Many people in Mobile, Alabama and the rest of the country would be recipients of Supplemental Security Income. Those who have been receiving these benefits for several years would know that the Social Security Administration conducts certain disability reviews periodically in order to assess the continuity of the disability for which the individual is receiving SSI. This blog post is meant to provide the newer recipients of SSI an overview of what exactly the Continuing Disability Reviews are.
According to the SSA’s rules, a medical CDR is conducted once in every three years. There are, however, some exceptions to this pattern. If the SSA determines that a disabling condition will continue for less than three years, the review is conducted after two years. Again, if the SSA determines that a disabling condition is long-term or life-long, the review is conducted after every seven years.
In case of a child, the CDR is conducted every three years if it is expected that the condition may improve. The SSA may also conduct a CDR even if it does not expect the child’s disabling condition to improve. For low birth weight cases, the CDR happens before the child attains the age of one. However, if the initial assessment suggests that improvement may take more than one year, the CDR is conducted after the child has reached the age of one year. For children’s CDR, it is very important for the representative payee to have all the necessary medical evidence that the SSA may ask for.
Again, if a child has been receiving SSI since a very young age, the SSA conducts the CDR two months before that child attains the age of 18. During this CDR, the severity of the medical condition is reviewed based on the guidelines of disability determination for adults. If that child recipient qualifies the eligibility criteria that are in place for adults, the SSI benefits continue; otherwise the SSI benefits will cease.