Obtaining SSDI is a difficult and complex process. Two out of every three applicants are initially denied - and they have a story to tell.
This is a true story as told to Allsup.
Bakersfield, California - Battered, bruised and embattled, Donna Hecq resisted the inevitable for as long as she could. At 55, she said she was just “too young” to draw Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits.
Try as she might, she couldn’t make a go of it as she was struck by one personal and family malady after another. When she finally faced reality, her heart sank. Not because of how sick she was, but from hearing horror stories about the SSDI process. She feared years of endless paperwork while she and more than one million people like her across the nation waited in line for the benefits that she had paid for during her entire working life.
Fortunately, a friend led her to Allsup, the nation’s leading SSDI disability representation company. Headquartered near St. Louis, Allsup has successfully represented nearly 100,000 disabled people for their SSDI benefits.
In early 2003, having a severe disability was the farthest thing from Donna Hecq’s mind. She was in the perfect location, location, location of her career as a real estate agent. That came to a crashing halt Feb. 20 when she was injured in an auto accident. She emerged with painful bulging discs in her neck and back. Despite that, she thought she would return to work after treatment.
“I knew I was hurting pretty bad and thought I would bounce up,” she said. “But the pain was bad, and the medication I was taking didn’t help much.”
A year into her recuperation, Ms. Hecq was dealt another sobering diagnosis: breast cancer. A lumpectomy and radiation treatments followed, and she still takes oral chemotherapy.
That’s when her friends started to suggest that she apply for disability, which was another blow for her psyche. She was worried. “I was told it was a nightmare. I put off applying until my money started to run out.”
Her fears were legitimate. People with disabilities are experiencing delays of months -- often years -- in obtaining their rightful benefits. Nationwide, based on the Social Security Administration’s own numbers at the end of the 2007 fiscal year, there was a disability backlog of more than 700,000 disability cases pending before the agency at the hearing level alone. When combined with the waiting list of more than 550,000 initial applications and more than 100,000 reconsiderations, the extent of the crisis is apparent.
To compound Ms. Hecq’s predicament, California has one of the worst disability backlogs. Just starting into the process, Donna Hecq would have a daunting challenge.
Luckily, she did not venture ahead by herself. “A friend of mine was already working with Allsup to get his disability approved,” she said. “He was so happy with Allsup’s service that he told me to get in touch with them.”
She took his advice and learned that Allsup Inc. is the nation’s leading SSDI representation company. CEO and founder Jim Allsup started his company in 1984, after working for the Social Security Administration, to help people just like Donne Hecq collect their entitled SSDI benefits.
Allsup’s success rate is a staggering 97 percent. The company is so highly regarded that, in October 2006, the Better Business Bureau presented Allsup its Torch Award for excellence in customer service. Since 1984, the disability advocacy company has helped more than 100,000 people obtain about $1.4 billion in SSDI and Medicare benefits.
Ms. Hecq called Allsup and completed her initial interview in August 2005. After that, she received forms to complete for Social Security. This is typically a brief process for Allsup clients, but Ms. Hecq had to contend with her own complications. She was out of state -- which, as it turns out, would not have been a problem -- and her mother and father died within four months of each other.
“I was in Oregon,” she said, “and I didn’t want to start anything until after I got back to California. I thought that might stymie the process. I was afraid the paperwork might get lost. That was also when my mother was dying, and I was having my radiation treatment.”
It was not until December that she sent Allsup her completed SSDI application, which allowed Michele Foster, her Allsup representative, to take charge. After Ms. Hecq returned the forms, Allsup filed the claim, which Social Security recorded in January 2006 after the holiday rush.
In March 2006, Ms. Foster called Ms. Hecq to complete the required SSA questionnaire. This includes the daily function report describing how Ms. Hecq’s condition affects her functions around the house.
The long-distance work reflects Allsup’s slogan, “You stay at home. We do the work.” The client agreed that the method worked well. Through it all, Ms. Hecq stayed in the comfort of home, never once having to go to a Social Security or Allsup office for interviews or to file papers.
“Allsup’s people were good in staying in contact with me,” Ms. Hecq said. “Michele followed up and went over each question on the phone and was quite helpful in making sure everything was complete before Allsup sent the form to Social Security. They helped me remember facts I had forgotten and to word things in the best way for my benefit.
“I can’t even imagine going through the process without Allsup,” she said. “I enjoyed talking with my Michele. Every contact with anyone at the company had a personal approach. They never made me feel like an idiot when I called and asked why things were taking so long or with any other question. They were always friendly and had the answers or called back with them in a short time.”
The only hiccup in the proceeding arose when Social Security chose Ms. Hecq’s application to do a random audit. This added more than 30 days to the process, but Ms. Foster said such audits are not unexpected. She and the Allsup staff had ensured everything was in order to pass the inspection.
In August 2006, Social Security announced its favorable decision on Ms. Hecq’s initial application. “I was stunned,” she said. “I always heard you had to have two or three appeals that go on for years. I was so happy. I don’t think I could have done it without Allsup.”
Social Security agreed that the effective onset date of the disability was when Ms. Hecq had her car accident: Feb. 20, 2003. The entitlement for benefits was January 2005, which was a year before Allsup filed the claim. “This again shows why it’s important to complete forms as soon as possible,” Ms. Foster said, explaining why benefits could not be effective sooner. Under the SSDI program, even if you become disabled a number of years prior to applying for benefits, you can only receive back benefits for a maximum of one year after the initial disability application is submitted to the SSA.
Ms. Hecq now has the financial support she needs, even receiving an added bonus. “One of the main things that made me happy,” she said, “was that Allsup also got me Medicare to cover my breast cancer treatments. That’s one of the things you don’t think of until somebody prods you. Allsup made that all possible.
“I tell everyone I can think of about Allsup,” she said. “It’s really a nice service.”
Although Donna Hecq will continue her treatments, she vowed to press ahead with a smile. “I’m trying to be as happy as I can in what I can do,” she said. “I’m just going to go on and have a good life.”