8,830,026: Americans on Disability Hits New Record for 192nd Straight Month

reply to post by jibeho


What say me?

Well it is pretty simple from where I sit. The more Government gets involved with healthcare, the worse our care actually gets.

On a different note, the worse things get I would expect to see more and more people get disability. I myself have been fighting going on disability for years now. All I need is surgery on my feet, yet I have been trying so hard for so long to no avail at all... and I was injured on the job! Frankly, the only reason I have not filed is because I refuse to give up and pain to me is only temporary.

My neighbor at my old house was a vet, well he went to boot camp hiding an mental impairment "that's how he justified it" and as the week's progressed he started complaing. Soon after right before he was suppose to be deployed for vietnam he was honorably discharged. Now almost 60 still getting all the benifits's, and on a monthly basis hang's at the VA hospital getting free medical and medication for his illness pryor to joining. As he works under the radar illegally with a lawn mower repair out of his garage "which couldn't even rebuild my carb" when i was too busy, and also works for cash for a guy that ship's small engine's around the world making an extra 450.00 a week on top of the rest! Needless to say after he told me all this from drinking and partying one day I never talked to him again.

He went to join the marine's and I have the up most respect for brave that served, but would you consider him a marine?

I sit here today while my brother was shot in afganistan "he survived" wishing i was beside him the whole way and for the revenge. I'm half deaf in my left ear from birth and can't hear any high pitch noises in both. I tried with him at the same time to join but was refused!

what better way to enslave a population than to make them dependant on the govt....now add the new requirement of mandatory healthcare...all those that work for a company that does not need to offer it and dont make enuf to afford a private healthcare plan.......pause for effect.......more citizens dependant on the govt...

enslave the population by making them dependant on the govt.......

Originally posted by clearmind
what better way to enslave a population than to make them dependant on the govt....now add the new requirement of mandatory healthcare...all those that work for a company that does not need to offer it and dont make enuf to afford a private healthcare plan.......pause for effect.......more citizens dependant on the govt...

enslave the population by making them dependant on the govt.......

They are already enslaved. You think it makes some difference who you get your health care from? Who you buy it from? No, in the end you buy it don't you? You are a slave to money. To profit, to those who give it to you. As long as you must buy it then you are a slave. It makes no difference where these people get their money from, they are slaves all the same.

All are in bondage, though we don't all see it. And as one more intelligent than I said "Who is more in bondage, the man who knows he is a slave or the man who is a slave and thinks himself free?". It's somewhat pointless to call out people for being dependent on government. We are all dependent on something for our survival. Whoever grants you your sustenance is your master in the end. Does it matter if it's government, wal-mart or anyone else?

Originally posted by ganjoa
reply to post by Hefficide

 

Sorry Heff, we usually agree on many issues, just not this one. For returning vets, the Veterans Administration determines disability benefits primarily, not the SSA. One would need to be rejected by the VA before seeking SSA benefits. Yes, there's a huge backlog, but it's not due primarily to returning vets.

ganjoa

You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.

One does not need to be "rejected" by the VA before they seek Social Security. Social Security is deducted from a soldier's paycheck as well. If the veteran wanted, they could take out VA and SS disability at the same time, or one of either.

Disinformation.

reply to post by guymontag


Okay thanks for the update. A previous poster clued me in that DoD has disability payments programs in addition to those at the VA. However, I still stand by the statement that the backlog for SSA benefits isn't due to vets. The VA system (at least) is a much more rapidly responding system than SSA. My apologies to Heff.
You are cordially invited to supply the monthly statistics for returning vet SSDI claims relative to other non-vet claimants.

ganjoa

The problem is far worse than the OP suggests. There are tens of millions of people collecting short and long disability from corporations, the cost of paying those disability payments is born by the company and as such drives up the prices you pay for their goods or services and crowds out money that could be better spent on R&D or hiring new people.

How do you get corporate covered short and then long term disability? Simply show up with a letter from a doctor stipulating that you are unable to work and thats the end of it. Anxiety, back pain, depression, just about anything. Now a firm can dispute the claim, but in order to do that you must institute a civil action and engage your own medical expert and should the company lose, which it typically does which is why firms don't dispute these claims, the person who is claiming disability and has a doctor's letter stating that they do in fact have a disability, the company is then subject to civil action on the part of the employee.

Should someone who is in a protected class and that is every person in the country other than straight, white, Christian men under the age of 30 come in and present a doctor's statement indicating that the person needs to go on disability, you let them go on disability, period - it ain't worth the hassle, legal risk and furthermore, why would you want the person back at work to begin with? They take the maximum of short-term, then go on long-term, then get all unused vacation, personal time which continue to accrue when you are out on disability despite the fact that you are not working to earn that time. To the extent that they work somewhere where there is a bonus or profit sharing plan, they get their prorated share of that and then they quit.

