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Brian:
Greetings, everybody! This is Brian Therrien, and here today with
Barbara Mountain. How are you, Barb? Barbara:
I'm doing great. Thank you. Brian:
Thanks for coming out and spending some time with us. I'm glad that
we're gonna be able to do this. The thing that really intrigues me, Barb,
about your experience that will be of value to our members is that unlike
anybody I know in the industry, you’ve worked in different aspects. That's
been pretty cool. You’ve spend time working with the Social Security
administration, then you've worked with Long Term Disability cares. And now,
you're working with Doherty, Cella and Keane Barbara:
Right. Brian:
- as a Direct Consumer Social Security Disability Representation Group
from the Boston area. So you – you’ve seen all different angles of
disability applicants going through the approval process. You seen the
mistakes; you seen what works and what doesn't work and - so we're gonna see
if we can get you to spill your guts and tell us all today. Barbara:
Great. I'm good.
Brian:
(laughs) So, anyway, congratulations on a nice, well-rounded career.
And so what's - let's get in to it. What were are going cover today, to those
of you listening, is will it - we’re gonna cover, really, the common causes
of why claims get denied. You know, high – seventy percent – of initial
applications get denied. And there’s some steps that you can do to avoid
that. We’re gonna talk about disability representatives, different types of
‘em, how you find good ones, how you weed out the ones that likely would not
be of your best interest to hire for your client. Really, how representatives
can increase your odds of getting approved, and – what else we’re going to
talk about today – the value they add; does the representative have to be
local? I got a whole list of questions here, so how do we just dig right into
it and get started. All right? Barbara:
Sounds great. Brian:
The first thing I wanna go through with you is this term that we’ve
kinda coined here – a whole service disability representative Barb, which is
really just two different types for the audience that are listening out there.
What a full service representative does is that they really do all the
paperwork for you and the initial application phase, there is – what is it
– a hundred and something forms somebody’s gonna fill out. Barbara:
Yeah. There’s a good number of a piece of the paperwork and questions
that have to be answered. Brian:
Yeah. So a full service representative will do that for you. ‘Course,
you could do it on your own. But let’s talk about full service
representation and, unlike small firms that if you go to them and say you
haven’t applied yet, you know, they might say: “Well, go ahead and apply.
Do it on your own. See if you could get approved. If you don’t, come
back.” What can you share about the difference and why have representatives
gone this way. Seems like a whole lot of extra work. Barbara:
Well, a lot of it the smaller companies or local companies you’re
talking about that will tell you to go file on your own and come back if
you’ve been denied. They’re looking at it from a perspective of saying
that “We wanna deal with it when you’re getting to that hearings level,
when we’re gonna go represent you in front of a judge. And once you get
awarded, we’re gonna get a piece of the back end benefit that you’re
“Hey!” They’re thinking if you file on your own and you work it on your
own, you know, “That’s great! Less work for me. I wasn’t gonna get paid
much, anyways.” What
a full service representative is thinking is he knows if they help you with
that initial application, they’re gonna increase your chances of getting
awarded. If not at the initial level, later on, because they’re gonna start
the claim off on the right foot. When you’re answering all of those
questions, it’s really important to answer them the right way. Vocabulary is
very important and to a lay person or person who’s just kinda talking about
their disability, they don’t really know what Social Security is looking
for. What Social Security is really looking for is for you to say how your
disability is affecting your ability to work. If you can talk all about the
pain and how much pain you’re in on everyday basis, but if you’re not kind
of correlating that back, how was that pain affecting your ability to go the
office everyday or, you know, to talk on the phone or to sit or your attention
span – it’s not helping the case. Having a full service rep who’s going
to start from day 1, you make an award at the initial level.
