Government Shutdown Expected at Midnight

     Just as Cinderella's magic wears off at midnight in the famous folk tale that has been traced back to ancient Greek or Egyptian origin, our government is expected to shutdown at midnight. Just a Cinderella goes from being the Belle of the Ball, back to a life of servitude, our government will once again take off its ballgown and reveal that it is nothing that it pretends to be. Our elected officials are making it clear that they will trifle with the lives of the American people and the Federal employees who serve them. Rather than collaborate or compromise on important issues to ensure that our government makes decisions that will help the majority of our people, our ruling parties are willing to sacrifice the people they serve to hold onto power. The Republicans will blame the Democrats and the Democrats will blame the Republicans.  The bottom line is our country is heading for the wastebin because we are no longer being ruled by common sense. I am sorry to all of you who will be affected in what is looking like an inevitable shutdown. Social Security benefits should still be issued. In fact, here is SSA's contingency plan should a shutdown take place: https://www.ssa.gov/agency/shutdown/materials/contingency-plan-09-24-25.pdf. 

    As we continue to watch our Representative Republic devolve into chaos, one has to hope, or pray, if you are the praying type, that voters will think long and hard at the Midterms and elect officials who are more concerned with helping their constituents than themselves. If our only options are two failing parties who will not work with each other on a single issue that is important to our nation at large, well then we need a new party. 

    Got a question about SSDI or SSI that you need us to answer? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with helpful information on our website that will allow you to successfully navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to email me your questions at megan@westcoastdisability.com or call me at (800) 459-3017 x 101. 

Whistleblower Says More Than 300 Million Americans' Social Security Data Uploaded to an Unauthorized Cloud in Violation of SSA's Protocols

Mr. Chuck Borges, a whistleblower and Chief Data Officer ("CDO") at the Social Security Administration ("SSA") disclosed today that more than 300 million Americans' Social Security data has been uploaded to a  cloud that lacks the proper oversight in accordance with SSA's policies. It seems unlikely that a CDO would put his neck out like this unless he had concrete proof of this violation. It also seems unlikely that the current Administration will care to take action to rectify the situation and punish those who violated the privacy of close to all Americans who count on SSA to protect their privacy should these accusations prove true.  

Got a question about SSDI or SSI that you need us to answer? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with helpful information on our website that will allow you to successfully navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to email me your questions at megan@westcoastdisability.com or call me at (800) 459-3017 x 101.

Is Your Special Needs Trust Valid?

        A Special Needs Trust is just what is sounds like...a trust that is created to protect someone with special needs. I typically see families set these types of trusts up for family members with special needs in order to provide the person with assets, while still ensuring that the individual can access certain public benefits like Supplemental Security Income ("SSI"). Programs like SSI require that a person have limited countable resources. For instance, an individual applying for SSI must have less than $2,000.00 in countable resources in order to qualify for SSI. Funding a traditional trust would preclude an individual from qualifying for SSI unless the assets of the trust were under $2,000.00. Creating a  Special Needs Trust, however, allows a family to leave their loved ones assets without jeopardizing the beneficiaries' public benefits.

        Every State has different requirements for what type of wording a Special Needs Trusts needs to include. The rules also change from time to time. As a Social Security Disability attorney, I see families set up Special Needs Trusts to try to protect their loved ones, only to find that the trust fails when the person tries to apply for SSI. We saw this happen to one of our clients this week. 

        I cannot begin to stress to you that if you are interested in setting a up a Special Needs Trust for your loved one that you find a trust and estates attorney who knows the rules for drafting Special Needs Trusts. General trust and estates attorneys often do not understand the wording requirements.  However, trust and estates attorney who handle elder law issues and Medi-Cal/Medicaid planning keep abreast of the required Special Needs Trust language. It is not unusual for us to see a Special Needs Trust fail because of improper wording. When hiring a trust and estate attorney to draft a Special Needs Trust ask the following questions:

1. How many years have you been drafting Special Needs Trusts?

2. How many Special Needs Trusts do you draft a year?

3. Do you keep abreast of the language requirements and changing laws when it comes to Special Needs Trusts?  

4. Have you drafted Special Needs Trusts in order to help a person qualify for SSI?

    Protecting the assets of a person with special needs requires a lot of forethought and planning. Make sure you find the proper expert to assist you with the complicated journey. While we are not an estate planning firm, we would be happy to give you the name of trust and estate attorneys who are known for serving the special needs community. 

    Got a question about SSDI or SSI that you need us to answer? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with helpful information on our website that will allow you to successfully navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to email me your questions at megan@westcoastdisability.com or call me at (800) 459-3017 x 101.

