The loss of a family member is never an easy thing to go through. While we must tend to our emotional affairs there are also legal affairs that must be looked after as well. There is quite a bit of red tape to go through when a person passes away. If certain steps aren’t taken and certain parties aren’t notified of the family member’s passing, you may find yourself in trouble in the midst of your grief.
When an individual applies for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA), the SSA will normally look at that person’s work history to determine which type of disability benefit the applicant is entitled to. For Social Security Disability benefits, also known as SSDI, a person must have earned a certain number of work credits in order to qualify for benefits. These work credits are earned each quarter an individual works and pays taxes into the Social Security system.
In 2011, Congress approved a budgetary appropriation of $1.024 billion for Social Security “integrity”, an initiative intended to address spending waste within the Social Security Disability (SSD) program. A recent push by House Republicans proposes to cut that budgetary appropriation by more than $750 million in 2013, a change that could backfire according to some. The proposed cut in budgetary support for Social Security program integrity may actually increase spending, waste and expenses associated with SSD fraud by as much as $6 billion.
Any person currently receiving Medicare benefits may qualify for the “Extra Help” plan which provides assistance in paying for Medicare prescription drug plan premiums and other costs. The Social Security Administration (SSA) estimates the value of Extra Help to average at about $4,000 annually.
In order to qualify for the Extra Help plan, you must:
The South East Michigan Health Information Exchange (SEMHIE) entered into an almost 3 million dollar contract with the Social Security Administration (SSA) in June of 2010 to develop a secure and efficient electronic platform for processing the medical records of Social Security Disability (SSD) benefit applicants. SEMHIE announced in late July of this year that it had completed the contract and that the Health Information Exchange (HIE) platform was finished and delivered to the SSA.
