2024 NADR Q2

TOTAL INTERACTIONS AT

29,6

FIRST SECOND QUARTER QUARTER 2024 2024 Taps, Views and Votes Cast in Chime

EY ENGAGEMENT METRICS

125

Attendees Logged-On

AUDIENCE INTERACTIONS

236

1 , 3 16

Average Interaction Per Attendee

Live Stream Views

839

Biography Views

OP CONTENT INTERACTIONS

Schedule

3, 479

Networking

2, 062

genda Views

2 EDPNA Requirements Over Breakfast: Course 2 & Course 3 0 "Get to the Point": Writing a Prehearing Memo that Gets the ALJ's Attention, Presented by Lindsay Osterhout

Session

1, 838

Speakers

1, 351

160 Representative Roundtables: Exploring a Wide Range of Relevant Topics, Virtually and In-Person 159 Keynote: Slow Your Roll: Mindfulness for Fast Times, presented by Greg Graber

Ask A Question

1, 141

Live Polling

1, 116

134 Keynote: The Current State of Disability Representation 117 Ethics: What Would You Do? Presented by Professor Robert Rains Is Success at the Appeals Council 110 Possible? presented by Sarah Bohr and Linda Cosme

Exh

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Live Stream Unique Vie

Thank you to our dedicated Past Presidents who still show up for NADR after nearly 25 years!

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CONTENTS

NADR NEWSLETTER SECOND QUARTER 2024

IN THIS ISSUE 3

A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT

4

NADR RECOMMENDATION TO COSS O’MAILLY

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PEACH STATE SYMPOSIUM

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FORMS ARTICLE

A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT Hello NADR Family,

and DDS examiners, simplifying the SSI application and expanding its online usage, and updating signature requirements on disability applications.

As we move further into 2024, it’s clear that this year marks significant advancements and challenges in the realm of Social Security disability advocacy. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has published several NPRM final rules that promise to streamline processes and reduce administrative burdens, not only for SSA itself but also for beneficiaries and their advocates.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it highlights the critical areas we are currently focusing on to work with SSA in their efforts to enhance service delivery and our effort to improve advocacy effectiveness.

At the NADR 2024 conference in Atlanta, Commissioner Martin O’Malley emphasized the need for our active participation in conveying SSA’s mission and challenges. He introduced “SecurityStat,” a new tool launched in February to help set goals, choose actions, and track progress. This tool is part of a broader strategy to manage the increasing demands on SSA services amid fiscal constraints.

Notably, the SSA has revised the In-kind Maintenance and Support (ISM) calculations by omitting food and expanding both the rental subsidy and the definition of a public assistance household. These changes are expected to ease the complexity of claims processing significantly. Additionally, the reduction of the look-back period for past relevant work from fifteen years to five years is a crucial update that aligns more realistically with current workforce dynamics.

Commissioner Martin O’Malley asked that we continue to advocate for Congress to return SSA’s funding levels to 1.2% of what the agency spends on benefits in order to meet the needs of over 70 million Americans dependent on Social Security benefits.

An important advancement for our community is the increase of the Representative Fee Cap to $9,200, effective November 30, 2024. This adjustment is particularly pertinent as it now ties the fee cap to yearly COLA increases, starting in January 2026. While we appreciate the 2022 adjustment, the subsequent inflation has diluted its impact, underscoring the need for periodic reviews to ensure fair compensation for all dedicated representatives.

Your support and involvement are crucial as we navigate these challenging times at the SSA and continue our mission of providing robust representation for those in need. Thank you for your ongoing dedication to NADR and the communities we serve.

In our ongoing effort to enhance the quality of advocacy, NADR is actively collaborating with the SSA to address several critical areas to improve the effectiveness and accessibility of disability determinations. Key initiatives include updating the outdated occupational information used in disability determinations (the DOT) to reflect current job market realities, refining evidence collection processes to more effectively target treating-source evidence, improving telephone access to field offices NADR NEWS

Together, let’s continue to make a difference.

Christopher Mazzulli, ADR

NADR President

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SECOND QUARTER 2024

PEACH STATE SYMPOSIUM

EVA SIRMAN, CAE NADR ASSOCIATION MANAGER Buckhead (a beautiful business district in Atlanta, GA) was the perfect spring backdrop for our 2024 NADR Social Security Law Conference - the Peach State Symposium. In case you missed it, we hosted about 200 people for our annual education conference on the heels of the most exciting news in the disability advocacy space in quite some time. Newly confirmed Commissioner Martin O’Malley announced the Friday before our conference that not only was the fee cap increasing to $9,200, but SSA would also be indexing it for future years with the COLA!! What a way to kick off our meeting, especially since he was coming to give the SSA Keynote Address. We received a ton of positive feedback on the SSA presence at the conference and the willingness of their team to really listen and provide meaningful responses. We’d already seen O’Malley hard at work, but to be there in person and actually get answers was something we have all been missing for a long time! As usual the week was a lot of fun interspersed with education: networking opportunities, break out sessions, several Keynote addresses including one on Ai, and it was capped off by a half day disability practice seminar for new practitioners. I would like to personally thank my Conference Committee for all their hard work over the last year. Additionally, a special thank you to our sponsors and speakers for making the conference a huge success! Please save the date for our 2025 conference, celebrating 25 years of NADR - we’ll be hosting next year’s conference at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa in the Santa Ana Pueblo,New Mexico March 23-27.