Now folks will say "but companies have insurance for that". Sure they do - who do you think pays for that insurance? The consumers and the employees, thats who.

If you are working for a shop that you know is about to have a layoff, what do you do? Get as close to the time when a downsizing is announced and then go out on disability. Unless the company eliminates the entire team that you were a part of, you're going to survive.

The need to provide protection for those who are disabled is real and frankly I don't think that the benefits are rich enough. I also believe that there are conditions such as depression and anxiety that are debilitating, yet ideally short term and disability coverage giving them time to get themselves back on track is not only compassionate, but also smart business in many cases.

In my experience and I have dealt with dozens of these situations, those who are truly in need of that assistance is a tiny minority of those who take advantage/abuse these programs.

reply to post by severdsoul

I have to agree there, if i had got help sooner i would not be facing
my own mortality in the not so distant future.

I am sorry severdsoul, god bless.

A lot of baby boomers out there getting old and sick. My aunt had to have a kidney transplant so she went on disability.

I'm on disability myself I have paranoid schizophrenia. I spent years in the workforce trying to hold down a job but my illness kept getting the way. Out of the 9 years I was in the workforce I was only employed 4. I tried my ass off to work but I had to admit defeat.

It took me 6 years to get disability. I had documents from as far back as 3rd grade. My current doctor is a MD at a hospital. I've been seeing him on a outpatient basis from before I started working. I had a stack of medical documentation and I kept getting denied. It wasn't easy.

reply to post by Indigo5

But go ahead and add the Handicaped to the Right Wings growing list of folk they direct thier vitriol at...

Minorities? Poor People? Gays? Hurricaine victims? Old people? Cops, teachers, fireman, Women and now the handicapped?...

Keep at it and see what is left...in a few years there will be just a few sad anchors left on fox news...

Nice off topic rant in classic I5 form... That relates to the OP how?? You could not function without your enemy by your side.... There is a legitimate crisis in the nation that the current administration continues to ignore. The tipping point is rapidly approaching and the nation is soon to be left like a turtle stuck on its back...

The truth

New World Order wages are the true disability.

What is it everyone asks you at a get together or party when you meet them for the first time?
"So..... what do you do for a living"? value judgement
In which i reply:
"I take back what you took" Be grateful I don't use Government or Corporate tactics to do this.

Not here to Network, win friends, and influence people. I'm here to have food, drink wine, listen to music, and enjoy myself.

Originally posted by jibeho
reply to post by Indigo5

 

But go ahead and add the Handicaped to the Right Wings growing list of folk they direct thier vitriol at...

Minorities? Poor People? Gays? Hurricaine victims? Old people? Cops, teachers, fireman, Women and now the handicapped?...

Keep at it and see what is left...in a few years there will be just a few sad anchors left on fox news...

Nice off topic rant in classic I5 form... That relates to the OP how?? You could not function without your enemy by your side.... There is a legitimate crisis in the nation that the current administration continues to ignore. The tipping point is rapidly approaching and the nation is soon to be left like a turtle stuck on its back...

What we spend on entitlements in this country to help the poor and disabled is nothing when compaired to the corprate welfare the rich get by means of tax breaks bailouts ect. Not to mention what we spend on foreign aid and fighting wars. I'd rather we spend money helping our own people that need it. It's disturbing the amount of hatred focused on people in need of assistance. It's not easy making it in the richest country on earth when your trying to survive on peanuts. Being someone that has gone through the disability process myself I can say with certainty that most aren't sponges living off the system. Social Security don't hand out disability to every person that comes along.

reply to post by wantsome


I can't argue with most of your points but, you have to understand as this number continues to swell and the numbers of workers paying into the system continues to shrink there lies a critical problem ahead.

Questions need to be asked... follow ups need to occur and measures taken to get those who are capable off the system. Not every condition is permanent and many are treatable enough to still live and work in a productive manner. I have no problem with beneficiaries who absolutely need the assistance until they have passed the working age. In which case they shift into another component of the system. It just seems as though a growing chunk of the nation is just so willing to throw in the towel forever...

We need to get our economy back on track, get more workers into the field and ultimately paying into the revenue system. Then they have to root out the problems within all areas of our entitlement programs.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) made $64.2 billion in “improper payments” in fiscal 2012. Payments made to hospitals, doctors, pharma, equipment suppliers and individual payees... That's a problem that continues to plaque the system. Then consider that HHS will be charged with managing Obamacare and the problem continues to grow exponentially...
Thread on that problem www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by ganjoa
reply to post by Hefficide

 

Sorry Heff, we usually agree on many issues, just not this one. For returning vets, the Veterans Administration determines disability benefits primarily, not the SSA. One would need to be rejected by the VA before seeking SSA benefits. Yes, there's a huge backlog, but it's not due primarily to returning vets.

ganjoa

How do you know they were not counted>?

