FAQ

The Mental Status Exam must be performed by an "Acceptable Medical Source" (AMS) in order to establish a "medically determinable physical or mental impairment."

Acceptable Medical Sources include physicians, psychologists, advanced practice nurse practitioners (APRN), or physician assistants (PA).  Further, the APRN category includes: Certified Nurse Midwife, Nurse Practitioner, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, and Clinical Nurse Specialist. Audiologists are also acceptable medical sources for hearing-related disorders.

Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) are not included.

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 could ask for: Inpatient hospitalization records, discharge summaries, outpatient/emergency records, and psychiatric examinations/mental status exams. Those are all pretty key for the application. When you submit the records to DDS, I'd recommend adding a note that these were all that you requested, so that it doesn't look like you just weren't sending everything you have.

Generally speaking, medical providers are not legally bound to provide records to a third party. They are not required to provide records to DDS, either. However, HIPAA regulations require healthcare providers to provide individuals copies of their own records: 

"The Privacy Rule generally requires HIPAA covered entities (health plans and most health care providers) to provide individuals, upon request, with access to the protected health information (PHI) about them in one or more “designated record sets” maintained by or for the covered entity.”

We hear from most SOAR providers that they are able to get medical records from most sources. Some states have special laws that cover access to records for disability applications. We also do our best to build relationships with commonly used providers and the medical records departments to try to improve those relationships, and clarify and expedite processes.

Yes, you should file a SOAR-assisted application because even if you don’t have access to the medical evidence, DDS will request directly from prior treating sources and/or schedule appropriate Consultative Examinations (CE) to obtain diagnoses. Remember, SSA needs a diagnosis to make a disability determination. Remember, to write in the “Remarks Section” on SSA forms, about your efforts to obtain medical information so that DDS will know what they need to do to medically develop the claim.

HIPAA requires medical providers to release the patient's records within 30 days after the request is received (https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/guidance/access/ind…). Some states have laws that require the release of medical records in fewer than 30 days.

Great question! Check out our most up-to-date National Outcomes to see how SOAR-assisted applications compare to those without SOAR assistance.

The expectation is that providers involved with SOAR do not charge persons applying for SSA disability benefits for their services. We work closely with providers to identify alternative sources of funding for their programs. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have identified various methods to fund SOAR activities that do not involve charging the applicant or collecting a fee from the applicant’s back pay. Resources related to SOAR funding and sustainability can be found in the SOAR Library.

The Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) program is administered by the Center for Mental Health Services, a component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). PATH is a formula grant to the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. There are nearly 600 local organizations that provide PATH services. PATH provides services to people with serious mental illness, including those with co-occurring substance use disorders, who are experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk of becoming homeless.

PATH and SOAR programs directly complement each other’s work and nearly half of the SOAR State Team Leads are also the State PATH Contacts. The PATH program’s objective to connect individuals to mental health services and stable housing is more easily accomplished when people who are homeless have access to the income and health insurance that comes with Social Security benefits. SOAR provides PATH case managers the tools necessary to expedite access to these benefits, resulting in improved housing and treatment outcomes.

Read more: PATH and SOAR Overview

Yes, the SOAR Online Application Tracking (OAT) program is fully HIPAA compliant. The system does not collect any personally identifying information about applicants during any part of the process. When users add a new applicant to the database, they create a unique applicant ID. The use of this ID avoids the need for personally identifiable information and helps prevent case duplication.

The ID is a 10-digit alphanumeric in the following format: xx00xx0000 (2 letters/2numbers/2 letters/4 numbers). It can be any letters and numbers you choose - just be sure to note it in your hard copy records.

Additional demographic information collected about an applicant is limited to age (without birthdate) and gender.

Absolutely! The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Continuum of Care Program (CoC) plays a key role in ending homelessness in communities and states. HUD’s description of the program includes: “The Continuum of Care (CoC) Program is designed to promote communitywide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness; provide funding for efforts by nonprofit providers, and State and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused to homeless individuals, families, and communities by homelessness; promote access to and effect utilization of mainstream programs by homeless individuals and families; and optimize self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness” (emphasis added)

SOAR is critical in HUD’s mission to promote access to Social Security disability benefits for individuals with disabling conditions. This access helps promote housing stability and prevents future homelessness for these individuals. As a result, SOAR should be included in local CoC plans to end homelessness.