: Choosing Love or MoneyPatients Rising Concierge Need help?The successful patient is one who can get what they need when they need it. We all know insurance slows us down, so why not take matters into your own hands. Our Navigator is an online tool that allows you to search a massive network of health-related resources using your zip code so you get local results. Get proactive and become a more successful patient right now at PatientsRisingConcierge.orgHave a question or comment about the show, want to suggest a show topic or share your story as a patient correspondent?Drop us a line: podcast@patientsrising.orgThe views and opinions expressed herein are those of the guest(s)/ author(s) and do not reflect the official policy or position of Patients Rising.

Most government benefit programs are infused with a level of complexity that is inappropriate for the faint of heart. Social Security is no exception., This episode is part 1 of a 2 part interview with Hillary Hatch a specialist in disability benefits with the Social Security Administration. I thought I knew all about SSI, SSDI and disability work incentives. I was wrong. I learned a lot doing this interview. Enjoy!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/NLAWKI)

Alex Lawson, Executive Director of Social Security Works joins Thom to caution that the Trump administration has made several last ditch efforts to hobble social security and that Joe Biden needs to thououghly clean house when he comes into office.

Medicare is a short-term health insurance for those who are 65-years-old and/or receive Social Security Disability Insurance. It can be overwhelming and confusing, but with the right education, it doesn’t need to be. In part one of this mini-series about Medicare, Tim Whisler helps you navigate Medicare to help ease your mind about the health … Continue reading Episode 5 – Medicare as Retirement Health Insurance →

Social Security Works President Nancy Altman published an op-ed detailing how Donald Trump could make Social Security benefits come to a screeching halt with no action from Congress whatsoever. Trump is already claiming the power to unilaterally defer Social Security contributions, and if he's reelected it would simply be a matter of continuing to do so.

An issue unique to Wisconsin is blocking one specific group of people from getting federal unemployment assistance. The state blames federal rules, so why does Wisconsin stand alone? In this special edition of Open Record, FOX6 Investigators Bryan Polcyn and Amanda St. Hilaire dig into Social Security Disability Insurance, or SSDI. The federal program pays benefits to you and certain members of your family if you're insured. That insurance comes from taxes you and your employer pay. However, qualifying for this 'earned' benefit isn't easy. Amanda provides background into SSDI and breaks down the program, misconceptions, and complications people are having in regards to the assistance. Plus, you'll hear about how things changed after Amanda started asking questions. Typically, Open Record is a podcast that takes you behind the scenes of FOX6 Investigative reports. But we’re changing things up a bit for the time being: We’re bringing you the latest on our coverage of COVID-19 here in Wisconsin. We’ll bring you more frequent episodes over the next few weeks as we navigate this.

