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Health & Fitness

Is Social Security Disability The New Welfare?

Last week, 60 Minutes ran a scathing report on the Federal Social Security Disability Program and its apparent evolution into the “new welfare” system for Americans seeking easy income in a bad economy.

Leading the charge against the “so-called disabled” is Senator Tom Colburn from Oklahoma, a ranking Republican member of the Senate Subcommittee for investigations, who believes that a significant number of people are using disability benefits to “game the system,” with the help of greedy lawyers eager to make a quick buck.

Coburn bases his facts on an “audit” conducted by his staff where they randomly selected a few hundred disability files and arbitrarily concluded that 25% should not have been approved and another 20% were “highly questionable.” In other words, they believe almost half of social security disability cases are fraudulent.

The report also focused on two specific law firms that had questionable practices and ethical concerns regarding their relationships with local judges and medical professionals.

The Real Truth About Social Security Disability Benefits

While no government program is entirely without fraud or abuse, the disability program in the United States is not easy to qualify for. To classify an entire group of people as fraudulent, lazy, greedy or unwilling to work is flat out shameful and irresponsible.

The truth is that the Social Security program exists to help people that are genuinely disabled to the point that there is no work in the national economy they can do based on their restrictions and limitations.

57 million Americans, or 1 in 5, live with disabilities. About 38 million, or 1 in 10, have a severe disability. However, only those with the most significant disabilities or illnesses – about 13 million working age individuals receive vital support from our nation’s Social Security System. These are people that are unable to perform work on a full-time, 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week basis.

Furthermore, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is funded through payroll tax contributions. It only provides benefits to workers who have contributed enough via payroll taxes to be insured and who become disabled before reaching full retirement age. If a person has not contributed for a sufficient number of fiscal quarters, they do not qualify for coverage and cannot receive benefits regardless of how many times they appeal the decision. 

The average SSDI benefit for a disabled worker is only $1,130 per month, which is just over the federal poverty line and hardly a path to “easy living”. The judges take their jobs seriously and the facts prove it. Fewer than 4 in 10 applicants for SSDI benefits are approved, even after all stages of appeal.

A Surge In Lawyers Should Be Expected

Considering that 80% of social security claims are denied by the government, sick and disabled individuals will often turn to a lawyer for help after continuous and frustrating setbacks in their case.

Attorneys play a pivotal, if not crucial, role in protecting the due process rights of claimants seeking a lifeline during a time where they are unable to provide for themselves and their families because of a disability.

For example, it’s no secret that the Social Security Administration often uses experts at hearings and provides claimants the opportunity to cross-examine, but claimants are hardly aware they have this right or even how to get through a basic hearing. 

That’s why judges often recommend claimants seek representation when they appear. They know the process is stacked against the disabled, and why, as Colburn points out, there are more lawyers involved in social security claims than ever before.

Disabled People and Lawyers Are Easy Scapegoats

It is true that the Social Security program has grown in the last decade. Such growth was projected in 1994.

The Social Security Chief Actuary said that growth in SSDI (from 1980 to 2010) is mostly the result of several factors: substantial growth in the U.S. population; the baby boomers aging into their high-disability years; women entering the workforce in large numbers in the 1970’s and 1980’s so that more are now “insured” for SSDI based on their own prior contributions; and the increase in the Social Security retirement age so that disabled workers continue to receive SSDI benefits for longer before converting to retirement benefits.

While there will always be a few bad apples, facts continue to show that the majority of people applying for social security benefits are hardworking individuals who unfortunately got sick or injured and now require assistance from a trust fund they already paid into.

Senator Colburn Knows The Real Source of Social Security Fraud

As budget cuts continue to dominate the national conversation, Senator Colburn’s allegations of severe fraud and waste regarding social security benefits are not based on reality. These blanket accusations paint the disabled population in a very bad light without substantiating such outrageous claims.

Senator Colburn himself knows that problems with social security go beyond a few unethical attorneys or claimants who may attempt to use disability benefits in place of welfare.  Appearing on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” in 2011, Senator Colburn did not mince words when talking about Congress’ role the social security mess, saying, “We have stolen $2.6 trillion from it [the Social Security Trust Fund]. We put paper money in there. The problem is, we spent the money – we didn't just take it, we took it and spent it.”

Of course, it’s always easier to blame “low-life disabled people and greedy attorneys” when funds come up short.  But perhaps Senator Colburn’s investigation and 60 Minute’s reporting would be more fruitful to look in the direction of white-collar individuals in high places who already admit to having their hand in the cookie jar.


For more social security news, tips and free resources, visit Brian Mittman's site at http://thedisabilityguys.com 

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