Disability Blog

Is meant to provide news, information support and resources for disability and SSI claimants.

Author: Sarah Patterson is a Social Security disability lawyer based in San Francisco. Her practice concentrates on cases involving HIV and AIDS.

Blawg Related Categories: Benefits/ERISA • Disability Law • Law Firms • Solos/Small Firms • States • California

Recent Posts from Disability Blog

Congressional Hearings Address Backlogs at Hearing Offices
The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security will hold a hearing Tuesday morning to look at what is -- and isn't being done -- to reduce the incredibly backlog of Social Security disability…
New Debit Cards Offered to Replace Checks for Benefits
The Department of the Treasury said Thursday that nearly 2 million Social Security recipients in 12 Western states will receive information this month about the option of receiving their Social Security and Supplemental Security Income…
Debit Cards for Social Security Benefits
Social Security recipients can now get monthly payments on a prepaid debit card. The Direct Express Debit MasterCard is being rolled out in 10 states by the Treasury Department and Dallas-based Comerica Bank. It's an…
Milwaukee Hearing Delays Dismal
The claimant's file is among a stack of more than 762,000 disability cases pending nationally in the Social Security Administration. The agency has been plagued with a growing backlog in the past decade as it…
Candidates Skate Thin Ice on Social Security Reform
From today's New York Times: Party elders and analysts who have seen many a politician fall victim to the jinx of Social Security, which was signed into law 73 years ago Thursday, say they are…
Fight to the Death: Getting Disability Benefits in Oregon
Today's Oregonian reports: Americans seeking Social Security’s disability benefits find themselves stuck in a morass of bureacracy that often takes years to navigate. Social Security officials say they’re working hard to remedy the backlog. But…
SSA Provides Online Calculator for Disability and Retirement Benefits
The AP reports today at the San Francisco Chronicle, www.sfgate.com: People planning for retirement got a new tool this week: a fast and easy online estimator for their Social Security benefits. The retirement benefit is…
Florida Legislator Introduces Bill to Reduce Social Security Backlogs
U.S. Representative Kathy Castor (D-FL) called a press conference, Monday, to announce legislation to expedite the Social Security Administration disability claims process. Thousands of Tampa Bay area families are caught in a multi-year backlog. Steadily…
US Supreme Court Reins in LTD Carriers
The Christian Science Monitor reports on new Supreme Court Ruling: Judges must approach medical disability and health insurance disputes with a skeptical eye when they involve insurance companies that both evaluate and pay employee claims.…
Banks Improperly Garnishing Social Security Deposits
Administration's Office of the Inspector General. The inspector general found that some financial institutions are apparently violating federal law by garnishing accounts that receive electronic deposits of old age, survivors and disability insurance, and/or supplemental…