Building on last week’s post providing new figures and statistics on the overwhelmed situation the Social Security Administration’s disability benefit program currently finds itself within, new labor and medical statistics have been derived by economists, lawmakers, and health care officials across the nation.
It appears the nation’s economic labor force, still fledgling in its recovery from the recent recession, shares a situation that is tightly interwoven and related to that of Social Security disability and its recipients. Although it is doubtless that Texas faces its own set of hurdles in the healthcare sector, prevailing nationwide trends directly impact the life of many, in places like Houston, Austin, Dallas, and beyond.
Most notably, 2012 saw the total number of American workers receiving Social Security disability support rise to 8.8 million. This was highly influenced by the 1.27 nationwide increase in the number of disabled persons without work. Furthermore, the ratio of total number of workers in the economy to those receiving disability payments, once totaling only 40-to-1, reached a new height of 18-to-1.
Some economists and politicians have blamed the widespread availability of support measures like welfare and disability benefits for the continuing slow speed of recovery. However, one important factor to consider is the ever-improving medical understanding of “disability” in our society. Disabilities of a mental and more internal nature have been better diagnosed and accounted for by the system, notably expanding its beneficiary base and protecting the ailing from a life with neither work nor support.
Applying for Social Security disability benefits and possibly appealing a rejected claim is a sobering reality for many. Although national statistics and figures paint the picture of a situation fraught with complex obstacles, individuals who have been hurt or stricken with disease still have a right to the benefits outlined for them. Working with a Social Security law attorney, the process of securing monthly aid can be made considerably smoother and more fortuitous.
Source: Star Tribune, “A joblessness trap,” Edward Glaeser, Jan. 2, 2013
- Our firm can help through all steps of the disability benefits claims process. For more information, contact our Harris County law practice.