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SECOND QUARTER 2024

USE CURRENT FORMS JIM BROWN ATTORNEY CONSULTANT, INC. Several attorneys have received letters from the Office of General Counsel with threats of suspension because they filed new claims but used a 1696 or retainer agreement that was used on a previous claim. Some representatives have received letters because the forms were dated more than six months prior to the claim being filed.

Social Security requires new forms each time you begin a new claim. DO NOT USE THE FORMS FROM A PRIOR CLAIM! If your client won’t send you the new forms do not represent them. The aggravation of receiving a certified letter from OGC stating you may be suspended is not worth taking a shortcut on a claim.

If you are going to file a new claim, get new forms. Instruct your entire staff of this requirement. The rules say you are responsible for the actions of your staff. Don’t get in trouble for something they do.

Letters have also been sent when the forms were signed five or more months before the claim was filed. If that happens make sure you have a good reason. Perhaps the claimant was still working. Perhaps they had not seen a doctor. It is not a good reason to say, “I don’t file claims until they have been off work four or more months.” If that is your practice, get the forms signed when you are ready to file the claim.

Be professional in everything you do. Teach your staff to be responsible for every action they take on a claim and you can avoid these letters. The two issues above may seem basic, yet in the past three years I have seen 17 OGC letters regarding these two issues.

It’s easy to avoid them. Pay attention and you won’t get a dreaded letter.

NADR NEWS

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SECOND QUARTER 2024

NADR NEWS

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SECOND QUARTER 2024

NADR NEWS

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SECOND QUARTER 2024

DISABILITY HEALTH ADVOCATES Why help your clients Maximize their Medicare Benefits?

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It’s everything you never expected!

Launching at NADR 2024 Annual Conference.

See us at our booth for a live demo or visit us at

www.mylawbrainer.com

NADR NEWS

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SECOND QUARTER 2024

FEE ISSUES

National Association of Disability Representatives

Lets Get Into It! NADR NEWS

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SECOND QUARTER 2024

NADR NEWS

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SECOND QUARTER 2024

So�ware & Web‐Based Services

For Important Evidence‐Based Work Decisions 1. FACT CHECK the Voca�onal Expert 2. COMPARE VE DOT Occupa�ons to hypothe�cals 3. ONE BUTTON CLICK to see the latest ORS Data 4. EXPLORE / CONFIRM ESTIMATED DOT JOB NUMBERS 5. SEARCH the DOT with various hypothe�cals 6. WIN MORE CLAIMS !

10% CONFERENCE DISCOUNT un�l 4/30/2024

NADR NEWS

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Tap

BOARD OF DIRECTORS AUDIENCE INTERACTIONS

KEY ENGAGEMENT METRICS

125

2023 - 2024

236

Attendees Logged-On

1 , 3 16

Average Interaction Per Attendee

Live Stream Views

8

B

TOP CONTENT INTERACTIONS

Schedule

President 3, 479 Christopher Mazzulli, ADR Agenda Baltimore, MDViews

Vice President 1, 838 2,0Kelly 6 2 Blad, ADR Cook, MN

342 EDPNA Requirements Over Breakfast: Course 2 & Course 3 200 "Get to the Point": Writing a Prehearing Memo that Gets the ALJ's Attention, Presented by Lindsay Osterhout

Treasurer Carl Groves

Session

Networking

Speakers

1Cliff ,Director 35Berkley, 1 At Large 1, 141 ADR Fullerton, CA

134 Keynote: The Current State of Disability Representation 117 Ethics: What Would You Do? Presented by Professor Robert R Is Success at the Appeals Counc 110 Possible? presented by Sarah Bo and Linda Cosme

160 Representative Roundtables: Exploring a Wide Range of Relevant Topics, Virtually and In-Person 159 Keynote: Slow Your Roll: Mindfulness for Fast Times, presented by Greg Graber

Secretary Alicia Skinner-Hammond

Director At Large J. Shay Guess

Ask A Question

Director At Large David Wright

Director At Large Kerie Stone

NADR News is published by NADR and is the property of the National Association of Disability Representatives. Copyright 2016, NADR. The articles appearing in the NADR News do not necessarily reflect the opinions of NADR. The accuracy and content of each article is the responsibility of the individual writer.

NADR NEWS

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