Certainly will increase but will also increase your chances even later
on if you have to go that hearings level, because they’re gonna start it off
that claim the right way with the question being answered appropriately. Brian:
OK. So it’s really the wording is what I’m hearing. I gather that
you learn that from the seven years you spent with Social Security, you saw
claims that would fly through that they likely met that criteria. Is that – Barbara:
Absolutely. Brian:
OK. Barbara:
Yup. You know, people just – they are understanding. They’re –
they’re talking in the name of, you know, what you expect. They’re talking
so much about the disability. They’re forgetting the part that you kinda
gotta correlate how that’s affecting ability to do – to do work in the
national economy. You know, it’s a subtle thing, but it’s an important
thing. People can say things that they didn’t intend. They might say, “You
know, my doctor says I can do light duty.” But what a doctor interpret as
light duty and what Social Security, according to vocational grits, interprets
lights duty are very different. You have to be really careful with how you
throw out those terms, because that could dramatically affect your decision. Brian:
It’s
a natural thing – it’s really, I guess the best way to put it is it’s
not natural for people to explain why they can’t work because we are built
and trained to sell ourselves why we can work, you know. Barbara:
Right. Exactly, exactly. Brian:
So, it’s you’re talking yourself out of a job is really what the
deal is here. What are some of the other steps that people do in – I direct
this question in this area. A lot of people and members there that are going
through the approval process, certainly they’re interested in increasing
their odds, but people that are sick, and just don’t either have the mental
capacity or the energy to do it - are there key things or heavy lifting that
representatives do that you could share with us that make this process easier? Barbara:
Well, what they should be doing is filling out all the paperwork for
the person – whether they’re doing it by phone. Typically, it’s done by
phone. They’ll ask the question
and you have the answer, but they’re the ones who’re gonna complete the
pages of information, gather it all together, send it to the person clearly
marking where they have to sign. The idea behind this is they’re taking all
of the work out the process, while giving that claimant the best
representation possible. They’re also gonna make sure that they’re getting
all the communication from Social Security. So if new forms are needed, if
there’s a question that needs to be answered, they’re gonna make sure
that’s done and done timely. If a claim is denied, they’re gonna make sure
that appeal is filed and filed within the time frame. So they’re kind of
staying on top of everything, making sure everything’s done appropriately,
handling all those logistics, so you really can concentrate on getting better
or whatever you’re going through in order to help your own personal
situation and not having to deal with the headaches of Social Security. Brian:
And so, could you set the expectations for somebody that is going to be
working with a full service representative? They still do have some
obligations, correct? They do need the authorized forms so that they can do
the work. Barbara:
Exactly. They don’t need to sign a form, basically authorizing
representative become the representative. They still need to sign
authorization to release information. Social Security will get the medical
records, so there’s forms they definitely need to sign. They do need to
response and answer honestly and straightforward, so the representatives can
just represent them in front of Social Security. If there’s any new medical
evidence, new doctors, new important tests that happened, they make sure they
keep that representative updated on that. That’s really the most important
thing is that – if there’s new evidence or new information, that they
think would be important if they are communicating that to the representative
aspect and can submit that to Social Security. Brian:
OK. So, my understanding is that the way that a representative will
increase somebody’s odds, their good full service, is really word-smithing
the application and communicating how somebody specifically can’t work and
has limitations? Barbara:
Right. And ensuring that the medical records are complete. It’s
really easy to forget a doctor, to forget a hospital, to forget some
medication. They’re gonna make sure, talking with the individual that they
have all that information and that they get that medical information. At the
initial application, Social Security will go out and get the medical record.
However, there isn’t a guarantee that they’re getting everything – that
they’re following up, making sure they have everything. Your representative
is going to make sure that Social Security – or they should be making sure
– have all that information right from the beginning. And that’s extremely
important. It’s also gonna make your decision a whole lot quicker. If Social
Security can start working the claim immediately and doesn’t have to wait
that time to get the information back from doctors and hospitals that can
increase your chances too. That’s a huge benefit right there.