Jeff Roberts has over 25 years of experience helping clients to file for and receive Kentucky workers' compensation benefits.  We'll explore the workers' comp system, benefits and other information, in this episode.  Jeff handles cases all over the Western Kentucky region. Qualifying for workers' compensation benefits Generally, this is an injury, occupational disease and/or occupational hearing loss.  All three can qualify for benefits.  Let's focus on the physical injuries, since they are the major of the cases he sees. You need to notify your employer, within a reasonable amount of time.  A co-worker can give notice on your behalf.  Generally, notification needs to go to someone above you in the food chain.  Some companies may have local policies regarding notification to a specific department or using a specific form.  The law states you simply need to give notification. Some companies may try to require you to see a specific doctor or medical provider.  However, Kentucky law allows the injured employee to decide where to get treated and which medical professional to see.  The “company doctor” may try to get you to return to work before you're fully healed.  Employers may be more focused on containing cost, rather than taking care of you.  The caveat is a company with a managed care plan.  There will still be a group of doctors and providers inside the plan.  This is the exception to the rule. If you feel you need medical treatment, then you should seek treatment.  It's probably a good step to see your family doctor, if possible.  That person may already have a relationship with you and will be focus on your care. The 5 Benefits of Kentucky Workers' Compensation Medical Benefits – The employer and its insurance carrier is responsible for all reasonable and necessary treatment related to your workplace injury.  This goes beyond the initial treatment.  You may qualify for lifetime treatment. Temporary Total Disability (TTD) – The money you will receive, while you're off work as a result of your injury.  The rate is a percentage of your average weekly wage.  There is a cap on TTD benefits in Kentucky.  Jeff will work to ensure the amount has been properly calculated.  The insurance carrier can get this wrong, resulting in lower TTD payments.  The carrier will also be responsible for any underpayment (e.g. “back pay”).  Once you reach maximum medical improvement (MMI), TTD payments stop and permanent disability benefits come into play. Temporary Partial Disability – Money you receive if you can return to work, but are unable to go back to your original 40-hour job with a light-duty restriction, because a position isn't available.  For instance, if the only job you can return to is a 20-hour week job, temporary partial disability will make up the difference between this and the actual TTD rate. Permanent Disability Benefits – Once you've reached maximum medical improvement (MMI), according to your doctor(s), your TTD and Temporary Partial Disability will end.  It can take months or years to reach MMI.  Now, you will be classified with either a Permanent Partial Disability or a Permanent Total Disability (completely unable to work).  Permanent partial disability includes an impairment rating (assigned by the doctor).  This qualifies you for a payment based on a number of factors.  Even if you return to the exact same job, you may still qualify because your expected work-life may be reduced by your injury. Vocational Rehabilitation Benefits – This benefit may be available if the workers' compensation judge feels you could benefit from retraining.  This can help you enter another field of work.  Another Source of Benefits Jeff also handles Social Security Disability Insurance benefits.  Depending on your situation, you may be able to file for both workers' compensation and social security disability.  The standards are different, but both can provide addition funds to help you pay your bills.  For more information, visit www.JeffRobertsLaw.com. This podcast is meant to provide information and is not legal advice.  Jeff's principal office is located at 509 Main Street, Murray, Kentucky.  Co-host Jim Ray is a non-attorney spokesperson.  This is an advertisement.  

Episode 1:  Louisville Social Security Disability attorney Trevor Smith launches his firm’s podcast.  This episode provides an introduction to his background and why he decided to focus on helping people to file social security disability insurance claims and supplemental security income benefits. After graduating from law school, Trevor clerked for a Kentucky Supreme Court Justice and later practiced criminal law with his father (also an attorney) at the state and federal levels.  He has extensive trial experience.  After several years, Trevor met Al Wax, a very established social security disability attorney.  Al invited him to join his firm and take over the practice.  Trevor became a partner in what is now the Smith and Wax Law Firm. Trevor understands that the work he does can have a profound impact on the lives of his clients.  His firm is “in the trenches” with clients, from the beginning.  Clients will work directly with Trevor and his staff. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is for workers.  If you’ve worked enough time, you will have accrued benefits.  It also includes Medicare health insurance. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a safety net meant to help people who can’t work and don’t have a work history.  Children and adults can qualify for SSI benefits.  This program comes with Medicaid health insurance. Trevor also works with the homeless and those with mental disabilities to see if they qualify for SSDI or SSI benefits.  If so, he can handle the application and legal process. You can contact Smith and Wax at (502) 581-1133.  The website is www.SmithAndWaxLaw.com Important Disclaimers: The information provided on this podcast is for general informational purposes only.  It should not be construed as legal advice and does not constitute an attorney-client relationship.  You should seek the advice of an attorney for guidance related to your specific situation.  This podcast maybe freely shared, but may not be the modified or edited in any way.  This is an attorney advertisement.   Principal office is located in Louisville, KY.  Co-host Jim Ray is a non-attorney spokesperson. 

