Does SS Disability and Medicare need to be reformed or the people and to many ag

1. 77

   Charluposted 11 years ago

   Does SS Disability and Medicare need to be reformed or the people and to many agencies governing it?
   
   Recently having seen the brutal fight one has to go through to get SS or SSD, Medicaid or Medicare I was in shock.   The mere fact you have to deal with SSI, Office of Disability Determination, SS, and the enormous lack of knowledge and literal defiance between them was a wake up call.  Then those that NEED medical help turned away because their spouse makes $54 a month to much or can't get Medicare for two yrs after being found disabled.  Do you think we should have to hire a lawyer to get benefits you paid for? Is it the abuse of the system or the system and the many agencies running it?

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2. 56

   quatrainposted 11 years ago

   SSD needs to be reformed for two reasons. First, people like you who really are disabled sometimes get snagged in the red tape and give up. Second, SSD is riddled with fraud. Many of the unemployed who give up looking for work in this economy  just slide on over into the disability rolls. Way too much fraud in this program.

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      Doc Snowposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You hear vague claims about 'riddled with fraud,' and so on.  But is there actual analysis of this?  It's pretty hard to see how a system can simultaneously be too restrictive of real claims, yet too permissive of bogus ones.

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   2. 77

      Charluposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Fraud happens all the time.  Ask anyone how to get on disability the first time and I assure you "mental health issue" will come up. Once a month that's all it takes and the Dept of Determination will never rebut it because of repercussions.

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      Patty Inglish, MSposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      One medical professional I worked for while I was in college double billed on SSI examinations and was double paid for about 6 years before discovered and her license suspended.
      
      In my county, few unemployed can win a case for disability, tho.

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   4. 68

      ptosisposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I wouldn't go to a lawyer, your benefits are small  enough. 2 years denial is the norm but other got in within 8 months - others after 8 years. But once get it, it benefits start all the way from the  the day you applied. Don't delay in applying!

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   5. 86

      My Esotericposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I would have to diagree with the "sliding" on over comment.  They may try, but a quick glance through the reponses here clearly show getting SSI is anything but easy, especially for mental problems: 8 monrhs after getting the mind of a 6-year old!!

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3. 80

   Author Cherylposted 11 years ago

   SS Disability like Welfare has been far abused by people who do not need it.  Many people will go through the hoopes to prove they are disabled when in fact they are not.  It is not only taking from those who have paid in to it but it is being used by people who are just too lazy to work.  Women getting welfare and keep having babies.  Even though welfare was revamped giving them only two years then they have to find a job, they work a year then quit and go right back on it for two more years.  That is why all the hoops to get your benefits because some idiots in the beginning thought oh lets just give everyone disability that applys for it.  Then the light came on and realized people were not really disabled at all getting it.  So when people retired in the 2050's which thank God that will be well after I retire they will be lucky if they get any money at all even though some claim that SS is not going bank rupt.

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      ptosisposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      SSDI is NOT SSI - every wage hour you worked - you paid into it - it is your right - and is not based on lack of $$ like SSI. SSDI is not Welfare - it is insurance, like fire, auto, home, flood and your comment is insulting.

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   2. 80

      Author Cherylposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      SSI disability does come from social security.  Those people collecting it that havent paid in to it are ripping off the system.  I did not say it was welfare I said SSID and Welfare have been used by people who do not need it.  Read and understand!

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   3. 77

      Charluposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Fact ,  when someone applies for SSI they are automatically looked at to see if they can receive Social Security.  Like myself I have worked my butt off my entire life and therefore was eligible for to much money from SS to receive SSI  Insulting? no

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      My Esotericposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      So, Cheryl, you believe  1) because a few people abuse the system, you make it extremely difficult for those who need it to get it, 2) you can get SSI even though you haven't worked; false, my partner had to prove enough work to qualify her daughter

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   5. 80

      Author Cherylposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Now wait one flipping minute you are taking what I said completely out of text.  1) who said that you didnt deserve benefits that is no where in my post.  I said those who are faking and abusing the system do not deserve benefits.  Seriously people

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      My Esotericposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Read what I said Cheryl, I didn't say you wanted to deny benefits, I said it appears you want to "make it "extremely difficult" for those who need it to get it." See your 5th sentence beginning, "That is why all the hoops, ...".

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      Author Cherylposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I did not say I wanted it to be hard I said that is why there are so many hoops to go through again not understanding what I meant.  Read my hub on misconveyed words.  Seriously you are misinterpreting what I said completely.

