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EDPNA Requirements Over Breakfast: Course 2 & Course 3 "Get to the Point": Writing a Prehearing Memo that Gets the ALJ's Attention, Presented by Lindsay Osterhout
Keynote: The Current State of Ethics: What Would You Do? Presented by Professor Robert Rains Is Success at the Appeals Council Possible? presented by Sarah Bohr
Hello NADR Family,
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.
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.
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.
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 Key initiatives include updating the outdated occupational information used in disability determinations (the DOT) to reflect current job market realities, refining evidence collection processes to more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
and DDS examiners, simplifying the SSI application and expanding its online usage, and updating signature requirements on disability applications.
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.
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.
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.
Together, let’s continue to make a difference.
Christopher Mazzulli, ADR NADR President
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.
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.
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 !
President
Christopher Mazzulli, ADR Baltimore, MD
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Ask A Question 3,479 2,062 1,838 1,351 1,141
Vice President Kelly Blad, ADR Cook, MN
EDPNA Requirements Over Breakfast: Course 2 & Course 3
"Get to the Point": Writing a Prehearing Memo that Gets the ALJ's Attention, Presented by Lindsay Osterhout
Representative Roundtables: Exploring a Wide Range of Relevant Topics, Virtually and In-Person
Keynote: Slow Your Roll: Mindfulness for Fast Times, presented by Greg Graber
Director At Large Cliff Berkley, ADR Fullerton, CA
Treasurer Carl Groves Secretary Alicia Skinner-Hammond
Director At Large J. Shay Guess
Director At Large Kerie Stone
Keynote: The Current State of Disability Representation Ethics: What Would You Do? Presented by Professor Robert Rains Is Success at the Appeals Council Possible? presented by Sarah Bohr and Linda Cosme 134 117 110
Director At Large David Wright
