Disability Insurance (SSDI)
On top of the recipients of Social Security payments are over
7 million people who are paid under Social Security`s
Disability Insurance (SSDI) program. These 7 million
people comprise over 4.5% of the workforce.
The SSDI payments are a serious threat to Social Security`s
retirement payments because the funds to support the
program come from the same payroll taxes that fund the
retirement program.
In 2005, the program`s expenses exceeded the payroll tax revenues.
Since then the difference has been made up out of the
Federal government`s general revenue.
As the chart below illustrates, SSDI has more than doubled
during the last 20 years, from fewer than 3 million workers
to over 7.5 million.
Much of that increase has resulted from legislation, which
allows applicants to use attorneys and physicians to appeal
rejections of their applications. Congress dictated
that the medical evaluations of private physicians take
precedence of those by program staff. Applicants are
also allowed to hire attorneys on a contingent-fee basis
while the SSDI program is barred from using private attorneys.
The program is also barred from appealing judgments that
it views as unfair.
As a result only 40% of the successful appeals are
granted for strictly medical reasons.
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