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      Larry Wallposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I understand Cheryl. My son received SSI benefits for a short time, because they are based on financial need. He later was changed to SSDI because he is legally blind and has numerous other problems.
      I am applied for SSDI and was denied.

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      My Esotericposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Then I apologize Cheryl.  The reason for the misconception is the preamble to the sentence, which, while all true, is a small minority of cases; a fact left out by those who want to do away with or limit federal assistance to those who need it.

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4. 0

   JThomp42posted 11 years ago

   SS disability is broken. You have people who so badly need it and then you have those who receive it that are working under the table (tax free) earning a good income. I knew of a veteran who was in a wheelchair (no legs) in which it took him 2 years, getting an Attorney and having to go to court twice to get his disability. Then you have people who say they have a bad back who are completely healthy ruining SS for everyone.

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      Doc Snowposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Here are some good perspectives from experts on the question:
      
      http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/ … lity-mess/

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5. 89

   BizGenGirlposted 11 years ago

   Honestly, that's like the chicken-egg paradox. In order to repair and rebuild the system, the people in the system must also be rebuilt. Which do we started with? I have no idea...

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6. 63

   bizzymomposted 11 years ago

   Absolutely!  Disability and Medicare definitely need to be reformed.  There is so much about it that needs to be changed.  It is so difficult for those who really need it to get it, yet there is so much abuse of the system.  It needs to be overhauled.

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7. 87

   Doc Snowposted 11 years ago

   A system that is worthy of the name needs to be robust to the shortcomings of the individuals whom it employs.
   
   The system, then, needs reform.  Part of that reform would certainly entail ensuring uniform criteria, and training personnel to understand them.
   
   Our horror story:  we were told by a Social Security agent that the will under which we were raising two children was "too old."  (Our sister-in-law had died prior to signing an updated version; the prior version was perhaps 10 or 12 years old.)
   
   As my wife said, "What do you want us to do?  Go back to the deceased and ask her to make a new one?"  (And, by the way, what happens when--as quite often occurs--people die without a will?)
   
   Yet this absurdity--one which, as far as I can tell, has no legal basis whatsover, as the will was a legally valid one--was a total roadblock.  We couldn't resolve it; we worked around it by working with a different SS office--ironic, I know, since I was complaining above about lack of uniformity.  (I assume reform will be in the direction of more uniformly sane, not the reverse!)

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8. 53

   whonunuwhoposted 11 years ago

   No we should not have to hire a lawyer in order to get our justly deserved benefits. I had to, though. Social security needs to be modified in that the over seeing and curbing of those who would take advantage by fraudulent means, especially medicaid, SSI and welfare benefits, needs to be more carefully scrutinized by officials in all states.
   This would hold a lot of the costs down and I know that I have seen some who have taken advantage and lied about children they had or were taken care of by them and fraudulent. This puts a great weight upon the whole country and makes the costs rise because of he wrongdoing of some. I see the need to monitor more, but not cut back on benefits to those who have earned or deserve benefits under our Social Security System. To cut all social security benefits would be disastrous.
   If and when this occurs, I am afraid for the people and the unfortunate rioting and unrest that may well occur in this country. The poor on the streets will greatly increase for lack of food, shelter and medical needs. Diseases will become rampant.The country will be placed in civil unrest and fall completely out of control of law enforcement and the securing of personal property and family safety. It will be perceived as a form of genocide in the deaths of the older people in this country and cause much upsetting of the daily lives of the citizenry. We will be perceived world wide, no longer the "Land of the Free" and a democracy no more.

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      Charluposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I could not even get a doctors report because the SOCIAL SECURITY had not paid their bill since January for anybody not just me (this is Aug).  They are already not paying their bills and we are the ones suffering.

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      Larry Wallposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Having been turned down for benefits, I know it is not a cake walk. I am appealing. If I get a job, I will drop the appeal. There are people with problems worse than mind who are not being helped.

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9. 0

   Larry Wallposted 11 years ago

   Any government program is probably due for reform, it it has only been in existence for a week or less., That is the nature of the beast.
   
   My son, 28, legally blind, partially deaf, other neurological issues, receives Social Security Disability payments. They are not enough for him to ever live independently.
   
   If he can get a job, there is a limit on how much he can make and then the benefits start to decline as the salary increases.
   
