A report earlier this month by television newsmagazine 60 Minutes looked at the Social Security disability programs. Instead of portraying an even-keeled look at the modern system, the broadcast was biased and anecdote-based, relying on rare cases of judges and lawyers who try to defraud the system. Seemingly no attempt was made to get comment from the Social Security Administration and no recipients of SSD payments were interviewed.
In many cases, those suffering from fibromyalgia may experience fatigue, memory issues, sleep loss and mood issues, according to the Mayo Clinic. These can all be considered disability qualifying conditions by the Social Security Administration, but much of this illness is a mystery. Symptoms may start via surgery, infection or physical trauma; once they have started there is no cure. Those suffering from severe effects should apply for disability benefits to help ease the costs of medical bills and an inability to work.
The list of veterans waiting for benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs is growing longer, as a backlog has piled up over the years. VA is experiencing another problem as well, as Bloomberg reported that more than 400 payments were made by the U.S. government to resolve VA malpractice claims. The news source obtained agency records through a Freedom of Information Act request to show that $91.7 million was paid out nearly $92 million, the highest amount in at least the past dozen years.
The backlog for veterans disability has been growing for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The Los Angeles Times recently reported that there are in excess of 751,000 claims pending, more than 457,000 of which have been waiting for approval for 125 days or more. This does not include the quarter of a million who still have their claims under review. One thing that could help solve this is converting veterans records onto an electronic medical record system, as this would easily allow these files to be pulled up in cases and easily reviewed.
