It May Take Awhile to Feel SSA’s Improvements to Hearings Backlog
The Social Security Administration is working hard to reduce the backlog of claims waiting for hearings. I applaud their efforts, because it takes too long from the time we request a hearing for our claimants to when they actually get scheduled.
It should help that SSA has opened several new national hearings offices and ODAR (Office of Disability and Review) offices. That means more spaces for hearings to be held. They are also hiring more Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) to hear cases. These steps should make things better.
Also, video conferencing makes it possible to conduct hearings at separate locations from the judges. I think this is a great benefit for our claimants. If they choose this option with their Freedom Disability representative, we can present their case via video earlier rather than having to wait to get scheduled for a hearing at their local ODAR office to meet the judge in person.
More hearings offices and more ALJs are good fixes to the overall wait time for hearings. But, I do think it’s going to take awhile before we feel a real impact.
Learn More About Your Disability Benefits:
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Social Security Administration Faces Disability Backlog Challenges
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