   He is on Medicare. He could not buy insurance in the open market with his conditions. He was on my group policy, which would have covered him until both my wife and I were on Medicare, which is only a few more years. When I lost the job, I lost the group policy, so Medicare was the only viable option.
   
   Since I am not working and living off of unemployment benefits and my 401k program, I have no issues with accepting government aid.
   
   I have several health problems and I have applied for Social Security Disability. I was denied. I have filed an appeal. It can be up to an year before it is heard. If I get a job, I will drop the appeal. It is a matter of covering all options. I do not believe my family is abusing the system. I believe we are examining all the options that are available to us.  I have retained a lawyer, but he only gets paid if I get a successful claim, and his payment comes from the back payments--the time you first became disable to the time you collect benefits, and the Social Security Administration determines how much the lawyer can get.
   
   The system is not perfect, but I have not heard anyone on any forum or in any question thread come up with a perfect system.

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      Charluposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      In the letter they sent me the attorney can get up to 25% of back payments. But that is my point should (and believe me you need one) we have to pay attorneys to get the benefits we've already paid for.  That's just absurd

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      Larry Wallposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      We really did not pay for disability benefits. We paid for retirement benefits. Disability benefits was added to the SS program. People who need them should get them, but there are those that always try to scam the system, causing problems for all.

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10. 84

    Marcy Goodfleischposted 11 years ago

    There are so many peripheral abuses of the system that we seldom hear about.  A few examples:
    
    You can get a monthly income for 'caring' for a disabled relative. The system doesn't monitor this adequately, so there are cases of welfare moms getting every one of their children certified as disabled (apparently, ADD can qualify a child, but I haven't verified it), which yields a tidy monthly income when you have several children.  These children are not disabled to the point of requiring constant nursing care, they simply qualify educationally and corrupt doctors help push the paperwork through. 
    
    Meanwhile - there are terrible abuses of 'benefits' such as motorized wheelchairs. As manager of an indigent care clinic, I talked to an elderly patient who said she didn't need to come to her appt., because 'They already came and got her.'. ???  We did not pick up our patients, so I investigated. Someone had contacted her and told her she needed to go to a city almost 200 miles away to get signed up for a 'free' wheelchair. 
    
    This woman had not asked for a wheelchair and she could walk just fine. The poor woman thought her 'doctor' had required it.  Some unknown person called her and 'they' took her to the other city for the day. She didn't even know who it was and could provide no additional information.

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       Charluposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       It is a catastrophe. They didn't pay a doctor of mine for any reports for 7 mths so I couldn't get mine. Then if I had a surgery I could possibly go back to work but they would rather pay me $30,000 for 2 yrs than give me Medicare now when I need it.

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       Larry Wallposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       There are abuses in the system. When my mother was dying of ALS, I got an EOB for two feeding pumps. She did not use feeding pumps. Some individuals abuse the system. A lot of the abuse is by the actual vendors--most are good, but some are not.

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       My Esotericposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Marcy, you make a good point an bring up another one, adaquate funding.  As pressure mounts for even more spending cuts, especially if they are weighted toward those that help Americans as Conservatives seem to want, then guess what goes up? Abuse!

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11. 86

    My Esotericposted 11 years ago

    GREAT QUESTION!!  I have watched one of my wife's family relatives and my business partner interact with SSI.  The former was a living nightmare and the latter a royal pain in the butt; both had, at their root, mental reasons for the disability.  In January of last year, my partners daughter (if you read my hub poems, a couple are about her) suffered a stoppage of oxygen to the brain and died for a few minutes.  When she "recovered" four months later to a point where mom could take her once young adult daughter home, in order to take care of what might be considered a five-to-eight year old (who remembered how to drive, she found out), she applied for SSI.  Slam-dunk right? Nope, it took her eight months to get through the beauracracy. 
    
    My wifes realtive was funtionally incapacitated as far as work was concerned because of documented bi-polar relared problems.  That took five years and a home foreclosure before she finally fought her way through the system.
    
    Has the system been abused by freeloaders?  Of course it has, but you don't take it out on the truly needed by becoming a Russian beaurarcy.  I have worked for the federal governent for 20 years and always thought of us as and experienced us being relatively responsive and responsible, especially when compared to cable and telephone companies; so did my wife who dealt directly with the public in USDA.  The Social Security Administration is living in another world and needs reform in the worst way.

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       Charluposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       What amazes me is they spend hundreds of millions of dollars for you to go see their doctors and then when they find your disabled send it to another doctor in an office to overturn their paid doctors decision. So why bother other than costing us $$

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