According to PR Web, avoiding a government shutdown was a benefit to all Social Security Disability claimants across the country. It is a relief to know that the government business will proceed as normal, and that the Social Security Administration will not have disruptions in paying out monthly benefits or processing new disability applications.
The Social Security Administration already faced a backlog of new claims, disruptions or furloughs would have only extended what is already a long process. It is common for a disability claim to take up to three years to reach approval status. Administrative Law Judges review appeals and deal with long lines of claimants.
The wait to receive benefits is long, and it is extremely stressful if a claimant is at risk of losing shelter, food or healthcare. Most claimants are too ill to work and need to receive their disability benefits quick. In some very limited circumstances, the claimant or representative may get the Social Security Administration to expedite the application process by making a “Dire Need” request.
A dire need request can be made if the claimant suffers from a terminal illness, such as cancer, and the claimant’s doctor states that the claimant is not expected to live more than six months. A dire need request can also be made if the claimant is faced with immediate foreclosure, eviction, bankruptcy or cannot pay for life-saving prescription medications. However, the claimant must be able to prove the immediacy of such problems in order to convince the Social Security Administration to expedite the claim based on “Dire Need.”