This episode join co-hosts Charis Hill and Tiffany Westrich-Robertson as they discuss the important topic of overcoming internalized ableism, both individually and as a society. They discuss the reasons people living with AiArthritis diseases may find it difficult to transition to identifying as a disabled person. Charis also shares insight on medical vs social models of disability and some suggestions for overcoming our invisible prejudices against disabled people. They also touch on the United States federal disability benefits application process. This episode is important for everyone! After you listen, don't forget to join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @ifaiarthritis!AiArthritis Voices 360 is produced by the International Foundation for Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Arthritis. Find us on the web at www.aiarthritis.org/podcast. Show Notes: Episode 15 ”Invisible Ableism” 00:52 - Tiffany welcome listeners and co-host, Charis Hill02:34 - Charis was diagnosed with Axial Spondyloarthritis in 201302:45 - They applied for Social Security Disability Insurance less than 3 years later03:18 - Living with Ax-Spa has affected them mentally and physically04:16 - Charis considers their identity as a disabled person to be very empowering05:43  - The definition of disability is any condition that restricts one or more activities of daily living, which applies to anyone living with chronic disease06:04 - Based on this definition, everyone living with an AiArthritis disease is disabled from symptom onset06:40 - Most people have a moment where they decide to use assistive devices, and that is often accompanied by a change in identity06:59 - Ableism is discrimination in favor of the able-bodied07:40 - Ableism normalizes able-bodied and neuro-typical individuals as the privileged class08:32 - The medical model of disability mentioned before is what is used to define disability from a legal standpoint09:05 - The medical model of disability blames the individual for being impaired and views them as incomplete or in need of fixing09:14 - The social model of disability places the responsibility on society to make the world more accessible to all people, regardless of impairment09:32 - “My disease impairs me, but society is what disables me”09:41 - Disease does not prevent someone from entering a building. Society’s preference for stairs prevents them from entering the building or being able to participate.10:24 - Internalized ableism is a fear of becoming or being disabled11:34 - Children are socialized to blame their body for not doing what society says it should do12:10 - Using assistive devices allows disabled people more freedom to participate in life14:18 - Tiffany has avoided using devices that could improve her quality of life out of fear of being judged by others 17:41 - Part of the hesitation to use devices may stem from fear of letting go of their former identity19:30 - Letting go of ability and losing privilege is a scary transition because you are completely shifting your outward appearance to the world20:30 - Disabled people make up one of the largest minorities in the world, but also one of the most oppressed identities in the world21:36 - Charis’ transition in identity began with using canes and wheelchairs in airports22:13 - Why shouldn’t canes be accessories?24:18 - Charis is sometimes politically motivated to park in accessible spots when they are not using their cane to normalize invisible disability24:47 - If people confront Charis for parking in an accessible spot, they ask the person to please explain what a disabled person looks like25:17 - Shortly after borrowing a wheelchair, Charis realized that they wanted their own wheelchair so they could be independent and participate in activities 27:46 - Never assume someone needs help or put your hands on someone’s wheelchair without asking28:20 - In the same way you would obtain consent before touching someone’s body, you should always have consent before touching someone’s wheelchair because it is an extension of their body29:18 - Sometimes non-disabled people have a tendency to treat disabled people as though they are not fully human32:25 - There is so much value in our culture associated with working, which feeds ableism33:50 - When your disease is unpredictable, it can be challenging to identify as disabled because you don’t feel disabled every day even though you have that disease every day37:31 - Many people in the disability community are shifting to identity-first language (disabled person) vs person-first language (person with a disability), but you should ask about preference because there is not universal agreement39:44 - On average, it takes 3-5 years in the United States for disabled people to receive federal disability benefits41:40- Disability in the US does not pay a living wage, so there is a lot of fear associated with relying on that to survive42:01 - The US discourages people from applying for disability benefits by making the application process very difficult, long, and expensive and by denying half of the applicants43:42 - Charis recommends that anyone who applies for federal disability benefits in the US should use a disability attorney from the start44:14 - Tiffany asks any international listeners to submit tips for applying for disability benefits in other countries45:00 - Universal accessibility - which can apply to any space - is a model that seeks to maximize usability for as many people as possible 46:39 - Overcoming internalized shame - both as a society and an individual - is an important step to overcoming ableism46:57 - At least 20% of the US population lives with a disability49:00 - Buttons that make doors accessible to disabled people are not legally required to work in all locations in the US51:00 - Eyeglasses are an assistive device that are now widely accepted by society, which demonstrates that shifts in acceptance can happen52:20 - Tiffany thanks Charis for nominating the topic and coming on the show to lead the discussion52:41 - Tiffany invites listeners to join the discussion on social media @ifaiarthritis on all platforms53:00 - Listeners are invited to visit aiarthritis.org/podcast to submit topic ideas or get involved with the show 

Thom unwinds the latest Dem debate with fellow radio host Dean Obeidallah, 'The Dean of Radio on SXM Progress Radio, channel 127. Could the Progressive candidates win the presidency without taking big donor money?And Progressive House leader Mark Pocan drops by to answer the people on many questions- What to do about 'alternative facts'?.. Tax changes in the latest spending bill... Splitting up the two article of impeachment?.. 300+ bills ignored, who is really the 'do-nothing' party?.. Holding on to the charges until the Senate is impartial?.. How $900 bottles of wine taste in the heartland... The slush funds and powers controlled by Pelosi and McConnell... Is Trump about to throw people off Social Security Disability?.. and many other issues taken head-on.