I`m not surprised at the number of people collecting disability.The baby boomers are getting old and old people get health problems and become disabled.I expect the numbers will continue to grow until the baby boomers start dieing.
It`s not just the baby boomers either, a lot young people today don`t seem to be very healthy.It seems like most of the younger people who i have talked to claim that they have some kind of disease, syndrome or other affliction.

we also have the largest population of un-insured people in the history of this country.Un-insured people don`t receive preventative health care and even when they do become ill many of them don`t see a doctor.many minor illnesses can become very serious and cause disabilities if they are left untreated.many un-insured people don`t seek treatment until an illness has reached the stage of being serious and has done irreparable damage.

That last point is something that I have been warning about for at least 10 years so i`m not the least bit surprised that the number of people on disability is sky rocketing.
We can pay a little now to make sure everyone is insured and healthy or we can pay a lot later to support them for the rest of their lives on disability.

It is extremely frustrating to me that people are even considered for disability with things like anxiety and

It is truly and deeply insulting. I am currently on my third appeal.



What I am about to say will most likely cause me to be flamed and worse.. but here goes 20 years of knowledge is 20 years of knowledge..

First, I am sorry you have had to wait for help. No one who works all their life ever decides one day that they will become disabled.

MY own experience is similar with glaring differences. I broke my back and was told that "they would not treat me as I did not have insurance" what follwed was 20 years of a steep learning curve with no real cgnizant diagnosis for 15 years after that first one where I was refused treatment.

there is a reason we don't have healthcare in America.. the rich make a huge profit off other peoples pain. It is a disease system not a healthcare system. Using the media then to demonize the disabled and poor is the same thing Hitler did.
Pitting the healthy against the disabled is nothing more than divde and conquer. Throw them out of the cave mentalities in our society bely the natural empathy we are born with.. If you look at the lies about disability and then compare it with peoples experiece who are disabled , you will see what I see.

Before disability I was a naiive trusting soul... worked for three years after I broke my back.. then had strokes.. The way I was treated when working to the way I was treated after becoming disabled proves to me we are on a herd thinning path. It is deliberate and it is endemic and it is insidious.

I'll share the book when I get it done.... since that time after becoming an acitivst for human rights... well the backlash alone would take four pages..

It is best to find yourself an honest attorney (is that possible?) and go after it that way.. I wish there was more I could tell you... Truth is as my doctor who was honest told me' had you been treated prompty, you would not have become disabled. this is morally reprehensibe>"

I simply replied: "yes, I know>"

bless you it's not something I would ever wish on anyone. You find out how few rights you truly have when you become ill in America. Yet..I've learned so much and continue to learn that..I'd not even take a million dollars for the lessons. Most Americans are clueless as to the travails of the ill and just don't give a damn. What doesn't kill you makes you an activist and far emotionally and spiritually stronger than I ever was as a youth.. yes, my body is broken ..but it taught me to trust my own gut and to go within for my answers. It's given me 20 years of time toreasearch and read. I am in the process of selling all I own to start my own business as I think SSDI Is a designed and executed type of slavery for it's reciepients

Originally posted by ganjoa
reply to post by MDDoxs

 

Your assessment is spot on. There is a whole industry of law firms and quasi-legal-admin firms that assist in obtaining SSA benefits. None of them can be engaged unless and until a claimant is rejected by the SSA. Unless a claimant has AIDS, Lou Gherig's disease and a number of similar immediately life threatenting and debiliting conditions, better than 95% of all initial claims are denied. There is a process in place, it is fairly rigorous and these firms all work for $5700 paid out of a claimant's "back pay" when/if they receive benefits.

For the ALJ that determines if a claimant receives benefits, it comes down to whether a specific disability is "on the list" AND whether the claimant's combinations of maladies prevents them from working. Based on prior case law, a major factor is whether there is ANY job the claimant can perform and there's a employment specialist that testifies as to whether any of these jobs exist in the national economy - if not, chances are you'll get your benefits.

ganjoa

this is absolutely true. What is a glaring irony of our legal system is that you can find an attorney to defend your application for disability.. BUt you will NOT find one once you become disabled to defend your civil rights. Becoming disabled in America is an experience I woud not wish on my worst enemy.

Originally posted by aem56
there is a reason we don't have healthcare in America.. the rich make a huge profit off other peoples pain. It is a disease system not a healthcare system. Using the media then to demonize the disabled and poor is the same thing Hitler did.
Pitting the healthy against the disabled is nothing more than divde and conquer. Throw them out of the cave mentalities in our society bely the natural empathy we are born with.. If you look at the lies about disability and then compare it with peoples experiece who are disabled , you will see what I see.

