St. Petersburg Times: Social Security disability claims on the rise in Tampa Bay

It can take years for a person to be qualified for Social Security Administration (SSA) Disability. About two-thirds of people are initially denied, according to Dan Allsup, the communications director for Allsup Inc., a company representing people trying to get benefits.

Accoring to research The Major looked at, your odds of going on Social Security Disability are about 30 per cent when you first apply. In the second review, the percentage drops to 15 per cent. In the third review in front of an administrative law judge, you may have your best opportunity to prevail. 

The Tampa Bay area has had one of the nation's worst backlogs. The national average waiting time to get benefits is 410 days after a person already has been denied twice, Allsup said, and it usually takes at least a year for a person to get to those first denials, he said.

The wait time in Tampa, he said, is 416 days. In St. Petersburg, the wait is 291 days.

In 2008, the SSA announced it was going to add administrative judges and send some local cases to other offices. A few months ago, an office opened in downtown St. Petersburg, which has lightened the load for the Tampa office.

"Social Security has made some real strides in cutting the backlog, but it's appalling that 416 days is an improvement," Allsup said. "Things are getting better, but it's still terrible."

The crush of new enrollees is placing an unsustainable financial burden on the Disability Insurance Trust Fund. Currently, the program costs $124 billion a year. Absent changes, the fund, which is financed mostly by a 1.8 percent payroll tax, will be exhausted by 2018.

The Major has been impressed with the efficiency of the  SSA disability process compared to that of the Veterans Administration (VA).


The SSA sends a  letter that contain forms with bar codes that you can fax back to them. It does no require duplicative Compensation and Pension (C&P) exams the VA does if you provide appropriate documentation from a private physician. 

Every time we visit the local VA Regional Office, we see crates of claim file (c-file) documents  being carted around because the VA is not automated. The VA is an anachronism in this electronics age.

It would be cost effective to make the SSA the executive agency for all initial disability claims from both veterans and citizens. This would not only eliminate duplication of effort, the Veteran would get better and faster service.

Subscribe to the Rightardia feed: feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/IGiu

Netcraft rank: 8665 

http://toolbar.netcraft.com/site_report?url=http://rightardia.blogspot.com