Social Security Law

Articles written by attorneys and experts worldwide discussing legal aspects related to Health Care and Social including: defective drugs, failure to diagnose, informed consent, medical law, medical malpractice, medication errors, pharmaceutical law, social security, social services law, surgical errors.

Benefits.gov (formerly GovBenefits.gov) was launched in an effort to provide citizens with easy, online access to government benefit and assistance programs. Eight years after its initial launch, GovBenefits.gov underwent a major redesign and became Benefits.gov. However, the program's mission remains the same: reduce the expense and difficulty of interacting with the government while increasing citizen access to government benefit information.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ten Field offices reorganized in February 2007 moving from a geography-based structure to a Consortia structure based on the Agency's key lines of business: Medicare health plans, Medicare financial management, Medicare fee for service operations, Medicaid and children's health, survey & certification and quality improvement. The intent of the new structure is to improve performance through uniform issue management, consistent communication and leadership focused on achieving the Agency's strategic action plan. Over the past year, the Field has made progress in these areas and more.

Medicaid is the nation's largest publicly funded health financing program for low-income people. As a federal/state partnership, states have the option to participate or not. All states currently participate. Even though the program has extensive federal requirements and restrictions, states administer the program with many options to tailor their programs to meet individual state's medical assistance needs.

The Office of Retirement Policy's four major areas of responsibility include: * Conducting in-depth analyses of Social Security solvency proposals; * Preparing short-turnaround analyses on critical issues for the Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner for Retirement and Disability Policy, and other agency officials; * Producing policy-relevant research; * Leading the agency's financial literacy initiative.

A claimant may appoint a qualified individual to represent him or her in doing business with Social Security. The appointment must be in writing and must be filed with SSA. If the claimant appoints a representative, the representative generally cannot charge or collect a fee for those services without first getting written approval from the Social Security Administration, even if the claim is denied.

Social Security is a social insurance program that is funded through dedicated payroll taxes called Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA). Tax deposits are formally entrusted to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, or the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund.

An act to provide for the general welfare by establishing a system of Federal old-age benefits, and by enabling the several States to make more adequate provision for aged persons, blind persons, dependent and crippled children, maternal and child welfare, public health, and the administration of their unemployment compensation laws; to establish a Social Security Board; to raise revenue; and for other purposes. The original Social Security Act is P.L. 74-271 (49 Stat. 620), approved August 14, 1935. The Social Security Act (SSAct) has been amended significantly since 1935. A list of laws which have amended the SSAct may be found in Volume II, Appendix G.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is headed by a Commissioner and has a staff of approximately 70,000 employees. SSA's central office is located in Baltimore, Maryland. The field organization, which is decentralized to provide services at the local level, includes 10 regional offices, 6 processing centers, and approximately 1,260 field offices.

Social security is designed, as the title suggests, to provide security. To protect individuals from unforeseen catastrophes, the government spreads certain risks among all members of society so that no single family bears the full burden of such occurrences.

A Social Security number is important because you need it to get a job, collect Social Security benefits and receive some other government services. Many other businesses, such as banks and credit companies, also ask for your number.

The Social Security Number Protection Act of 2010 (S. 3789) was enacted in December 2010, but will be phased in over 3 years. It will prohibit federal, state, or local agencies from: (1) displaying the Social Security account number of any individual, or any derivative of such number, on any check issued for any payment by the agency; or (2) employing, or entering into a contract for the use or employment of, prisoners in any capacity that would allow them access to the Social Security account numbers of other individuals.

Social Security is part of the retirement plan of almost every American worker. If you are among the 96 percent of workers who are covered under Social Security, you should know how the system works and what you should receive from Social Security when you retire. This booklet explains how you qualify for Social Security benefits, how your earnings and age can affect your benefits, what you should think about in deciding when to retire and why you should not count only on Social Security for your retirement income.

TANF is designed to help needy families achieve self-sufficiency. To carry out its mission, the TANF Bureau: 1) develops legislative, regulatory, and budgetary proposals; 2) presents operational planning objectives and initiatives related to welfare reform to the Director; 3) oversees the progress of approved activities; 4) provides leadership and coordination for welfare reform within ACF; and 5) provides leadership and linkages with other agencies on welfare reform issues, including agencies within DHHS, relevant agencies across the Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments, and non-governmental organizations at the Federal, State, and local levels.

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the country's largest cross-disability membership organization, organizes the disability community to be a powerful voice for change – politically, economically, and socially. AAPD was founded in 1995 to help unite the diverse community of people with disabilities, including their family, friends and supporters, and to be a national voice for change in implementing the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Since 1876, the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) has been providing worldwide leadership in the field of mental retardation. We're a powerful community of leaders with a strong voice and important mission. AAIDD, (formerly AAMR — American Association of Mental Retardation) is the oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization of professionals and citizens concerned about intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities is a coalition of approximately 100 national disability organizations working together to advocate for national public policy that ensures the self determination, independence, empowerment, integration and inclusion of children and adults with disabilities in all aspects of society.

The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving the educational success of individuals with disabilities and/or gifts and talents. CEC advocates for appropriate governmental policies, sets professional standards, provides professional development, advocates for individuals with exceptionalities, and helps professionals obtain conditions and resources necessary for effective professional practice.

COPAA’s mission is to be a national voice for special education rights and to promote excellence in advocacy. Our primary goal is to secure high quality educational services for children with disabilities. COPAA is premised on the belief that the key to effective educational programs for children with disabilities is collaboration -as equals- by parents and educators.

The National Academy of Social Insurance is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization made up of the nation's leading experts on social insurance. Its mission is to promote understanding of how social insurance contributes to economic security and a vibrant economy.

Established in 1979, the National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives is an association of over 4,000 attorneys and other advocates who represent Social Security and Supplemental Security Income claimants. Our members are committed to providing high quality representation for claimants, to maintaining a system of full and fair adjudication for every claimant, and to advocating for beneficial change in the disability determination and adjudication process.

The Social security disability resource center provides information on the federal disability benefit programs, SSD (social security disability, mandated under title II of the social security act) and SSI (supplemental security income, mandated under title 16), in addition to answering questions about social security retirement benefits and providing resource links on topics such as medicare. The SSDRC is published, edited, and maintained by Tim Moore, a former disability claims examiner for the social security administration's disability determination services (DDS), as well as a former caseworker with a background in many federal assistance programs, including medicaid for disabled adults.

The primary purpose of this publication is to give you a comprehensive picture of the programs under the Social Security Act and how they operate for the benefit of society as a whole and its individual members—be they workers, parents, children, persons with disabilities, or those who are poor. A picture of our Nation today is very different from the one taken in 1935. This publication provides an informative frame of reference for viewing our Social Security programs—a brief look back and a look at the present.