Social Security disability benefits are rarely terminated due to medical improvement, but that does not stop them from trying. The SSA has been reviewing cases in recent months to determine cases where medical improvement has occurred and they can stop payments for benefits. These are called cessation cases.
When and How Cessation Cases Happen
The SSD process does not end when you receive benefits. Social Security is required to review your case periodically. If the Social Security Administration determines your disability has improved enough for you to work, you will no longer receive benefits. If you face a Continuing Disability Review (CDR), your case will be forwarded to the Disability Determination Service (DDS) in your area.
Appealing a Cessation of Benefits
You will have 60 days to request an appeal, which consists of an informal hearing before a Hearing Officer. At the hearing, you can present additional evidence, call witnesses, and testify about your conditions.
What is the Standard for Evaluating Medical Improvement?
During a CDR, Social Security uses the Medical Improvement Review Standards (MIRS). If you were found disabled because you were unable to stand or walk for more than an hour in an eight-hour day, you would qualify for disability benefits. If you feel better, but you cannot stand or walk for an hour, your medical improvement is not related to your ability to work, and your benefits continue.
It is the Social Security Administration’s responsibility to prove that you are capable of returning to work. It is much harder to lose your benefits than to gain them since you initially demonstrated you are disabled. Nonetheless, disability cessations can occur.
How Can Regas & Haag Help?
Even after being awarded disability benefits, there are still hurdles to maintaining your status with the SSA. Learning about the CDR process can help you be better prepared for a periodic review.
Regas & Haag handles every aspect of your Social Security Disability case, including communicating with your physicians, obtaining medical records and reports, filing all appeals on your behalf, preparing you for an Administrative Law Judge hearing, and appealing through Federal district court. Contact us today by filling out the form on our website, or by calling us at (330) 649-9102. Remember—there are no attorney fees until you win.
