Gillette Law - Special Edition 2020

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ILLETTE

GAZETTE

SPECIAL EDITION 2020

COVID-19’S IMPACT ON SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY

WHAT TO FOCUS ON IF YOU’RE DIAGNOSED

The coronavirus pandemic has pushed the world into interesting and hectic times. However, while we shift back into our somewhat normal lives, some people aren’t able to. This is especially the case for those who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and were or are unable to work because of it. There are thousands of people in that position who are left wondering, “Am I eligible for Social Security disability benefits?” Based on the information I have while writing this article, my answer to that question is, unfortunately, I don’t know. It depends on a particular person’s condition and the symptoms that are the basis for their claim. These conditions or symptoms have to have lasted, or must be expected to last, for a year at the disabling level. If a person had COVID-19 and they were hospitalized and weren’t able to work, but they made a full recovery without any lasting problems, they won’t qualify for Social Security disability. On the other hand, if someone suffered permanent lung damage and they now have to live the rest of their life on oxygen, then they very well may qualify.

The answer to this is the key to a successful Social Security disability claim. Oftentimes, particularly for people under 50, my team and I focus on what is causing the individuals’ limitations that are making them unreliable. It’s often the pain, fatigue, lasting side effects of medication, or regular discomfort they feel throughout the day that prevents people from working or maintaining their job and ultimately leads to work-related problems. Employers hire people for particular work they need to get done, and they need that work done on their schedule. They count on employees to show up for work regularly and on time, and they need to count on employees to work through an eight-hour shift with normal work breaks. If someone misses two or more days a month because of a medical condition or because they need treatment, that’s going to be a problem for employers and not something they will likely tolerate very long. Similarly, if an employee needs extra supervision or has to lay down or shift positions frequently throughout the workday — such as sitting and elevating their feet — that will also impact an employee’s work and can cause issues. In some cases, when someone is laid off from their job — whether it’s due to poor performance or other reasons — they first apply for unemployment rather than Social Security disability. I’ve seen many instances of people who have health problems who apply for disability only after their unemployment runs out and they haven’t found another job. While there’s no black-and-white rule that says if you get unemployment benefits you can’t later receive Social Security disability, in most states, applying for unemployment means someone

“Many people don’t realize they need to focus not just on the diagnosis of the illness or injury, but rather on the remaining symptoms that, despite receiving appropriate treatment, continue to impact their ability to work full time on a consistent basis.”

Many people don’t realize they need to focus not just on the diagnosis of the illness or injury, but rather on the remaining symptoms that, despite receiving appropriate treatment, continue to impact their ability to work full time on a consistent basis. Quite often, people will call the office and ask if they have a basis to make a claim or if they qualify for Social Security disability. They start off telling us about their diagnosis, the treatment they’re receiving, the surgery they had, and the medication they’re taking. But, they don’t take that next step to tell us what symptoms they still have and how they affect their ability to work.

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THE PANDEMIC’S IMPACT ON THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

COVID-19 has forced many businesses and organizations, including the Social Security Administration (SSA), to close their doors to the public. By mid-March, local SSA offices across the country closed in order to prevent and minimize the spread of the coronavirus. Their employees could no longer come to work, which had a significant effect on people who needed their services. Normally, thousands of people in the U.S. go to SSA offices to get assistance with disability, retirement, and other benefits every day. Face-to-face meetings were conducted to help these people through the rather complex system and with the documents required for their needs. Now, these meetings are no longer taking place. This, however, did not stop SSA employees from working. The company Northrop Grumman helped over 50,000 SSA field office employees set up softphone access so they could continue to work from home by making calls over the internet. An article posted on Northrop Grumman’s website states that a softphone “not only ensures clear lines of communication, it also creates a sense of trust between the public and government workers. When a customer calls the 800 number for their field office, it gets routed to the appropriate SSA person, regardless of where they are. And when SSA employees need to make calls, they maintain the anonymity of using a government phone number rather than a personal phone number.” Through telework, the SSA employee union is trying to encourage the government to allow more work-from-home opportunities. In the past, some employees have had the ability to work from home, but shortly before the pandemic hit, the SSA started cutting back on allowing remote work. Of course, the pandemic changed this. YES, YOU CAN STILL APPLY FOR SOCIAL SECURITY Getting Your Benefits Despite Closed Doors At this point in this newsletter, you might be asking yourself, “If I want to apply for Social Security disability, can I still do so given that the offices are closed?” In the past, if you wanted to apply for disability, you could make an appointment and head to the Social Security office, where you would sit down with someone who would help you fill out the application. As you might have guessed, that’s not taking place right now. But, if you still want to apply, you can call the Social Security office at 1-800-772- 1213. They are taking applications over the telephone. However, applying online is even better (if you’re somewhat computer savvy or have family members who can help you). However, be careful to avoid fake websites. Sometimes, people go to a website they think is for the Social Security application when they’re actually giving their information to someone other than the Social Security Administration (SSA). Be sure to head to the right website: SSA.gov/benefits/forms. It’s vital to understand the filing process before beginning. The SSA now requires you to set up what’s called “My Social Security Account.” One of the challenges of setting up this account is that it will ask you a number of questions to confirm your identity. The questions they ask