Becky and Dan are joined by P From Charlotte (@PFromCharlotte) to discuss Social Security Disability benefits. For those of you who aren’t familiar with P, he’s a former firefighter who suffers from PTSD as a result of his time in the fire department. P was subsequently terminated because of his work-related disability. After years of fighting in court with an incompetent attorney P could not financially afford to fight the fire department any longer. Now P relies solely on Social Security Disability benefits. He shares some of his experiences, the application process, rules and obtaining medical insurance while on disability. P is also a host of A Few Screws Loose (@ScrewsLoosePod), a mental health podcast on The BREAKS Media Network (@theBREAKSmedia). (1:52) P’s Disability. (22:22) Becky’s HR Experience. (24:45) Oversaturated: The Podcast (@OversatPodcast) (25:21) Taking Advantage of The System. (32:48) Sidebar: Discriminating Against The Poor. (39:49) Medicare. (43:54) What’s Life Like on Disability? (50:11) I’m against it… until I need it. (52:54) Workplace Insurance. (59:11) Applying for Social Security Disability. (1:01:25) In Closing. Stay connected with us on social media! Twitter: @BlackLawPodcast IG: @BlackLawPodcast Facebook: @BlackLawPodcast On the web: www.BlackLawPodcast.com Dan Twitter: @iAmDanOnDrugs IG: @iAmDanOnDrugs Ann Twitter: @iTellLegalLies P From Charlotte IG: @PFromCharlotte If you'd like to donate to the podcast: paypal.me/blacklawpodcast --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/blacklawpodcast/support

You can become eligible for Medicare Part A & B & D after 24 months of receiving Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. However, people make mistakes from that point, and the Social Security Administration's communications of rights and options may not be sufficient for you to understand that the Late Enrollment Penalties "calculation period" for Part B & Part D have started. So either a) you do not have health insurance and creditable coverage for prescriptions, subjecting you to the permanent Late Enrollment Penalties, or b) you have health insurance with prescription coverage from the private market, in which case you are likely paying way too much.Be sure to subscribe and rate on Apple Podcasts! email / feedback: info@maximizeyourmedicare.com

What is the difference between SSDI and SSI? As I discuss in this episode, SSDI stands for Social Security Disability Insurance. It is an insurance program and the payroll taxes you paid while you were working are the premiums.You earn insurance "credits" based on your gross earnings. In 2018, you earn one credit for every $1,320 of gross earnings. You can earn a maximum of four credits in a calendar year, so once you have earned $5,280, you will have all four possible credits.The earnings requirements for previous years are slightly lower and the earnings requirements for 2019 and beyond will be higher.It does not matter when during the the year that you earn your credits - if you earned $5,280 during the first week of January in 2018 you would be covered for the full year.One thing to keep in mind, however - SSDI requires that you earn 20 credits during the 40 quarters ending the year before you become disabled. This is called the "5 out of 10" rule because it roughly translates into 5 years of earnings during the 10 years prior to the year you became disabled.Example: if you worked full time (and earned $25,000 per year) from 2006 through 2015, you would have earned 40 credits. Since you only need 20 credits you are "fully insured." This also means that your insurance coverage will follow you for about 5 years after you stop working. In our example, if you stopped working in 2015, you would be insured for SSDI until some point in 2020.SSI stands for Supplemental Security Income and is a welfare program for those who don't have enough earnings to qualify for SSI. You don't need any credits but because SSI is a welfare program, your benefit is capped. In 2018, the most you can receive from SSI is $750 per month. By contrast, SSDI pays you based on your earnings record and most claimants are paid between $1,200 and $2,400 per month.=============== FREE SURVIVAL KIT ================Don't know where to begin? Download my free“Secrets of Getting Approved” Survival Kit athttps://bit.ly/SSD-Survival-Kit-2============================================================== FREE CASE EVALUATION =============If you or a loved one would like a case evaluation for yourSSDI or SSI case, please contact me athttps://bit.ly/Contact-Jonathan-2=================================================================== CONTACT ME =================Jonathan GinsbergSocial Security Disability AttorneyWebsite: https://www.ssdAnswers.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GinsbergLaw/Telephone: 800-890-2262https://bit.ly/Contact-Jonathan-2================================================PODCAST: Click to SUBSCRIBE to this podcast on iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/social-security-disability-law-podcast/id1449712246YOUTUBE CHANNEL: Click to SUBSCRIBE to my YOUTUBE Channel for Social Security Disability Videos***https://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=ginsbergssd