Brian:
OK. Let’s roll it forward a little bit for somebody that has already
applied. So we’ve talked about those that haven’t applied, we’re gonna
talk about those that have already applied and are waiting. OK? Now the wait
to get approved or the wait for a decision at the initial level varies – I
don’t know. You have any – Barbara:
It’s not three to six months on average. Brian:
Three to six months. OK. So somebody’s in that three to six months
range, and they’re just like, “I’m really considering using a
representative.” What value could a representative add at this stage, Barb? Barbara:
Well, once the claim has already been submitted at the initial level,
it’s up to Social Security to make that medical decision once they have the
application. So the initial application has already been filed, they already
supplied, you know, the medical information, the medical listings for Social
Security, they go and collect that. There’s really not a whole lot they can
do at that point. They could potentially ask how to answer these questions and
maybe submit some supplemental information. But for the most part, if you’ve
already submitted that Social Security and you think you’ve answered things,
you know, the best of your ability – you’ve listed all your doctors and
hospitals – it could just be best if that point, wait ‘til the decision
comes back, and then at that point if it’s been denied, you get a vendor
involved. There is not too much they can affect once that initial application
is in. Brian:
Pending
that its done correctly. Let me
also say this: a lot of people wonder if they’ve done it right. So let’s
say that they – they haven’t listed all their conditions or they don’t
all their medical records or their medications or something’s happened in
that three to six month period that could influence the decision. Can an
impact be made? Barbara:
Well, it can. You definitely can get in touch with a disability
examiner and tell them there’s more medical evidence that you want to add to
it and they could write up an addendum. Maybe documenting some additional
information about the condition and then including the new medical evidence.
And that certainly will supplement the claim and could affect it. As long as
you get there and you get that done in time, it’s definitely possible. Also
the person, if you do hire someone while that initial claim of pending, they
could already start delving into that case, preparing it for appeal if they
think the claim is gonna be denied. But there is that potential that once,
having the representative come in and they could have an impact. The most
important thing I could say is that initial application, answering the
questions right off the bat, because of they did say something that hurts
their case, that has to be overcome. For example, mentioning something about,
“My doctor says I can do light duty,” not really understanding what that
means. Or a claimant that’s on long-term disability saying, “I’m filing
because my insurance company is making me.” They may not mean “I’m still
thinking I’m disabled but I shouldn’t file.” They risk maybe stating a
fact, but those are things that have to be overcome later and having them up
front just makes the case a little bit more difficult down the road. Brian:
OK. Let’s talk about back benefits. Maybe you can, first of all, just
give us a quick explanation of what was entitled to for back benefits, and
then we can kinda move on to talking about onset dates and how those could be
properly spotted. Barbara:
Sure. Whenever you file for disability, you’re gonna allege a date of
disability – the date you could no longer work. If Social Security finds you
disabled as of that date, you have to wait five full calendar months before
your date of entitlement and the date of entitle would mean the first month or
due of payment. So if you were disabled on March 15, your waiting period would
be April, May, June, July, and August. September is the first month you’re
due with check. That’s your – your date of entitlement. Now, Social
Security can pay back twelve months from the date you filed. So, if you waited
to file – you were disabled; you wait a little while; you want to see if you
were gonna get better; you eventually find out that you have to file. You
wanna be sure that you file, at least within seventeen months from the date of
disability. And I think seventeen months, because for twelve months waiting
period – or… excuse me. That’s for twelve months, they can pay back in
retro benefits plus for five months waiting period. If you wait longer than
seventeen months from your date of disability, and you’re eventually found
to be disabled as of the original date of onset, you will be leaving some
money out of that. You won’t be allowed to be paid, because Social Security
can only pay you back twelve months from the date you filed. Brian:
So
if you’re over seventeen months, you could be leaving money on the table? Barbara:
Exactly. Brian:
OK. Barbara:
You wanna make sure you file within seventeen months of that initial
date of disability. Brian:
All right. Now – gather my thoughts here. So if somebody has
intermittent work attempts or failed work attempts… Barabara:
Right. Brian:
…and they go to apply. For example, let’s say that they apply
today. But they really haven’t been able to work consistently for the last
year. Can you give us like a general statement of what might be possible for
somebody to adjust their onset date? Because it will – it could be today,
but it might not be. Barbara:
Right. That’s a great question. That’s one of the big reasons why
I’m very pro getting someone to help you when you’re filing disability
benefits. Because when you fill out that application for Social Security,
it’s going to ask you, “What was your date of onset?” and it’s going
to say, “When was the date you could no longer work?” And for a lot of
people, it’s not a drop-dead day, it just didn’t all of a sudden happen;
occur on this date – “I never worked from this date forward.” For
a lot of people, it’s that intermittent disability – it came on flowy; it
affected work; you were in and out of work. If you don’t have somebody
telling you what they put in – you probably gonna put the most recent date
you were out of work. And – and that’s not always what you have to do. You
can sometimes move that onset date back and the way to do that is something
called an “unsuccessful work attempt” and that’s a Social Security term.
