Even so, eligibility standards are stringent. Only about 40% of SSDI applications are approved. Claimants who are denied benefits can request a hearing before an administrative law judge. Because Congress chronically underfunded SSA operations from 2010-2017, wait times for disability hearings escalated – up to two years in some cases. Thousands of claimants have died waiting for hearings.
See more posts like this on Tumblr
#politics #disability #social security #SSDI #seniors #elderly #older americans #retirement #retirees #retirement crisis #entitlements #entitlement reform #earned benefits #social insurance #p2More you might like
President Trump released an FY 2019 budget today proposing deep spending reductions for Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and myriad other federal programs that help older Americans, the poor, and people with disabilities.
Here are some of the highlights (or lowlights) of the President’s proposed FY 2019 budget that impact society’s most vulnerable:
- Some $500 billion in Medicare spending reductions over ten years, most of which would affect providers and suppliers, but could potentially impact beneficiaries, too.
- $1.4 trillion in cuts to Medicaid (which covers long-term care for millions of seniors) through restructuring the program.
- Some $700 billion in spending reductions from “repealing and replacing Obamacare.”
- $64 million in cuts to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).
- Reduces the Social Security Administration’s request for administrative funding by $90 million from FY 2017 levels, which would further exacerbate SSA’s customer service issues.
- Defunds the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps low income seniors pay their heating bills.
Read more about President Trump’s
budget by clicking here.
via twitter.
Related Reading:
Trump 2019 Budget Shortchanges Seniors, Poor, Disabled.
- President Trump released an FY 2019 budget today proposing deep spending reductions for Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and myriad other federal programs that help older Americans, the poor, and people with disabilities.
via twitter.
The Trump administration has sent a grim message to America’s seniors.
President Trump’s 2020 budget proposal shortchanges seniors by:
- Slashing $845 billion from Medicare.
- Cutting $25 billion from Social Security Disability Insurance.
- Gutting Medicaid by 1.5 trillion.
- Cutting the Social Security Administration’s operating budget by 3.5%.
One of the worst parts of the Trump budget is $72 billion in cuts to Social Security Disability Insurance. Budget director Mulvaney made the incredible claim that SSDI isn’t really part of Social Security, so cutting it supposedly wouldn’t violate President Trump’s promise to protect Social Security.
Max Richtman via The Hill.
President Roosevelt’s vision has most certainly endured. Today, Social Security provides some 61 million Americans and their families with basic financial security upon retirement or disability. For older Americans, Social Security can mean the difference between financial well-being and poverty. Two out of three seniors rely on Social Security for most of their income, and one-third of seniors depend on it for at least 90% of their income. Public polling consistently shows that Social Security enjoys overwhelming support from majorities of Americans across party lines.
Over the years, Social Security has been modified (with bipartisan support) to expand benefits and keep the system financially sound. This year, Social Security has come under new threat from budget hawks in the Trump administration and on Capitol Hill. But as generations of Roosevelts have
shown us, Social Security is worth fighting for. On this, Social Security’s 82nd anniversary, we at the National Committee recommit ourselves to preserving this landmark program for current and future generations of Americans.
Read more from our blog post here marking this anniversary by clicking here.
Trump’s budget proposal, though widely disregarded by congressional appropriators, would cut $31.4 billion from SSDI over 10 years, according to the Washington Post.
“I recognize that he’s going to be saving Social Security Retirement, but he’s not saving Social Security Disability Insurance, which benefits more than 10 million Americans,” NBC’s Peter Alexander told Mulvaney in a press briefing Tuesday, pointing to Trump’s repeated campaign promises not to cut Social Security. “So is the President keeping his promise on that program?”
Mulvaney argued that SSDI “is not what most people would consider to be Social Security.”
via Talking Points Memo.
Related Reading:
- Trump Budget Shatters President’s Promise on Social Security, Medicaid.
- In this case, the millions of Americans with disabilities who rely on SSDI for basic income security are the ones who stand to be hurt. Though SSDI helps younger Americans, too, most of its beneficiaries are 55 or over – meaning any cuts to the program will hit older Americans particularly hard.
The Washington Post’s editorial board used its paper’s own flawed profile of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) recipients to justify the unsubstantiated claim that the program discourages people with disabilities from working and therefore “needs reform” in the form of increased restrictions and benefit cuts.
via Media Matters.
Related Reading:
Disability Insurance is Part of Social Security Whether Mick Mulvaney Likes It or Not.
Americans contact the Social Security Administration at the most vulnerable points in their lives — upon the death of a loved one, retirement, or when facing a life-changing disability. The last thing they need is a hassle in securing benefits.
After all, they paid for those benefits during their working years through Social Security payroll taxes. But thanks to draconian budget cuts to the Social Security Administration (SSA), too many applicants face long hold times and busy signals— or deadly-long waits for disability hearings.
Literally thousands of disabled Americans die every year waiting for adjudication of claims. Meanwhile, some 10,000 Baby Boomers become eligible for Social Security retirement benefits every day. You don’t have to be an actuary to figure out: When workloads increase and funding is cut, service suffers.
Read more on this issue by clicking here.
via twitter.
Related Reading:
Trump Executive Order Will Hurt Social Security Disability Claimants.
Those politically-appointed judges could reject valid disability claims simply because the administration doesn’t support the program. The president’s 2019 budget would slash SSDI by $64 billion over ten years. His budget director, Mick Mulvaney, famously said last year that he doesn’t consider SSDI to be part of Social Security even though “Social Security” is part of its name.
Myths about Mental Illness and Social Security Disability Insurance Debunked.
In order to justify its $64 billion in cuts to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), the Trump administration and its allies have had to propagate several myths. The most insidious one is that many SSDI recipients are not truly worthy of benefits. They have suggested that mental illness is among the more dubious qualifications for SSDI.
President Trump’s FY 2018 budget drastically cuts programs that benefit America’s oldest – and most vulnerable – citizens. he President’s spending plan calls for deep cuts to Social Security Disability Insurance, breaking his promise not to touch Social Security. It guts Medicaid, violating another Trump campaign pledge. Programs that feed needy seniors, keep them warm in their homes and pay for long-term care are eliminated or slashed.