You wont need any flamesuit, at least not for me

It is best to find yourself an honest attorney (is that possible?) and go after it that way.. I wish there was more I could tell you... Truth is as my doctor who was honest told me' had you been treated prompty, you would not have become disabled. this is morally reprehensibe>"

I simply replied: "yes, I know>"

I actually have an honest lawyer now, and have since the first appeal. The issue is that this has been going on for years, and they are responsible for backpay from when I first filed should it go through. It seems pretty obvious to me why it is being made so difficult. Essentially, the government owes me over $50,000.00us dollars should I be considered legally disabled. Because of that, I strongly doubt it will ever go through.

bless you it's not something I would ever wish on anyone. You find out how few rights you truly have when you become ill in America. Yet..I've learned so much and continue to learn that..I'd not even take a million dollars for the lessons. Most Americans are clueless as to the travails of the ill and just don't give a damn. What doesn't kill you makes you an activist and far emotionally and spiritually stronger than I ever was as a youth.. yes, my body is broken ..but it taught me to trust my own gut and to go within for my answers. It's given me 20 years of time toreasearch and read. I am in the process of selling all I own to start my own business as I think SSDI Is a designed and executed type of slavery for it's reciepients

In much the same way as you, my experience has inspired me. I firmly believe that having our society set up this way is detrimental to everyone, including the people that are so focused on profit! Focusing on profit isnt all too bad in my eyes, but I think that the sole focus on profit demonstrated by numbers in a bank account is short sighted.

I believe the governments responsibility should be handling the functions that allow their society to flourish, grow, and prosper to the greatest degree possible. In that, a focus on healthcare, basic needs, and education would be paramount. And yet, those three things are some of the most flawed and ignored aspects of many, if not all, societies (including the United States). If the majority of the population has to focus on healthcare and basic needs on a week to week basis, there is no room for their earned resources, time, and energy to go back into improving the world around them. Yes, this provides control for the "provider," but it decreases the quality of life innately. And no matter how well-insulated the very wealthy are, they are still bound by the production of the society the live in.

The increase in quality of life, for everyone, would increase exponentially even after a single generation. Those bank account numbers wouldnt have the relativistic power they used to, but the world that they lived in would provide so much more wealth and prosperity. It appeals to everyone, from the greediest to the most sympathetic.

/rant

Originally posted by Stormdancer777
reply to post by poloblack

 

bitches and moans about the BILLIONS being sent for foreign aid to various countries around the world.

I certainly do, but I also think the amount of people abusing the system is unfair to the rest of the population and those disabled that really need a disability check.

Why are we so quick to kick the average guy instead of getting to the root of the problem. Many people pay for disability insurance out of pocket yet the insurance company makes you apply for disability and then deduct Social Security payments from your benefits. So once again the government subsidizes corporate America.


Unum Lawsuit Details New Claim Denial Tactic: Social Security Disability

In Mr. Hutchinson’s case, Unum directed him to their in-house “Genex”. This program provides disability case management for Unum’s policyholders. This includes things like vocational rehab and also helping the policyholder apply for Social Security disability. Mr. Hutchinson reported that Social Security now pays him $1600, while his Unum policy was to pay him $2700 per month total. So now, Unum would only be required to pay the Unum policyholder $1100 to make up the difference that Social Security won’t pay until Mr. Hutchinson reaches the age of 72. However, to this day Unum still has not made up the difference.

www.topclassactions.com... ability

I hear what youare saying and agree. I think the system is set up not to help folks but to keep them dying slowly while someone lse makes a profit

I find it disturbing that we are only mentioned in the press 1paraolympic 2 when there is a crime


otherwise we are non entities in America. I am livid at the phone jobs sent overseas when people like me might be bale to do them.. I am livid that Icould not get helathcare to be well but doctors could overbill and commit fraud on me and my family and they walk free.. The talents, desires and dreams we have not even an afterthought in the American press..

I'd rather have euthanasia than have to live as we have to live.IF I cannot be well and controbute to soceity or find some way back to health.. whe the SHTF I am gonna pull a Lakot and go out in the far woods and just wait to die.
All I can say is the docs who overbilled and the docs who committed malpractice won't see me with arms at their house..I've learned to pray for fools like that and let theiir karma run over their dogma


You are right you're govt is dragging their feet due to what they owe you.. I see Oabams adding disabled to the inaugaral without making curbs cuts for their wheelchairs rather telling.
Same thing applies to their tokenism with regards to Native Americans I voted ofr obama but I also have no faith nor any hope that anyone in DC gives a rats **** if I survive or not..

I'll either make it by my own efforts or I'll die.I accept that