Increase SSI/SSDI Approval Rates
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| COVID-19 RESOURCES FOR SOAR PROVIDERS |
SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and is a national program designed to increase access to the disability income benefit programs administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) for eligible adults and children who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness and have a serious mental illness, medical impairment, and/or a co-occurring substance use disorder.
Watch the video below and then read more about SOAR!
Recent Questions About SOAR
Q: What are video teleconferencing (VTC) hearings? Are VTC hearings being heard quicker? Can the client go to the VTC for the ALJ hearing by him/herself?
A.
ALJ hearings may be conducted using video teleconferencing (VTC) equipment, rather than in-person, if there is equipment available to conduct a VTC hearing and if this would be more efficient than conducting an appearance in person. Applicants have a right to object to a VTC hearing if using the...
Q: I just went with someone to a consultative examination. When will we hear the decision on the application?
A.
It depends! In many DDS offices the consultative exam (CE) examiners are allowed 30 days to file their report/evaluation after the exam. They may or may not be turned in on time. Once the DDS examiner gets the report it may take some time to finish their recommendation and transfer it to the...
Q: Can one be on SSDI 63 years old and sign up for unemployment benefits without getting kicked off ssdi
A.
Since SSDI is an insurance program, unearned income and resources (such as Unemployment Insurance) do not impact SSDI eligibility. You may be eligible to receive both Unemployment Insurance and SSDI at the same time. Unemployment Insurance has no impact on the SSDI benefit amount or eligibility.
Q: When requesting medical records, what type of records are specifically needed? I requested ALL records for a client, and received over 500 pages from the hospital. In the future, can I make a more specific request for efficiency purposes?
A.
Great question! While we do typically advise to collect all records, 500 pages is understandably a lot! Not all applicants will have this many, but if you are seeing that certain hospitals/providers tend to send significant amounts (particularly if they aren't helpful for the application), you...