Basically, what it means is if you were out of work for at least thirty days,
at one point in time you had to have a break. For thirty days you went back to
work, but it didn’t – it wasn’t successful and that work lasted for less
than six months. If it ended because of the disability, there is a potential
you could move that onset date back to the original time you went out. So if
the work period – it’s definitely can be moved back if the work period was
less than three months. If it’s between three and six months long, you kinda
have to do a little evaluation of how much you were working and what was going
on there. More paperwork that needs to be done, but it definitely can be done
and should be looked at to see if you could move that onset date back before
you went back to work and tried out for that – you know, preliminary period
that just didn’t have them. Brian:
OK.
So I wanna make sure I get this. If somebody is working – out of work for
thirty or more days, and then goes back to work for less than six months, they
could pinpoint their onset date during… at the beginning of that thirty day
period? Barbara:
Exactly. As long as the work ended because of the disability, and that
would be called an “unsuccessful work attempt.” There is an additional –
some additional paperwork that needs to be done to document that unsuccessful
work. Brian:
Yup. So if sometime within the last seventeen months this happened, it
would really make sense for somebody to target that correct onset date.
‘Cause every month, they could pick up this extra money. Right? Barbara:
Absolutely, absolutely. He was not only to ask extra money, but also,
the earlier the date of entitlement, the earlier your Medicare will start. You
get a Medicare two years after date of entitlement, so if you could get that
date of entitlement to move back like four, five months, that’s gonna move
up your Medicare entitlement date. Brian:
Oh, great point. That’s a great point. Barbara:
The date of disability is extremely important. Probably, the most
important question on that application is to get that date of disability
right, because you wanna get benefits as early as possible. Brian:
OK. I wanna make sure I get this part right. Your twenty-four months
that you have to wait for Medicare. Is twenty-four months from the onset date
of your disability? Barbara:
No.
It’s from your date of entitlement. Brian:
From
your date of entitlement. Barbara:
Right.
