FAQ

SSI has a monthly federal benefit rate that changes each year plus any available state supplement. You can find the current benefit amounts on our SSA Annual Updates page.

It is unfortunate when we run across physicians who are unwilling to help people access the benefits that they are entitled to, although it is a common problem.  Many doctors will say that they have not seen a person enough to support a report such as the MSR.  Sometimes doctors on ACT (Assertive Community Treatment) teams or in PSR (Psychosocial Rehab) programs may be willing to co-sign reports. When you can’t find a doctor to cosign the report, we recommend you submit the MSR as collateral information along with the medical records that you have collected that document the diagnostic information from a physician.  

You may want to find out why they are refusing to sign the report. Is it because they feel they don't know enough to sign it?  Or that it wasn't written by them so they don't want to sign it?  Are there other reasons?  One of the things we find is that the doctors often misunderstand what we are asking them to do. They believe that, by signing the report, they are "approving" the person for disability benefits. DDS makes that decision. What they're doing is simply attesting that the information contained in this report is true. It's fine if they even write a statement that they believe the information in this report is true. 

You might remind the doctor and the clinic/hospital that when someone is approved for SSI/SSDI they are also going to be eligible for Medicaid/Medicare which means retroactive reimbursement for services provided and ongoing payment for treatment and services in the future.  

One SOAR program contacted the state medical association for the names of retired physicians and asked if anyone was willing to do one assessment pro-bono.  It was fairly successful.

If an individual becomes disabled before the age of 22 and one of his/her parents is either deceased or receives disability or retirement benefits, the "Disabled Adult Child" may receive benefits based on their parent's earnings record. SSA has an easy to use FAQ page about this topic: https://www.ssa.gov/planners/disability/qualify.html

In certain circumstances, someone can get both SSI and SSDI. This happens when someone is approved for SSDI, but their monthly check is lower than the full SSI Federal Benefit Rate (FBR)*. This could be due to earning low wages throughout the employment history or limited recent work. In this case, the individual will receive SSI to supplement the payment to bring them up to the FBR. Since the Social Security Administration (SSA) discounts the first $20 of earned or unearned income an individual receives when calculating the SSI amount, a concurrent beneficiary will receive $20 above the SSI FBR.

*The Federal Benefit Rate changes annually and can be found at SSA Annual Updates.

Generally, SSA will not count the retroactive (back-pay) SSI or Social Security benefits for up to nine months after the person receives them. This includes payments received in installments.

When the individual receives his/her award letter it should spell out the exact length of time s/he has to spend down the retroactive payments. If there is any confusion, definitely check with the local SSA office for specifics on the individual's case.  

If he is eligible for unemployment and the amount is more than the Federal Benefit Rate (FBR)*, then he should take the higher amount (unemployment) as long as he can.  The medical approval for SSI will last for 12 months, so if the unemployment only lasts a few months, he can always reapply for SSI (the non-medical application) and SSA will use the medical decision from his last application. 

*This figure is updated annually and can be found at SSA Annual Updates.

SSA considers any life insurance policy with a face value of $1,500 or higher. The face value is how much insurance you're buying, (e.g., $5,000, $10,000, etc.). The cash value is what you'd get for the policy if you cashed it in.  Since this person’s policies are valued at $3,700, they are over the resource limit for an individual ($2,000). In order to fall below the resource limit, they would need to cash in one (or more) of the policies depending on what other resources they have.  They would need to use/spend that money to live on before becoming eligible for SSI.  

You can contact your SOAR State Team Lead or Local Lead to find out if there is a designated SOAR liaison at your local SSA office.

Trying to write the Medical Summary Report (MSR), a key component of the SOAR approach, can seem challenging at first. Everyone is going to have a different approach to writing that works for them.

We recommend starting with the Medical Summary Report Worksheet as a template.  Work on only one section in each sitting.  Breaking it up into smaller chunks can take some of the pressure off of writing a long report. It may also help if you don't set a target length. Think about just writing a letter that tells all you know about someone's Personal History, Psychiatric History, or Functional Information. If you can get a couple sections complete and then put them together, you will likely see that the MSR comes together easier than you anticipated.

For more information about Medical Summary Reports, see the SOAR Library.

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 categories to further organize the information if you’d like.

Naturally, information may overlap in some of the sections. For instance, in legal history you may talk about how an applicant’s incarceration was related to their symptoms and then add extra information about symptoms in medical history. In these areas of overlap, there’s no need to repeat information you have already provided. By avoiding excessive repetition in the MSR and grouping the information using broad headings, we can help walk DDS through the documentation of how the applicant meets the disability criteria.

The SOAR TA Center is available to review Medical Summary Reports from SOAR practitioners. To submit your MSR for review, email soar@prainc.com and attach your MSR with the applicant’s name, birthdate, and Social Security number removed for HIPAA compliance.