[Hopeless]

I heard this afternoon that 60 minutes aired a spot Sunday evening about how fraudulent ridden the SSDI system has become in recent years.

I did not see the program.

I can only go by my own personal experience and can not understand the position taken by 60 minutes as it was relayed to me. Did the reporters investigate the process? Did they bother to find out how stringent the rules and regulations? Did they only depict the system based upon ONE bad apple attorney that was in collusion with an ALJ and a medical doctor?

I understand Binder and Binder was also mentioned very negatively.

They also left the impression that disability attorneys are paid by the government, not "issued" by the governement. The implication was the attorney is paid "out of government general taxpayer dollars" rather than "issued" by the government out of the benefits due the applicant. The implication was it is FREE to the approved applicant.

What has happened to reporters? Why not tell the "whole" story?

I am sure there may be some fraudulent receipients, but there are probably far more deserving applicants that never get approved.

Maybe they should have presented the rigors that one must endure in the process instead of a "sensational" story that makes anyone on SSDI look like they are taking advantage of the system.

They refer to SSDI as the "secret" welfare program.

I hope this is not a "taboo" post. It is not meant to be anything other than illustrating BAD reporting by so called "journalists".

To the moderators: Please remove this post if inappropriate. Thank you.

[Jomar]

TV shows like 60 Minutes have a limited time allowed per segment.
The 60 minutes website has the segment for view.


The topic is fine as long as it doesn't get into partisan political bashing.

[echoes long ago]

journalism is dead in america. there is no investigative journalism anymore. everything is agenda driven.
i didnt see the show but they should have shown the other side of the coin, alj's who turn down 99% of those who come before them.

[Kitt]

You need to see the show.

[Hopeless]

Hi Kitt,

I went online to see it.

I really think they left the impression that the tab for the attorney is FREE to the applicant. They could simply have added that attorney fees are paid out of the award benefits granted to the recipient. How many extra seconds would that have taken?

While I totally agree with exposing fraud, I think the general public was left with the impression as titled, "the secret welfare". It put ALL recipients to be viewed through that contorted view.

Maybe I am disturbed because I am facing my ALJ hearing in a few weeks and fear a new bias against applicants in light of this expose. Will ALJ's be out to boost their denial rates? The one I will appear before already has the highest denial rate in my state. Will the headlines make him now deny 100%?

[Hopeless]

I agree that the time is limited but it would have only taken a matter of seconds to clarify that attorney fees are paid out of award benefits.

[Mz Migraine]

I watched the show & thought it was very informative. 60 minutes seemed to concentrate on what goes on in one particular state. I think it was either West Virginia or Kentucky.

[Kitt]

I believe it was Kentucky. I also found "60 minutes overtime" on my search engine. That was very interesting I thought.

[ginnie]

Yes, I saw the segment on 60 minutes. Can't get political on Neuro Talk, but I can say I hope the system can be fixed. ginnie

[Hopeless]

To Mz Migraine and Kitt

I agree that it was interesting to see how the system could be scammed. Being in the middle of the process myself, knowing how many hoops I have had to jump through, the extensive documentation involved, etc. and having heard about the show before I actually saw the show, my reaction to it seems different than yours.

Maybe because I have not been approved (as of yet). Maybe I resent people on disability being portrayed as scammers, silent welfare seekers, etc. I loved my job and would give anything to be able to perform the duties I had. I am not home beseeched by pain by choice. I am not going deeper into debt every day just to survive by choice. Yes, I was offended. If you have a condition that is not "obvious" to everyone, then people doubt your disabling condition. I thought the people on this forum would be as offended as I was but maybe if you already have received approval, you looked at the clip from a different vantage point.

I just fear the expose will make it even more difficult for people that are incapable of working at a SGA level to be approved. ALJ's may feel pressured to deny even more claims.