Which is gonna be five full calendar months from your date of disability. So
that person who was disabled in March 15, his date of entitlement is going to
be September 2010. So Medicare starts in December – excuse me, September of
2012. Not the March when they were actually disabled. Brian:
OK. I have been led to believe and thank you for clarifying this that
it was twenty-four months after you were approved. Barbara:
Nope. Actually you could’ve been approved. It might have taken them
two years to approve your claim. Your Medicare might start right up as soon as
– as soon as it’s approved. You’re eligible for Medicare immediately. Brian:
Wow. This is great news. Barbara:
Yeah. Not the approval date. It’s all based on the date of
entitlement. Brian:
OK. So you gotta get that date of entitlement correct. You gotta lock
it in. Barbara:
Right. Brian:
OK. Awesome. All right. Yeah, seventeen months minus five, twelve – I
mean, that’s twelve. There’s some people I’ve know that have gotten back
benefit checks for over $20,000. Barbara:
Exactly. You don’t want it to be the largest – you don’t really
want a large retro because what that means is that it took Social Security a
long time to approve you for the most part. You know, it take two, three years
to get awarded and they find you disabled right back to the beginning. Well
then, you’re owed about two and a half years of back benefits and that’s
why you have a large retro. Ideally, if you get awarded quickly, so the
benefits can come in right away and you don’t have all those years of –
when you’re waiting for this income. Brian:
Who are you to waited to apply. Barbara:
Exactly. Or you’ve waited to apply. Brian:
Yeah, yeah. OK. So let’s see if you can – as best you can from your
position, your professional position – if you could provide us with some
questions. So I guess… where I’m going is attorney selection questions,
get an idea where to look for a full service representative and what’s some
of the value of it is. But I guess I’m gonna start with this. If somebody
isn’t – hasn’t applied, most people are of the mindset to say, “Well.
I thought I’d find somebody that’s local.” So can you give us your take
on that? Do they need to be local? Barbara:
You
actually don’t need to have somebody local, because the process of Social
Security isn’t something where you need to be face-to-face. When you’re
dealing with Social Security, you’re always dealing either phone or email.
It’s not a face-to-face process unless you get to that hearings level. When
you’re dealing with a representative, everything can get – be done by
phone. As long as you can communicate with that attorney, that’s fine. So
you definitely – you don’t have to have a legal presence if they want it,
but you don’t have to have it. The most important thing I believe – I’ve
said this since I worked for Social Security day 1 – is that you hire
someone that only does Social Security law. It really is a niche market and
you want someone with that – their full attention –they’ve seen a little
bit of everything and they know what they need to do.
Another
point that I might make about using a local representative versus somebody
just somebody you like who represents people nationally – is a company that
represents nationally – will tend to work with judges all over the country.
Wherever you happen to be, and the judge you’re assigned, they’re gonna
work with that judge. When you work with a local attorney, they tend to work
with the same judges over and over again. Now, you may think on the plus side,
well, they know that judge – maybe they know how to present a case to that.
There’s absolutely truth to that. But there’s also the truth – the fact
that the local attorney works for this judge so often on so many cases, they
have to stay on good terms with that judge. They’re not necessarily gonna
press the envelope or push something or be confrontational in situations where
maybe they need to be, because they have to stay in good standing. They have
to see this judge every single day. This is their livelihood. When you deal
with a representative who represents nationally, they don’t have that fear.
They’re gonna challenge a judge if they need to and they’re gonna push
every case as far as they possibly can to get that claim awarded. So there’s
pros and cons of both, but I don’t think you should limit your search,
thinking you just need local. I don’t think there’s any real benefit in
doing that. I think any – as long as you get the right representative, they
can be located anywhere. Brian:
That’s
a good point. Never thought of that. Yeah, made me think of the Joe Pesci
movie or it came in from out of town and he’s defending the two Utes.