Is The Department of Social Services Improving How They Do Things?

 It is not a secret to anyone that I have been fairly disgusted with how the Department of Social Services ("DSS") has been handling cases at the initial application and reconsideration levels of the Social Security Disability Insurance/ Supplemental Security Income process over the last 5 or 6 years. It isn't just my frustration at the timeframes or the fact that I feel the Social Security Administration ("SSA") gets unfairly blamed for some of DSS's failures. 

My biggest beef is that  DSS has increasingly hired vendors (or mills that find desperate prostitutes....sorry that was a typo.....I meant providers :) to perform consultative examinations on my clients that are neither thorough or fair. In California, the consultative examiner ("CE") habitually will examine my clients for less than 10 to 15 minutes. These CEs do not review any medical records because DSS has stopped supplying them with my clients' records. Yet, these CEs issue unfounded and unsupported reports saying my clients can work. 

Keep in mind, I am a boutique firm. I do not handle more than 50 claims at a time and I personally review each client's evidence before retaining the client. I only represent people who truly meet SSA's definition of disability. I view myself as a steward of taxpayers' money, so the last thing I would ever do is represent someone that I do not think was disabled. Most of my day is spent telling people, "No" when asked to represent them because SSA has a very hard standard of disability to meet. 

Things at the Southern California DSS offices are pretty atrocious these days. Let me give you a prime example.....DSS frequently hires a specific neurologist to examine my clients who suffer from neurological disorders. She hasn't practiced medicine in years. This CE is LEGENDARY for how bad her reports are. Unfortunately, this CE also has obvious health problems of her own and it is quite clear that she is struggling to conduct these evaluations.

My client recently had to call me because this CE was sleeping in the exam room when he went in to be evaluated. The front desk told him this was "normal" and to "wake her up." The CE spoke to my client for 15 minutes, but couldn't examine him as she was unable to stand herself. This CE likes to issue reports for those with multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease claiming the clients do not need their prescribed walkers or wheelchairs, even though they are prescribed these assistive devices by some of the top neurologists in the United States out of places like UCLA and Cedars-Sinai. It is both offensive and insulting, as it implies my clients (and their doctors) are faking their inability to stand and walk. DSS/SSA takes these incomplete assessments from this CE and hangs their hats on these incomplete reports to deny my clients. That is what happened on this recent case in which the CE was passed out in the examination room. 

This is the caliber of DSS development I am used to seeing in Southern California. I will say that the Northern California DSS offices are more professional than what we see in Southern California, but this is the norm in Southern California. However, I had a very surprising and delightful experience recently with DSS and I wonder if they are undergoing a makeover.

I have never seen this before, but one of my clients was assigned to DSS Stockton. Rather than be assigned to an analyst right away, my client's case went to a pre-development DSS team who seemed charged with gathering medical records and  the initial claimant forms like work history and function reports. This took only about 30 to 45 days to process and then my client's file was sent to an analyst who was able to make a decision in about a week. We do not know if my client was awarded benefits yet, but the DSS explanation of the determination looks quite favorable. The case is back at the local SSA field office for processing.

I am wondering if DSS is finally revamping their broken system.  This moved very smoothly and it looks like we are about to get a decision in less than 4 months. I have always said DSS needed to hire a bunch of Six Sigma Black Belts to update their archaic processes and to make them move more logically and smoothly. Maybe DSS has undergone a makeover or maybe this was just a unicorn of a situation and my hope will be foiled next month. Either way, I hope finding credible CEs is next on their agenda. Time will tell.

Got a question that you need answered? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with valuable information on our website that may help you navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to shoot me an email at megan@westcoastdisability.com or call us at (800) 459-3017 x 101.

Frank Bisignano Confirmed to Lead the Social Security Administration

As was expected, financial services executive, Frank Bisignano was confirmed earlier this month and is now the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration. It has been quiet since he replaced Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek. While Mr. Dudek seemed to love issuing press releases and keeping SSA in the news on a daily basis, Commissioner Bisignano seems to have taken a more prudent approach to leadership and has been mostly silent as he starts his new position. The three months that Dudek was in charge were chaotic and confusing at best, with policies being implemented and immediately revoked once it was clear that they were not well thought out. I, for one, welcome the calm. I am not saying that a storm isn't brewing at SSA, but I would much rather have a person in charge of SSA who has a proven track record in the financial sector, than a person who seemed hellbent on turning SSA into a media circus and creating daily panic for claimants, beneficiaries and SSA employees alike. 

