SSDI & govt shut down

I know that alot of the people in the chronic pain & other forums have filed for SSDI.  I was curious to know if the government shuts down will that put all of our claims on hold.  I'm almost to the 2yr mark now waiting for a decision and a visit to the ALJ.  I know my time is near and really don't want a delay.  Not sure if SS is considered non-essential personnel or not.

Pete, did you have your hearing yet?

 

     Hello Jag!

          I don't have any additional information to answer you're question, but just wanted to say hello to you!

              Hope your doing well!

       Take care,

   SE

Hi, Jag (and everyone!),
I just popped in and saw this thread. As far as I know, Social Security/SSD payments will continue but claims processing, etc. will likely be delayed. A lot depends on how long any shut down lasts. Many of the federal govt. employees will not be paid, and will not report to work. The longer it goes, the worse the backlog will be. Also, people like me, who are about to become eligible for Medicare (in a few months) will also likely have problems if a shut down continues for very long. Interestingly, Congress and the President still get paid, as it is mandated by the Constitution.

Here's a link to an article I read earlier today.

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/federalbudgetprocess/a/Government-Shutdowns.htm

Hope this helps answer your question. Also hope this whole thing gets resolved so none of us have to deal with it!

Hugs to all,
PaLady

This link will help answer some of your questions...It's not completely clear but does tell what's going to work and whats not going to work during the shut down...Hope it helps:

http://freedomdisability.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/SSA-contingency-plan.pdf

I actually had my hearing on 9/18. According to my attorney it was a "grand slam". But I'm afraid that this shut down will cause me to have to wait a lot longer because in that link I provided, it says while they'll still have hearings (but not schedule anymore during the shut down so if you have a date or already had your hearing your OK) and they'll still make decisions it says that they won't have decision writers working. IDK if the judges write their own decisions but I hope they do and if not, that my decision has made it under the wire and just hasn't gotten here yet. Even if I get it though, I'm betting that it won't be any time soon before I get an award letter. The link was unclear to me as to if that aspect of the process will be crippled as a result of the shutdown. I hope not but I'm getting pretty used to let downs in this process....Even when my attorney told me the hearing was a grand slam I told him I had my doubts and that so far, anything that could go wrong has in fact gone wrong which is why I just chuckled when I heard about the shut down....Just chuckled and mumbled....Figured.

Post Edited (DontDoRny) : 10/4/2013 7:32:29 AM (GMT-6)

I just got off the phone with the ODAR. If you don't have a hearing scheduled already then you won't be getting one scheduled until this is over. If you have one scheduled, you will still have it on the date it's scheduled but if you've already had your hearing you won't be getting a decision letter anytime soon because despite the fact that the judges are handing down decisions, there are no decision writers working until the shut down ends.

just alittle fyi. ssd is is up and running. got paid on thursday. had me worried when i first heard of
the shutdown. but after reading about what depts. were open. not the whole staff but the people needed to process the checks.

Have a family member that is a SS disability adjudicator. This relative is working WITHOUT pay during the furloughs and approving/disapproving cases on a daily basis. The physicians that review the cases are also working. The only question is - if you are approved when would benefits begin.

Please do not ask me questions about your own personal cases as I cannot ask the relative. Just wanted to dispel any anxiety or incorrect info.

FYI
if anyone depends on meals on wheels, several local jurisdictions will run out of resources within the month. With the lack of funding, local communities are trying to replenish with donations.

Post Edited (1 day at a time) : 10/6/2013 12:48:08 PM (GMT-6)

We had 4 federally funded early start and kindergarten schools scheduled to close Friday, 2 did and the other 2 got money from an anonymous donor to stay afloat awhile longer.

Kids wic stopped, children's educations effected, these kids didnt vote yet are paying the price.

What happens to the schools lunch programs? Al federally funded as well.

Kids dont eat our elderly dont eat, going to be trouble.