(laughs) Barbara:
(laughs)
Right. Brian:
Yeah. Yeah. Very good point. So, as far as a representative being
specific in this area, do they need to look for like – it’s their certain
size of representative or case volume or.. is that is important, if somebody
specializes in this, and they do five cases a month. Is that enough to be good
or is twenty-five or thirty better? Or… any take on that? Barbara:
I don’t think that volume necessarily is a good judge. I think it is
all they do in Social Security law and this is their livelihood. You can
assume that, you know, they’ve seen a good number of cases. You might wanna
ask how many years they’ve been in practice and how many years have they
been doing this. That can certainly be helpful. I’d ask them questions about
your case specifically. What do you think is the most important facts about my
case in order to get it awarded? What do you think could potentially hurt my
case? I’d ask questions like that I think are more important evaluating a
representative. Other things you should ask is, what is my role in it? What do
you expect from me? And what should I expect from you? I think communication
is the most important tool in everything. There’s no exception to that when
selecting a representative. You
wanna be very clear from the start: what do they expect from you? What do you
expect from them? How will the communication go? That can always be a sticking
point with attorneys and making sure that you’re updated as often as you
feel you should be – and that you can get in touch with that attorney. Those
are really important things to know. I think those are probably just as
important as everything else when you’re having that initial conversation,
deciding who you’re gonna use. Brian:
That’s one of the number one complaints that we get – is related to
that. That we see. I’ll make a
very general statement here. A lot of attorneys that do practice this work –
you don’t have to be an attorney. But a lot of attorneys – are attorneys
– and their business practices aren’t always in tune with people’s
expectations in that people think that they can always be in touch with their
attorney – and that’s not the case. So your point that you brought up,
which is a great one, is you’re suggesting that they establish an
understanding of what appropriate communication plan would be. Correct? Barbara:
Definitely, definitely. How often are you gonna update me on what’
going on? When do you expect I should hear something? When should I expect
you’ll be doing something? Because that’s a lot of it. I think when
you’re sitting back on the other end, you’re wondering, “What are they
doing? Are they working on my case right now? What’s happening? Is it just
sitting out there?” You
should be prepped upfront - at the initial level, you should be called once
you submit that application and we submitted that medical evidence. If
there’s new medical evidence that comes down the road, all we can do is sit
and wait. There’s really nothing your representative can be doing at that
point and they see it off to give you guidelines on how long you should expect
to wait. When will they follow up? Because there should be a follow up plan.
You don’t just allow Social Security to stay out there forever. There should
be a point in time, whether that be at three months, they’re gonna do a
check-in and see what’s going on, and then get back to you. Those are
important things for you to know because obviously, this is your life and so
you want to know and have some assurance that everything’s progressing the
way it should, that you’re gonna be updated so you’re not just sitting out
there wondering what’s happening. Brian:
There
are people that – that certainly believe that once they retain a
representative, they have the right to call in frequently and I have my
opinion about that, but I think people that are gonna call too much are gonna
create challenges in their working relationship. But I was curious what your
– what you could share with us, your advice in that area? Barbara:
Well,
that’s again, I think that comes back to communicating - how often makes
sense. Because you’re right. If you’re calling every day, there’s no new
information to give you and all you’re doing is really taking away the time,
you know, from some other cases that representatives might need to work on.
However, at the same time, I think it’s important that you’re able to get
in touch with who you want to. Jjust something important to share. You know,
one thing – another question to ask when you’re looking for who’s gonna
represent you is: “Do you use voicemail?” A lot of companies use voicemail
out there. Might be hard to find any that don’t – but some don’t. I
could tell you that the company I work for, Doherty, Cella, Keane, we don’t
use voicemail. We don’t use it for a reason because we don’t like it. We
want you to reach a person, so anytime you call our office, you’re gonna
have a person who’s going to get the answer that you need. That’s
a good question if you can ask, but you do, on the other side, you have to
have some perspective and recognize that there are certain times when you’re
just waiting for Social Security to act – and Social Security is not speedy.
They’re very slow. Sadly, they’re getting slower. Right now, at the
hearings level, everything is just slow down to a crawl. And it’s been that
way for years and years and years. But unfortunately, given the economy,
Social Security is being inundated with new claims at the initial level. Last
year, they had 3.3 million people file for disability benefits at the initial
level. They don’t staff appropriately for that, and so what we’re gonna
start seeing is that initial level claims are gonna start taking longer and
longer, because more claim are coming in and they actually have less bodies to
do the work than they did before. So, there’s gotta be a recognition there
that once everything’s been submitted and everything’s in there, it is a
waiting game and you are gonna have to wait. There is gonna be an appropriate
time to follow up but there are gonna be months in which nothing’s
happening. Brian:
So
that’s an interesting figure. The last I heard, it was around 2.6 million,
so it’s up to 700,000. That’s – Barbara:
Exactly. It’s gone up dramatically. Brian:
That’s huge. Yeah. OK. Well, you’ve shared some good tips here.