The last three months truly felt like SSA was becoming a reality show produced for Bravo. Maybe now meaningful changes will take place that will balance the needs of claimants and beneficiaries, while simultaneously protecting the taxpayers who fund these programs. I do wonder what will become of Dudek in the next few years. I wonder is "Dancing With The Stars" is casting?  

Got a question about SSDI or SSI that you need us to answer? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with helpful information on our website that will allow you to successfully navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to email me your questions at megan@westcoastdisability.com or call me at (800) 459-3017 x 101.

SSA Employees Being Reclassified As Schedule F Employees

 It is another day...and there is another nightmare affecting the employees at the Social Security Administration ("SSA"). Acting SSA Commissioner Leland Dudek announced his plans to reclassify  large numbers of the SSA employees as Schedule F employees. This classification means SSA employees will be stripped of their civil service protections, making it easier for them to be fired. We assume the SSA staff is on the cusp of another round of firings. We know this because another email was sent around to SSA employees asking them to voluntarily resign. The deadline to resign was today in fact. 

I wonder what Commissioner Dudek thinks about when he gets home from work at night? Does he think he is truly improving the lives of Social Security beneficiaries. I suspect he knows that he is not. Does he think he is a Commissioner that his SSA employees respect? You can read any of the Federal employee blogs and know that is not the case. I am sure he knows that he is loathed by the lion share of SSA employees at this point. 

Only time will tell if Commissioner Dudek will regret the choices he has made, but I think history has shown us that the world can be a lonely place for the person who willingly signed up to wield an ax (or a chainsaw) at his own employees. 

Got a question that you need answered? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with valuable information on our website that may help you navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to shoot me an email at megan@westcoastdisability.com or call us at (800) 459-3017 x 101.

Sign Up for "My SSA" Now or Plan To Visit a SSA Field Office in the Near Future

 The Social Security Administration ("SSA") is taking new steps to protect benefits. When filing for benefits, or updating your direct deposit information, SSA will require that you verify your identity. The easiest way to do this is to set up a "My SSA Account." The link to setup a "My SSA Account" is available at https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/ . 

If you are unable to set up a "My SSA Account," then SSA will require that you make an appointment or stop by your local field office to verify your identity before they will process an application for benefits. Wait times at SSA's field offices, even with appointments, can be extremely long. We, therefore, recommend that you set up your "My SSA Account" online before we file for benefits to ensure that your claim is processed by SSA in a timely manner.

For those of you who choose to visit your local office , rather than set up a "My SSA" account, pack your patience. SSA is operating with less staff. There have been offices closed in certain areas. These identity-confirming measures are not something the field offices have decided to do on a whim. 

The Commissioner, and his executive team, have ordered the field offices to add these verification procedures to their already growing workloads. Do not take the long lines out on the SSA employees. Remember, they are doing the best that they can in challenging circumstances. Bring a book with you. Download something to watch on your phone. Chitchat with the security guard. I swear to you...I have never met a security guard stationed at a SSA office who is not kind and understanding.  

We do not know why these additional security measures are being taken. The National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representative ("NOSSCR") is looking into the matter, as there has been no verified evidence of fraud  that warranted this additional step. Keep in mind, when you apply for benefits, you already must answer multiple pages of questions which verify your identity.  This is why I have to schedule 90-minute intake appointments when I am retaining a claimant who needs to file for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. After all, I am not privy to your private information until you make me privy to it. 

I apologize for this additional step in the benefit process. I know it can be challenging to use online services, or visit your local SSA field office, depending on your disability or age. Please understand that this additional step is also burdening your local SSA field office. Have compassion for them. I get as frustrated as you do dealing with the local SSA field offices, but they are also having to come to work every day and be told that their work has little value or merit, or even worse, if you read Elon's Musk's recent tweet absolving Hitler, Stalin and Mao of their atrocities and laying blame with "public sector employees."  

SSA has it problems.....believe me, it most certainly does. However, the employees do not deserve to be marginalized and brutalized in the way that they have been over the last three months by people who want to dismantle the system without taking the time to learn the processes and procedures first, so the problems can be fixed correctly. I have no problem taking someone to task who does not do their job and I am sure there are some SSA employees who will tell you I have the tact of comedian Bill Burr. However, the vast majority of the people who work at SSA are just trying to help you. They are someone's mother, father, daughter, son, brother, sister, child, auntie, or uncle. Please keep that in mind as we continue to adjust to the changes at SSA.  

Got a question about SSDI or SSI that you need us to answer? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with helpful information on our website that will allow you to successfully navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to email me your questions at megan@westcoastdisability.com or call me at (800) 459-3017 x 101.