Obtaining Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) can be a time-consuming and stressful experience. Two out of every three applicants initially are denied. Ricky Millholland was plagued with broken bones, bad joints and rising blood pressure, and finally he had a heart attack. An unsuccessful quadruple coronary bypass surgery left this Army veteran on the verge of needing kidney dialysis. After two SSDI denials, Allsup made certain that Mr. Millholland was granted 100 percent of his SSDI benefits. Read his story below to find out how Allsup did it.
* This is a true story as told to Allsup
Knowing what’s going on can make the waiting easier. Frustrated by an unexplained denial from the Social Security Administration, Ricky Millholland needed someone to help him understand and guide him through an appeal. Help was only…
A Phone Call Away
By Douglas J. Gillert
Auburn, Georgia—U.S. Army special forces deployments took him around the world. From 1978-87, the Army based him in Germany and Hawaii, and sent him countless other places to do what they’d trained him to do.
But broken bones, bad joints and rising blood pressure forced Ricky Millholland to unstrap his combat boots, turn in his weapons and head home. The Army said his disability was 30 percent limiting and provided medical care through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
He soon became a painter for an electrostatic painting business. “We’d paint metal furniture and cabinets, or go into grocery stores and paint the meat and dairy cabinets,” Mr. Millholland, 51, said.
He was painting in a laboratory in May 2004 when he suddenly felt drained of all energy. “I told the boss I was going to the VA clinic, which was less than a mile from the office.” The clinic wasn’t much help. “They said they couldn’t treat me because I wasn’t a registered patient. I’d have to go to the VA hospital in Decatur, 40 miles away.”
Frustrated, Mr. Millholland went instead to a local medical center, where a checkup revealed four blocked arteries, one of them completely clogged. “You had a
heart attack,” they told him. He walked out of the hospital 10 days later after quadruple coronary bypass surgery.
“They told me to go home and I’d feel better after a while,” he said. Following orders, he rested at home where he lives with his mother, Maggie, now 76.
But he didn’t feel any better. In September, he went to the VA hospital to see what was going on. Turns out, the original operating physician missed a fifth blockage and reattached three other arteries too tightly.
“The VA took me in and put in five stents,” Mr. Millholland said. “In the process, my kidneys shut down. I was on the verge of needing dialysis. Now, I have to watch what I drink, and I can’t eat a lot of protein.” Any hopes of returning to work were dashed. He sought to upgrade his VA disability to 100 percent but was denied and began a long appeals process. He applied for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits with the same results as before.
How frustrating. “I was a step away from dialysis, I didn’t have any strength and I couldn’t work. So why would the Social Security Administration deny me?”
The denial letter from SSA told him he was qualified to work in a convenience store as a clerk or supervisor. But he can’t stand for long periods of time or mop floors and stock shelves. “And I don’t know of any employer who will hire you to be a supervisor if you don’t know the kind of work being done,” he countered. “Besides, I’ve never seen a help wanted ad looking for a ‘hit man.’ ” His sole work in the army had been in combat arms.
Meanwhile, he participated in a heart patient study group that paid a small stipend. He was desperate for anything he could make over the $340 a month the VA gave him. An information packet he received from the group contained a flier about Allsup.
Allsup is a nationwide provider of
Social Security disability, Medicare and workers’ compensation services for individuals, employers and insurance carriers. Founding in 1984, Allsup employs more than 600 professionals who deliver specialized services supporting people with disabilities and seniors so they may lead lives that are as financially secure and as healthy as possible. Allsup has helped more than 130,000 clients win SSDI benefits, with an industry-leading 98 percent success rate.
“I liked what I read about them and their track record in helping people like me,” Mr. Millholland said. He gave them a call.
A second denial followed, but now he knew why things happened as they did. “Working strictly with Social Security, I’d never hear anything until I got a letter saying ‘No.’ Allsup kept me informed.”
Mr. Millholland was scheduled for a hearing before an administrative law judge. Wanting to spare him the stress of appearing in person, an Allsup senior claimant representative prepared a thorough brief that outlined her client’s medical condition and asked the judge to make an on-the-record decision. Allsup pioneered on-the-record decisions, which drastically reduce the amount of time it takes for their clients to receive their SSDI benefits.
On Nov. 19, 2008, his long wait was over. Allsup obtained the judge’s support by moving his disability date to his 50th birthday. It would mean a slightly decreased monthly income, but it also sealed the deal.
Life has taken a positive turn for Mr. Millholland. His health isn’t going to get any better, but months before his SSDI benefits began arriving, the VA came through at last, granting him 100-percent disability. These days, the once active Georgian can’t do much except watch television and visit with his mother. Her health is fair, he said, joking, “She can still climb a tree. And don’t get in front of her; she’s deadly with a 30.06 [rifle].”
They share their home on one of the few remaining stretches of “country” real estate in bustling Gwinnett County, east of Atlanta. They also share admiration for the help he finally got. “I’m real happy with Allsup,” he said.