* Use coupon code PODCAST25 for 25% off this webcast * Webcast URL: https://www.theknowledgegroup.org/webcasts/social-security-disability/ The Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) is one of the largest and highly important federal programs administered by the Social Security Administration which provides benefits and financial assistance to individuals who cannot work due to a physical disability. SSDI provides benefits to insured individuals through their contributions which are deducted from their earnings during employment. In this Webcast, a panel of thought leaders and professionals brought together by The Knowledge Group will provide the audience with an in-depth analysis of the fundamentals as well as recent updates surrounding Social Security Disability Insurance. Speakers will also address the implications of the recent developments in social security benefits. For anymore information please click on the webcast url at the top of this description.

Get the Full Episode on our Patreon Page: www.patreon.com/pinealexpress Full Episode Description: Hey, everybody, Julian here: In the discussion episode I talk about how my work as a disability analyst for the Social Security Administration and as a technician in an acute psychiatric hospital informed my views about social welfare programs like Social Security Disability Insurance, and a possible Medicare-for-all type system. Also, Jim and I discuss the perniciousness of disability stigma and how that stigma serves capitalism by denigrating people who aren't selling their labor.

Where I talk about what Social Security Disability Insurance is, what my experience was, how it works, a little riff on how I try to live my life.

l's guest this evening is candidate for City Council for the East Side, Keith Powers. Keith is a lifelong New Yorker and a third-generation resident of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. Throughout his life, Keith has been committed to his community as a Democratic district leader, tenant leader, and community board member, as well as through his work for Assembly Member Jonathan Bing and State Senator Liz Krueger.   As Chief of Staff to Assembly Member Jonathan Bing, Keith drafted and worked on legislation to: Create an Equal Rights Amendment in the New York State Constitution to prevent discrimination based on gender; Institute ‘no fault divorce' in New York State, ending the State's reputation as the only state in the nation without it; Prevent the de-regulation of rent-stabilized apartments; Protecting middle-class Mitchell-Lama apartments; Preventing discrimination based on a tenant's source of income (e.g. Section 8 vouchers or Social Security Disability Insurance); Create a small business grants program for businesses affected by Second Avenue subway construction; Improve community board oversight on nightlife establishments and close a loophole used by many bad establishments; Since 2011, Keith has worked for City Council Speaker Peter Vallone, Sr. helping to advocate for after school funding, expanded Advanced Placement, prevent bullying of LGBT students in public schools, secure funding for employment and workforce programs, create new affordable housing, and preserve the quality of life on the Upper East Side. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abwmitchellrabin/support

l's guest this evening is candidate for City Council for the East Side, Keith Powers. Keith is a lifelong New Yorker and a third-generation resident of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. Throughout his life, Keith has been committed to his community as a Democratic district leader, tenant leader, and community board member, as well as through his work for Assembly Member Jonathan Bing and State Senator Liz Krueger.   As Chief of Staff to Assembly Member Jonathan Bing, Keith drafted and worked on legislation to: Create an Equal Rights Amendment in the New York State Constitution to prevent discrimination based on gender; Institute ‘no fault divorce' in New York State, ending the State's reputation as the only state in the nation without it; Prevent the de-regulation of rent-stabilized apartments; Protecting middle-class Mitchell-Lama apartments; Preventing discrimination based on a tenant's source of income (e.g. Section 8 vouchers or Social Security Disability Insurance); Create a small business grants program for businesses affected by Second Avenue subway construction; Improve community board oversight on nightlife establishments and close a loophole used by many bad establishments; Since 2011, Keith has worked for City Council Speaker Peter Vallone, Sr. helping to advocate for after school funding, expanded Advanced Placement, prevent bullying of LGBT students in public schools, secure funding for employment and workforce programs, create new affordable housing, and preserve the quality of life on the Upper East Side. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/abwmitchellrabin/support

