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Trump Administration’s Proposed Disability Benefits Policy Change Will Hurt Thousands

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    Trump Administration’s Proposed Disability Benefits Policy Change Will Hurt Thousands

    I am not sure if I am allowed to post the link to the article in Forbes but I pasted the article's headline in the title bar of this message. If you google the headline, the article should not be difficult to find. More outlets are picking up this issue too, so you should be able to find the story posted online by multiple publishers.

    I was approved for SSDI on Aug 1, 2019 after waiting almost 3 years for a hearing. I have MS, Degenerative Disc Disease and several prior spinal surgeries, 10 surgeries to the left knee and cartilage tears in my hip. I broke my ankle when I fell down the stairs shortly before my SSDI hearing. MS causes me debilitating fatigue, severe heat intolerance, balance issues and cognitive impairment. So I had a combination of issues.

    I was also approved for a closed period of SSDI a few years before this approval. The prior determination found I met the MS listing 11.09 and also the Musculoskeletal listing 1.04.

    I never bothered to read my recent approval letter until that article made me aware of potential policy changes. Now I have read my entire Approval letter and it is scary. Throughout the approval, the ALJ wrote that I was capable of sedentary work. She also wrote that I met none of the listings without taking all of my impairments into consideration, although she found my condition to be severe.

    I was approved for SSDI as a step 5 claimant. The application of vocational rules is what garnered my approval. I am 56, educated and did professional work (no physical work) but I fall into the step 5 category of SSDI beneficiary because my approval was granted using the grid rules.

    Included with my Approval letter was a statement informing me that I would be up for review in 5-7 years. This will likely change for me if the proposed policy changes targeting Step 5 beneficiaries is instituted. Instead, I will likely be up for review every 2 years.

    Frequent reviews will be difficult for many Step 5 SSDI Beneficiaries to accommodate, as many are children and/or older people from 50-65 years of age.

    There is open commenting on this proposed change until January 2020. After locating the Forbes article, they have some hot text embedded in the article that will take you to the Federal Register site where you will see a green button labeled Submit a Formal Comment. Clicking the button will take you further down the page where you will be presented with multiple options for commenting on the proposed changes to the "Rules Regarding the Frequency and Notice of Continuing Disability Reviews"

    #2
    Thanks for this. I need to dig my approval back out. I don't remember if it actually said which step benefit step it was based on. Due for review soon. Not sure how they could classify MS into a "Most likely to improve" category.

    I feel for everyone affected. There are some people that will really struggle to keep up with this. I am sure they are counting on it.
    Kathy
    DX 01/06, currently on Tysabri

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by thisis354 View Post
      Included with my Approval letter was a statement informing me that I would be up for review in 5-7 years. This will likely change for me if the proposed policy changes targeting Step 5 beneficiaries is instituted. Instead, I will likely be up for review every 2 years.

      Frequent reviews will be difficult for many Step 5 SSDI Beneficiaries to accommodate, as many are children and/or older people from 50-65 years of age.
      All of my Disability Reviews were in the form of disability update questionnaires, which I only had to fill out and mail back to them.

      Guess I was very lucky!

      Take Care
      PPMS for 26 years (dx 1998)
      ~ Worrying will not take away tomorrow's troubles ~ But it will take away today's peace. ~

      Comment


        #4
        I was approved for disability in 2012. Approximately 2 months ago I received a questionnaire in the mail. I filled it out and hope to not hear from them anytime soon.

        There are a number of scammers in the system, but with a chronic progressive disease like MS improvement is generally unlikely.

        Comment


          #5
          I was approved for disability in 2009 and have never received a questionnaire! I wonder why?

          Originally posted by KoKo View Post
          Guess I was very lucky!
          Me too!
          1st sx '89 Dx '99 w/RRMS - SP since 2010
          Administrator Message Boards/Moderator

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Seasha View Post
            I was approved for disability in 2009 and have never received a questionnaire! I wonder why?
            Seasha ~ were you 7 years or so within regular retirement eligibility?

            If so, they sometimes don't bother with the review.
            PPMS for 26 years (dx 1998)
            ~ Worrying will not take away tomorrow's troubles ~ But it will take away today's peace. ~

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by KoKo View Post
              Seasha ~ were you 7 years or so within regular retirement eligibility?

              If so, they sometimes don't bother with the review.
              No, I was within 15 years of regular retirement.
              1st sx '89 Dx '99 w/RRMS - SP since 2010
              Administrator Message Boards/Moderator

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Seasha View Post
                No, I was within 15 years of regular retirement.
                Oh, ok. So you retire in 2024. Not sure why you don't get the questionnaires.

                Like you said, lucky!
                PPMS for 26 years (dx 1998)
                ~ Worrying will not take away tomorrow's troubles ~ But it will take away today's peace. ~

                Comment


                  #9
                  Maybe I misinterpreted what you said. I went on disability at the age of 50 (2009). 15 years later I then went on regular retirement in 2005. During those 15 years of being on disability I never received a questionnaire.
                  1st sx '89 Dx '99 w/RRMS - SP since 2010
                  Administrator Message Boards/Moderator

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Seasha View Post
                    I went on disability at the age of 50 (2009). 15 years later I then went on regular retirement in 2005.
                    Seasha ~

                    When I add 15 years to 2009, I get 2024.

                    In any case, you were on SSDI for 15 years without a review.

                    You didn't miss anything.

                    Take Care
                    PPMS for 26 years (dx 1998)
                    ~ Worrying will not take away tomorrow's troubles ~ But it will take away today's peace. ~

                    Comment

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