Increase SSI/SSDI Approval Rates
updates
Welcome
| 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: Is there a flow chart to follow for assisting with appeals?
A.
We don't have a flow chart, but we do have several articles and documents that provide guidance for assisting with Appeals. Be sure to take a look at the "Toolkit for Case Managers: Submitting SSI/SSDI Appeals Using the SOAR Model" found on that page.
Q: What is a SOAR Application?
A.
The SAMHSA SOAR TA Center considers a "SOAR application" to be one in which all (or most) of the SOAR critical components are done. These include serving as the person's representative with the SSA-1696, collecting medical records and writing a Medical Summary Report documenting the person's...
Q: How do we determine the initial Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) that shows us where to begin? Is this based on the RFC that comes from DDS? How do we determine RFC before that?
A.
If you are working on an appeal, you will want to review the file to see DDS’s RFC which was the basis for denial. DDS officially determines the RFC. DDS’ opinions take the form of RFC assessments, physical, mental, or both. Essentially, the DDS physician reviews the claimant’s medical records,...
Q: Does the medical summary report have to be in sections? For example, does the legal history have to be in a seperate section or paragraph from the medical history?
A.
We recommend using headings throughout the MSR to divide information so that DDS can quickly find the evidence they are looking for. These headings typically include: personal history, employment, physical health, psychiatric health, and functional information. You can include sub-headings in these...