Blog
-
It looks like the new Social Security Commissioner, Martin O’Malley, is really taking charge. A number of changes have been implemented in the several weeks Commissioner O’Malley has been on the job. Among the most meaningful is decreasing the default overpayment withholding rate to 10% (or $10, whichever is greater) from 100%. This will significantly…
2+ weeks ago -
Social Security uses what is called the “fee agreement process” to pay representatives who help Claimants. For those signing an appropriate fee agreement Social Security will approve the agreement and pay the representative up to 25% of a retroactive fee. Since November 2022 that retroactive fee could not exceed $7,200. Sometime this fall the cap…
3+ weeks ago
News
-
Summer 2021 Newsletter STILL STANDING…AND PRACTICING I published the first issue of Social Security & You in Spring of 1993. Some years I’ve published more issues than others. The most recent issue was dated Spring 2019: over 2 years ago. The world was a much different place then. Especially for me. Read the full newsletter…
2+ years ago -
Spring 2019 Newsletter An Opioid Story I’ve changed his name. Let’s call him Gerald. He was a laborer. And by that I don’t mean that he just did physical work. He was a card-carrying member the Labor’s Union local. And that meant a lot to him. I represented him for Social Security disability and Michigan…
4+ years ago
OBAMA WEIGHS IN ON POT VS ALCOHOL DEBATE
In an interview published in the New Yorker magazine on January 19, 2014 President Obama stated that, in his opinion, while “not very healthy”, marijuana isn’t more dangerous than alcohol. He also said he thinks marijuana is less harmful than alcohol on the consumer.
Though still a Schedule 1 substance under Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) guidelines & in Michigan, along with heroin, cocaine and LSD, the Obama Administration has backed off its previously aggressive stance in view of the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington. The DEA has been instructed not to prosecute users in those states under federal law.
It should be noted that although medical marijuana is legal in Michigan the Social Security Administration is a federal agency. Claimants seeking Social Security Disability or SSI benefits should keep this in mind. There are some judges here in the Michigan ODARs hearing Social Security disability & SSI cases who don’t care about Claimant’s use of medical marijuana but there are many who do and will not award benefits to those who have references to use in their medical records.
Anything a patient tells a doctor is likely to wind up in their medical records and can come back to haunt them if they seek Social Security Disability or SSI benefits in front of a Administrative Law Judge in Michigan.
| < previous OBAMACARE UPDATE | next > CVS TO STOP SELLING TOBACCO PRODUCTS |
Call today if you have questions about the Michigan Social Security Disability Attorney and Lawyer Services provided by William Crawforth.
To schedule an appointment call 800-864-1244 or fill out the contact form at the top of this page.
