My husband filed an appeal in Jan. of 2006. We have not had an appeal hearing nor is one scheduled. We were told that it could take up to 2 years for an appeal hearing is this true? How can we move it along (or can we)?
–Theresa

Jonathan Ginsberg responds: Theresa, thanks for your question. Unfortunately, what you were told about the delays in the system is correct. You may be waiting as long as two years to get a hearing.

Right now, Social Security has a lot of administrative problems. There are not enough judges and Congress has actually cut the Social Security Administration’s budget. In recent testimony before Congress, the Commissioner of SSA told Congress that she needed to hire more than 100 judges, but there is no money to do so.

Social Security is also attempting to eliminate paper files in favor of electronic (scanned document) files. At the same time, they are rolling out a new appeals process.

In my view, the delays and confusion will get worse before it gets better. For claimants like your husband, there is not much you can do other than to continue to treat with his doctor and to keep your lawyer updated as to changes in treatment or medicine.

You may also want to contact your U.S. Representative or U.S. Senator’s office to ask if they can write a letter to your local hearing office about the status of your husband’s case. Sometimes a letter like this may speed things up.

[tags] SSDI hearing, Social Security delays, Social Security appeals [/tags]