  There are many myths floating around about disability insurance - the most common is that there isn't much of a difference between SSDI and private long-term disability insurance. Often, Americans will choose to skip the latter because they think the former will provide for them if they become disabled. In this podcast episode, we team up with Gary Pozsik of Health, Wealth, and Happiness and discuss the key differences between Social Security Disability Insurance and private long-term disability insurance.

Overview of SSI and SSDI programs;The differences between SSI and SSDI;Social Security’s definition of disability as it pertains to mitochondrial disease;How SSDI is designed to work, eligibility criteria, and the full range of SSDI benefitts;The application and appeals processes for SSI and SSDI;

Mark Duggan, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research Senior Fellow discusses America's entitlement program challenge - A Case Study of Social Security Disability Insurance

When an employee has a debilitating accident at work, there are insurance and government benefits available to the employee and his or her family. Among the many benefits included are workers' compensation, Social Security Disability Insurance, Supplemental Security Income, and Medicare coverage. Despite the different sources and governing bodies, many of these federal, state, and municipal programs are interrelated with offsets and qualifying terms. Since the benefits and qualifications can differ from case-to-case and state-to-state, it can be difficult to figure out the bottom line without a lawyer. In this episode of Workers Comp Matters, Alan Pierce interviews William Troupe, an expert attorney in the field of workers' compensation and Social Security Disability. They discuss Social Security Disability and the interrelationship with workers' compensation, and the varying laws concerning offsets of different benefits. They also discuss the formula of benefits received relative to Average Current Earnings (ACE) and auxiliary beneficiaries such as spouses and children. While this is all information that an employee should know, it is necessary to seek out an expert lawyer in any disability case that prevents someone from returning to work. William Troupe is an attorney and owner of Troupe Law Office in Peabody, MA. He has 40 years experience in representing injured workers and their families both in workers' compensation and Social Security Disability cases. He is intricately involved with various bar associations and frequently lectures at continuing legal education programs. Troupe was recently inducted in the College of Workers' Compensation Lawyers. Special thanks to our sponsor, PInow.

Host Kevin Willett is joined by Attorney Christa Emerson to discuss the process of filing a claim for Social Security Disability Insurance. Audio file:  christasocialsecurity.mp3

The two main federal disability programs have experienced rising enrollment and soaring spending in recent years. Indeed, combined outlays on Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income have roughly doubled over the last decade to more than $200 billion annually. The programs distort the economy and are adding to the federal government’s fiscal crisis. Cato senior fellow Jagadeesh Gokhale and budget analyst Tad DeHaven have published recent studies on the programs, and they will discuss the causes of recent spending growth, distortions created by the programs, and prospects for reform. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Reforming SSDI from the Spring 2013 issue of Regulation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

David Autor of MIT talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program. SSDI has grown dramatically in recent years and now costs about $200 billion a year. Autor explains how the program works, why the growth has been so dramatic, and the consequences for the stability of the program in the future. This is an illuminated look at the interaction between politics and economics and reveals an activity of government that is relatively ignored today but will not be able to be ignored in the future.

David Autor of MIT talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program. SSDI has grown dramatically in recent years and now costs about $200 billion a year. Autor explains how the program works, why the growth has been so dramatic, and the consequences for the stability of the program in the future. This is an illuminated look at the interaction between politics and economics and reveals an activity of government that is relatively ignored today but will not be able to be ignored in the future.

This episode is the third episode of our special 3-part series called “Navigating the Health Care System When You or A Loved Has Cancer.” Host Kim Thiboldeaux and guests will take an in-depth look at Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security Disability Insurance and help listeners understand how to work through these complicated programs. Guests include Joanna L. Morales, Esq., Director at the Cancer Legal Resource Center; Michelle Shanks, Program Director at the Patient Advocate Foundation; and Nancy Boozer, patient and participant at The Wellness Community-Atlanta.