Ohio is currently the second longest wait for a hearing in the United States.  Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue hopes the average wait in Ohio will be reduced to 270 days by 2013. Currently, citizens of Ohio are waiting 2-3 years to see an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) to determine their SSDI needs. Ohio alone will have 65 ALJs after the two new offices are fully staffed.

If you are disabled and are thinking about applying for social security disability income, let Advantage 2000 Consultants help you through the process. You can submit a preliminary evaluation at www.ssaadvantage.com/eval.html

For more information on this great news, visit Cleveland Plain Dealer.

In 2009, the Social Security Administration awarded disabled beneficiaries approximately $9.1 billion to over 8.9 million people.

Supplemental Security Income paid out as another source of income for almost 1 out of 6 disabled beneficiaries.

Here is the basic profile from 2009 of a disabled-worker who benefited from SSDI:

• an average age of 53 with men representing 53% of the beneficiaries
• received an average monthly benefit of $1,064.30
• also received SSI as another source of income for 1 in every 8 individuals

This graph shows what percentages of what medical problems beneficiaries had when they received Social Security Disability Income:

For a detailed report from the Social Security Administration, visit http://www.socialsecurity.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/di_asr/2009/index.html

Let us help you receive Social Security Disability Income, http://www.ssaadvantage.com/eval.html

For more details :

http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/pr/new-natl-hearing-ctr-pr.htm

The problem arises when you are trying to protect yourself from identity theft. Instead of using your Social Security number to apply for credit, you can use something called a CPN, a Credit Privacy Number. Where did that number come from?

Authorities have now realized that some numbers being sold as CPNs are actually Social Security numbers of young children or the deceased. This is highly problematic because it could lead to the next financial collapse. If someone who bought a scam CPN defaults on their payments, it is too easy to buy a new number and start all over again racking up debt. This type of spiral could be undiscovered for years before creditors realize what is happening.

It’s hard to tell how long this has been going on and how large it has become because there’s no system in place to protect the public against this type of damage.

“This is an invisible crime, with invisible victims who don’t have enough support out there to help them,” said Linda Foley of the ID Theft Resource Center in San Diego.

For the full article, you can visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38525609/ns/business-personal_finance/

www.ssaadvantage.com

A person who has a cochlear implant will be considered to be disabled for 1 year following the date of implant surgery.  The hearing loss of a person with a cochlear implant who applies for disability after the first year following the implantation procedure will be evaluated on their score on a specific word recognition test in the better ear.

These changes in the criteria for disability for individuals with hearing loss allows for the individual who gets a cochlear implant to have a year during which he/she can recuperate and learn to use the device. 

If you think you qualify for this listing, fill out our free evaluation and we can help you get your Social Security disability benefits. http://www.ssaadvantage.com/eval.html

SSA has not updated their website yet to reflect this change. Check back soon to see the full listing.

Astrue has proposed federal legislation that would end the practice.  For the sake of the DDS workers and especially for the disabled applicants waiting for their Social Security disability benefits I hope this law passes.

For more information:

http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/pr/furlough-legislation-pr.htm

For more information:

http://www.va.gov/PTSD_QA.pdf

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10030.html

Doctors all across the nation protested and  many threatened to stop seeing people with Medicare insurance.   Medicare patients also expressed their unhappiness about the payment cuts and lack of access to their doctors.  Congress relented and passed a bill restoring the payments.  

Millions of people depend on Medicare for the healthcare services, including people getting Social Security Disability benefits.  Those getting SSA disability are hard hit by reductions in payments because they often are unable to get supplemental insurance.  The disabled may also need additional care that retirees do not.  Anything that reduces care and causes doctors to leave the Medicare system is short sighted and fool hardy.  Let’s hope that Congress finds a more lasting fix to these payment issues.

For more background:

http://www.aarp.org/health/medicare-insurance/info-06-2010/medicare_doctors_face_pay_cutagain.html

Beginning next year, Medicare recipients in the doughnut hole will receive a 50 percent discount on brand-name drugs and a 7 percent discount on generics. The share consumers pay for both brand-name and generic drugs will decrease until the gap is eliminated in 2020, when consumers will pay the standard 25 percent of the costs for drugs while in the doughnut hole.

The first batch of payments are going out to 80,000 people. Others will receive the payments as they reach the donut hole limit. Under health insurance reform, the donut hole should be elimated by 2020.

For more information see http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/07/news/economy/medicare_donut_hole/index.htm