One occasionally hears about disability fraud but ever since the 60 minute spot on it, everyone is talking about extensive fraud in the SSDI program. I can not seem to flip the TV channel without hearing someone talk about how extensive fraud has been perpetrated upon the system.

If you are not disabled or do not know anyone that is, the general public does seem to think most people on disability these days are scammers.

If a person on disability does not have some very obvious physical or mental impairment, you are considered a lazy scammer. If you have all 4 limbs, are not blind, then you must not be disabled is the general consensus.

Pain is not "seen", it is felt. I would guess that most of us here have conditions that are not "obvious" to the stranger we may see at the grocery, if we can actually visit the grocery store.

I have NOT been approved and do fear that all the recent attention in the news will have judges across the country feeling pressured to deny even more claims than they already do and deserving applicants will be caught in this storm of publicity.

My hearing is in a few weeks and the timing of all this attention to SSDI makes me fear a bias against me before my appearance in front of the ALJ.

This thread is a continuation of the one I started on the 60 minute spot.

Good luck to all here that are in the process of seeking SSDI. I only hope that the ALJ's will be fair and not swayed by public attention or pressure to deny applicants.