Today, the employee union is claiming that employees are more productive working from home and the SSA should allow more options. In fact, the union has reached out to the SSA asking them to consider continued telework even as the country begins to open up to the public. This would lead to the closing of a majority of the SSA 1,300 field offices across the country. Ralph de Juliis, president of Council 220 of the American Federation of Government Employees states this would save hundreds of millions of dollars on facility costs. However, despite the boost in productivity the agency is experiencing, this could impact the individuals who need in-office guidance. I believe the result of this productivity boost may stem from the fact that Social Security Administration employees are not having to interact with the people who walk into the SSA office looking for assistance. In order to continue providing services to their clients, I believe Social Security employees must continue to work in-office. Being physically present for the people who need in-person meetings is very important and not something that should be brushed off. As we move forward from this pandemic, I fully believe all kinds of employees, not just those at the SSA, will be working both in-office and remotely. Hopefully, this will serve to help people even more in the future. are based on information found in your credit report. Prepare before you set up your My Social Security Account by getting a copy of your credit report, which you can access for free at AnnualCreditReport. com. During these times of COVID-19, this website is now offering free weekly online reports through April 2021. You should also be aware of two important questions that, if answered incorrectly, can cause problems. The first: “What is the date you became disabled”? Here, it is essential that you put the date when the symptoms became so bad you couldn’t work regularly, not the date you were first diagnosed. The second question is, “Have you or do you intend to apply for supplementing security income (SSI)?” Sometimes people will check “yes” to this question even though they don’t qualify, which slows the process down significantly. Make sure you meet the nonmedical requirements of the Supplemental Security Income program. For more information on those requirements visit SSA.gov/ ssi/text-eligibility-ussi.htm. If you’re thinking about applying, it’s beneficial to call someone, such as the team here at Gillette Law Group, to get advice and tips before getting started. You don’t have to tackle this alone.

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HOW ARE SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY HEARINGS TAKING PLACE?

Among the many changes we’re experiencing, changes to the way hearings for Social Security claims are happening are among the most drastic. As of this writing (May 2020), no in-person or video hearings are taking place. Instead, individuals who’ve requested a hearing are given the opportunity to have it by telephone with all the involved parties included. This has been the case since the middle of March, and there have been no signs yet of reverting back to the old system. Most of my clients are deciding to have telephonic hearings because those who want to have an in-person hearing currently have to wait until September, at the earliest.

Social Security officials may decide it’s not a good idea for these at-risk people to be concentrated in large numbers inside the Social Security hearing office. Furthermore, many of the judges are also older

adults who may also be at-risk. They won’t want to conduct hearings in the small hearing rooms with three to four people who are potentially sick.

Though there are benefits to these telephone hearings, we understand that they aren’t ideal. Sometimes there are technical difficulties that cause delays or lengthen hearing times. In some hearings I’ve been in, one or more of the parties involved have been disconnected from the call, causing the hearings to be stopped while people reconnected. There have also been a few instances of recording equipment failure, which can result in the need for additional supplemental hearings or redoing the entire hearing. A certain amount of visual communication — which could influence the outcome of a case — is also lost, as no one can see anyone else. At this time, it’s unclear when the Social Security offices will reopen and hearings will take place in person once more. To stay up to date with this information and any other information regarding Social Security and COVID-19, visit SSA.gov/coronavirus.

As the country is starting to open back up, people will begin to be far more active. This, of course, comes with drawbacks, and we don’t know what’s going to happen as a result. By the time fall comes around, there may be an increased spread of the virus, causing activity to be, once again, restricted throughout the country. All this could push the schedule for in-person hearings out even further. Also, most folks who are applying for Social Security disability tend to be older individuals or individuals with health problems. Many of these health problems put them at an increased risk of contracting COVID-19 and suffering from associated outcomes. In light of this,

THE WAIT FOR A DECISION

Delays Within the Social Security Systems

The COVID-19 pandemic has set many people back, which is something we’ll continue to feel for many months in the future. Within the Social Security system, people may expect delays, which will shift from stage to stage over time. For instance, over the last two years, the wait between the time of requesting a hearing and getting it underway has dropped fairly significantly. However, at the time of this writing, it remains to be seen whether or not the wait for hearings is going to change drastically or not. As stated in a previous article, most of the hearings are taking place over the telephone, something the hearing office is encouraging. But there are a certain number of hearings that have been canceled and need to be rescheduled as a result of the pandemic, which will have an impact on the wait time. While the Social Security Administration (SSA) is doing its best to keep the hearings moving, I believe there will likely be an increase in the time it takes to get a hearing after it’s been requested. At the first two levels of review — the initial and reconsideration levels — those first few decisions are made by employees who work for