Let’s talk about fees for a minute. There’s a pretty general understanding
of the fee structure that’s out there for Social Security. Can you share
with the audience, Barb, what one can expect to pay for a Social Security
representative? Barbara:
All right. You’re always gonna ask the representative, “What is
your fee?” Ninety-five percent of everybody in this business is – they
have the same fee, and it’s called the “standard fee agreement.” The
reason why everyone has the same amount is because Social Security must
approve any fee charged by representative to represent a claim for Social
Security. They’re not allowed to go out and just dictate whatever they want.
It has to be approved by Social Security. So that standard fee is twenty-five
percent of half due benefits up to a cap of $6,000. So the most they can
charge is $6,000, otherwise twenty-five percent of whatever your past due
benefits are. The
other type – when I say its ninety-five percent, the other potential five
percent is sum of attorney’s right to proceed petition. What that means is
they’re gonna petition Social Security for whatever they think the cost
should be. What they have to do is they have to document how many hours they
worked in the work that they did. They’re really asking for more than that
fee agreement, and Social Security must approve that. You
would be getting a copy of all that paperwork and you’d be able to submit
paperwork to Social Security. If you disagree with what the attorney was
asking for, but you’d wanna know upfront: “Is it gonna be that standard
fee agreement?” The other things you would wanna look for – you could say
other hidden fees. Well, there really shouldn’t be any hidden fees, ‘cause
everything should be upfront. But for most, it’s just that standard
agreement. However, there’re some attorneys that will charge you for medical
records. Or that will charge you for travel, if they have to travel to a
hearing. Those would be considered out-of-pocket expenses and they can charge
for those separately than that standard fee agreement. You would wanna know if
those are gonna be additional charges that you’re gonna be responsible for
or if that’s included in that standard fee. Brian:
Good point. Say, I have been informed that there are some that classify
a fee as an administrative fee
that – and it various. They’re
allowed to charge an administrative fee, I except. Correct? Barabara:
I’m
not really familiar with a term of “administrative fee.” I think – I
guess they probably could. I have not seen companies that have done that, but
those are definitely the questions to ask. If it’s not – if it’s a fee
that’s not for the actual represented claimant to get them awarded, then I
guess they can charge for that, because that is separate that what Social
Security says their fee is for. That’s for the actual representation. So
actually, I think that they could do something like that. I’m just not
familiar with companies that do that. Brian:
OK. Well, this all has to be certainly weighed into the – into the
process of what’s best for the claimant, the applicant. Whether
representation is the way to go or pursuing or advancing their claim on their
own. So you shared some really great information with us today. I wanna kind
of go through and recap and see if you could maybe pinpoint some of the key
benefits that somebody would have. If they’re not represented now to what I
would refer to as “interview with a representative,”.
What in your mind would be some of the key benefits that somebody would
walk away with from a free interview. You know, you’ve given them some of
the questions to ask. But… what can you share with us? Barbara:
Well, I think that way you gained is maybe some – somebody with
experience and knowing what Social Security needs to see to get you awarded.