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Our clients are still required to submit paperwork to us. While there are options available for people to drop off documents at the office, we prefer that our clients fax them or send them to us electronically. It is easiest for us when these items are scanned and emailed. Luckily, there are mobile scanning apps available for both Android and iPhone users that are easy to use. • Evernote Scannable is available for free in both the App Store and Google Play. This app allows you to scan and send documents, business cards, receipts, and much more by simply pointing your phone at them. • CamScanner , like Evernote, is available for both the iPhone and Android. When you scan documents with CamScanner, they are turned into clear, sharp PDFs. This makes it easy for all parties to send and read them. • Notes is perfect for Apple users. The Notes app lets you take notes, scan documents, create checklists, and save images and then stores them in iCloud, allowing you to sync all the information, no matter what Apple device you use. We also want our clients to be aware that our team is having some difficulty getting medical records from health care providers. To help with this, we are encouraging our clients to sign up for their medical providers’ patient portal. These portals allow clients to access their medical information online from their doctors, and they are an excellent way for clients to provide the quality information we need for your claim.

CONTINUING TO SERVE OUR CLIENTS

A Better Way of Storing and Sharing Information

We’re not having anyone come into the office as a means to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and ensure the safety and wellness of both our clients and employees. We are communicating with our clients through telephone, email, and fax. And we also have the ability to talk to clients through videoconferencing on Zoom. I use a camera on my office desktop to videoconference with anyone who wants to speak as face to face as possible. While we’ve taken the steps to ensure we can speak to our clients regularly, remote work has posed some obstacles. We’d like to provide some resources we’ve found that have made things a little easier.

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the state Disability Determination Service (DDS). The DDS may be responsible for some of the delays people are experiencing for a few reasons. Occasionally, the DDS wants to send someone to a doctor for an examination, either physical or mental. Right now, as I’m writing this article, there are no physical exams taking place. Unfortunately, as we are mostly getting by with day-to-day updates involving the pandemic, no one is quite sure when they’ll resume. Nonetheless, they are continuing some psychological evaluations through video communications in the form of a videoconferencing system. Despite getting a mental examination, the process may slow if the DDS feels you need to be seen by a doctor. One important note I want to add is that if the DDS is sending you to a doctor they chose for your exam, it means you aren’t seeing your own doctors enough. When physical examinations begin again, it will be vitally important that you are receiving treatment from a doctor for every condition that is affecting your ability to work. Ideally, you will be seeing a doctor who specializes in treating your disabling condition and your doctor will order objective medical testing that will document your physical or mental impairments and their severity. If you are frequently seeing a doctor for the conditions that are affecting your ability to work , and your impairments are well documented by

clinical notes and objective medical testing, the DDS might not deem it necessary to send you to one of their doctors for an exam. When it comes to reducing the time a person must wait to begin receiving their Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR) are encouraging people to support the Stop the Wait Act. The NOSSCR states that this act “would provide an economic stimulus to the American economy and many of our most vulnerable citizens. This legislation would end the five-month waiting period that Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries must endure after they have been determined eligible for their earned SSDI benefits.” This act would provide relief, helping those individuals who would otherwise be waiting in these difficult times to receive those benefits and financial support. If you have any questions regarding your doctor visits and the wait for hearings, call our office. We can help guide you through the process step by step.

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PREDICTING WHAT MAY COME

The Increase and Decrease of Social Security Trust Funds

In late April, the Social Security Board of Trustees reported that the financial health of the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund had the capability to pay benefits until 2065. This 13-plus year extension is due to several reasons. As people grow older and leave Social Security disability in favor of retirement, or grow older and pass away, it results in an increase of trust fund savings. The more people who aren’t receiving those funds means there is a higher amount for those individuals who will remain for many years. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s highly possible these positives may be negated. Although it’s unsure what the effects will be, I believe increased unemployment combined with a possible payroll tax cut could have negative impacts. Because of the financial difficulties thousands of Americans are now finding themselves in, it’s speculated that the trust fund savings may be depleted far earlier than first depicted.

Despite being surrounded by unknown variables, it is possible to theorize how this may happen. The Bipartisan Policy Center has come up with several different methods the COVID-19 virus can be an influence in the coming years by looking back to the Great Recession from 2007–2009. They speculate that if the country experiences a second Great Recession — either on the same level or worse than the first recession — it could lead to the depletion of trust funds as early as 2026. While this drop may be alarming, it’s important to keep in mind it is just speculation for the time being. The >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6

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