Telling you an honest opinion of what kinda case you have, you know. Is it a
good case? Is it gonna be a tough case? I think that’s good for you to know
the expectations going in, for you to have an idea to say: “You know what,
sounds like I have a pretty good case that might just probably get an award
– will be awarded. And also give you a perspective as you hear: “You know
what, this is gonna be a pretty tough one and this is why,” I think I can
give you some good understanding into what Social Security is looking for and
what you can expect. It’s something that you certainly can gain. Brian:
‘Cause they could say, “Listen. We can’t help you. We would not
be able to accept your case.” Barbara:
Right. Consider that and you’re probably thinking you probably
don’t have a pretty good chance of being awarded and they’re not willing
to even spend the time on it. That can be a tough thing to hear but it also
can be an eye-opener and help you set your expectation. Brian:
Sure. ‘Cause if you file, you have to give below a thousand dollars a
month on earnings. So if you’re gonna drop your income to file, and wait
around for decision, and then you don’t have a good crack at it that’d
be… then in my opinion, that’d be very valuable information. Barbara:
Right,
right. Actually, substantial gain for activity, which is the amount of work
that Social Security is considered substantial. You’re not disabled. Right
now, in this year is $1,000 a month. So if this year, you can work, there is a
job that you can do that would allow you to earn more than $1,000 a month,
then Social Security can say you’re not disabled. If you can’t find a job,
you physically or mentally are unable to perform a job that’s gonna allow
you to earn $1,000 a month, then Social Security should find you disabled. And
that’s crux, if you wanna get right down to the most basic thing that Social
Security is looking for. That’s what they’re looking for -
your ability to earn a $1,000 or more a month. If you’re earning less
than $1,000 – you are still working but earning less than $1,000, then you
absolutely have a right to file for Social Security even while continuing to
work in earning that amount. Brian:
OK. Great, great. OK, while we’ve covered some super information here
today, is there anything that you think maybe I’ve left out that would be of
value to the members, Barb, other than what we’ve discussed? Barbara:
Think what I’d say about a representative is what they’re skilled
at is they know how to communicate medical conditions to Social Security. They
know how to cite why you’re certain situation or limitations prevent your
ability to work. So, they know the vocabulary. They know what has to be shown.
They should take all the work out of it for you, because it can be an
absolutely frustrating process to be with Social Security. They’re gonna
make sure nothing falls to the cracks. All the forms are completed. All the
medicals submitted. So
the idea behind it is taking the work out of it for you, and then giving you
the best representation possible so you to have the best chance of being
awarded and being awarded quickly. Social Security is a long, arduous process,
and a lot of people – the best chance of being awarded is at the hearings
level. And sadly, by the time you get that hearings decision, you’re very
likely three years in the life of your Social Security claim. Anything you can
do, to try and get that claim awarded early, I think you should do just
knowing that the potential of having to wait three years could be out there. One
other thing we didn’t touch on, if you do go to the hearings level, a lot of
representatives will try to get what’s called “on-the-record decision.”
An on-the-record decision means, they’re gonna write up a legal brief and
submit it, stating all of the reasons why this claim should be awarded without
the need to have a face-to-face personal hearing. A lot of claims are awarded
this way and it’s much quicker – ‘cause you’re not waiting for that
hearing date, no one has to travel to a hearing. So it’s all positive and
it’s a way to get an award to consider the hearings level award, but it’s
quicker and you don’t actually have to go to a hearing. That’s something
only a representative can do for you. That’s a really important fact to
know. And not only to know, but to ask your representative, if they’re going
to try and write an on-the-record decision and get your claim awarded –
what’s called on the record. Brian:
Excellent
point. So is there like a general time frame in that… that this would reduce
the approval. Barbara:
I’m
just gonna give you nothing official. You’re gonna get off the top of my
head thought. And on-the-record could shorten your hearing process from a
minimum of six months to a year. Brian:
OK. So if somebody’s in the state of Georgia, which is like around
two years for a wait for a hearing, it could potentially cut that time in
half? Barbara:
Absolutely
could cut that time in half. Brian:
Right. Barbara:
That’s a state where they have such a backlog of hearings, ‘cause
they wanna award as many claims as possible on-the-record. They’re trying to
eliminate that backlog. This is actually a great time right now for
on-the-records to be done, because of all of the push right now to eliminate
the hearings’ backlog. There is a great push to – if you have a good case
on the record – award it. Brian:
OK. Awesome. Awesome. Barb, thank you so much. This has been
fantastically valuable information. I’ve learned a lot, so I thank you for
coming out and sharing this with us. Barbara:
Great. Thanks for having me.
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