Need help finding your doctor’s office in Colorado?
When you apply for Social Security benefits, you will need to provide the name and address of each doctor you have seen for the last several years.
You may have this information for your current doctors, but finding the addresses for your older doctors may be trickier.
How do I find your doctor’s address if she has moved her office?
You can check old business cards, appointment cards, medical records or invoices for this information. You can also check the yellow pages, or check Google.
If all this fails, there is still one more way to track down a doctor.
If you are in Colorado and you have internet access, try ALISON (The Automated Licensure Information System Online). This is the online licensing database for the state of Colorado. If the doctor is licensed in Colorado, you should be able to find the doctor and the his/her current business address.
Cost of Medical Records Increases More Than 36 Percent!
The State of Colorado has allowed medical records copiers to increase the prices they charge to provide your medical records.
Medical records are one of the foundations of a Social Security case. The main way you establish the existence and severity of a medical condition is through medical records. ALL attorneys whose practice revolves around medical records are going to have to swallow this price increase. It also means that your costs as a client are going up.
Do not blame your attorney. The money is not going into your lawyer’s pocket; it is going to the medical copiers.
How to read medical records in a Social Security case
Whether you are working with a lawyer or are trying to get Social Security disability / Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits on your own, you will probably be reading medical records at some point.
Here is a quick primer on how a large portion of medical records are set-up.
Most of the medical records I see from doctors in Colorado, whether from primary care providers, specialists, or other doctors use the SOAP notes system. That is, the notes are divided into Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan (or Prognosis): S. O. A. P.
Subjective – this is where the doctor notes what you told him/her. What …
Why doesn’t Social Security get a statement of my limitations from my doctor?
You already know how important it is to get a Medical Source Statement in your Social Security disability case.
The best source for this is your own doctor.
However, I typically see Social Security have one of their technicians or a Social Security doctor, who has never seen or examined you, determine your limitations.
When I discuss this with my clients, I am often asked why? Why does it seem like Social Security purposefully avoids getting this information from the best source, your own doctor?
My opinion is that Social Security wants to ensure an objective opinion and believes …
I don’t want to have surgery, can Social Security make me?
As a general rule, if you are applying for Social Security disability benefits or appealing a Social Security denial, Social Security can penalize you for noncompliance with your doctor’s instructions about your medical treatment or care. That means Social Security may deny your disability claim if you do not follow your doctor’s instructions.
However, there are exceptions!!! Social Security cannot just use the non-compliance rule whenever it wants to. See Social Security Ruling SSR 82-59.
First, the doctor actually has to prescribe the treatment. Not just merely discuss the option of treatment.
The treatment must also be clearly expected to restore functioning to the point that you are no longer disabled. That means, that the treatment is expected to allow you to go back to full-time work. If you would still be disabled in spite of the treatment, then non-compliance is not an issue.
The evidence shows that you have refused to follow the treatment.
Even if Social Security can meet these three burdens, there are reasonable excuses which will prevent Social Security from penalizing you for not following doctor’s instructions.
Social Security disability: what if your doctor does not believe in you?
Your doctor’s opinion of your disability is critical evidence in your Social Security disability case. If your doctor does not believe in you, you and your lawyer are facing an uphill battle.
Chances are, Social Security either sent you to one of their doctors for a consultative examination, or had your medical records reviewed by a Social Security doctor. If Social Security denied your claim, their doctors probably did not think you were disabled.
So, here is the problem: if the Social Security doctor says you are not disabled and your doctor does not believe in your disability, you may not have the evidence you need to prove your …
4 reasons why a 100% VA rating may not be enough to win Social Security benefits
A 100% impairment rating from the VA is usually terrific evidence in a Social Security disability case. While a VA rating is not binding on Social Security (Social Security does not have to agree with the VA that you are disabled), Social Security will often give strong deference to a 100% disability rating from the Department of Veteran Affairs.
However, that still does not make a case a slam dunk. A number of problems can arise which may cause Social Security to deny your case.
How to get your Social Security medical records – Part 5
In Colorado the cost of medical records are based on the number of pages you get. This means getting your records can quickly get expensive. But, you do not have to request every single scrap of paper, phone message, or referral that was ever generated by your doctor’s office. If you want to, you certainly can. But, chances are you will be paying for records you do not really need.
One way to keep the costs of your case down is to limit the scope of the medical records you are requesting. You can do this in two ways: Limit the dates of service (how far back …
How To Get Your Social Security Medical Records – Part 4
So, how much is it going to cost me to get my medical records?
The cost of obtaining medical records differs from state to state. In Colorado, where my practice is located, doctors’ offices are supposed to charge no more than the “reasonable cost” of providing the records.
Under Colorado law, the “reasonable cost” is $14.00 for pages 1-10, $0.50 per page for pages 11-40, and $0.33 for every page after that. Plus postage.
So, it all comes down to the number of pages of records you are requesting. If you are requesting 60 pages of records, the cost would be as follows:
$14.00 for pages 1-10
$15.00 for …
How To Get Your Social Security Medical Records – Part 3
How do you get your medical records? In Colorado, anyone over the age of 18 can get a copy of their medical records by making a written request to their doctor’s office.
If you have only one doctor, or just a couple of doctors, you can simply ask. Sometimes, the records will be waiting for you by the time you are done with the examination. Of course, this is a best case scenario and things get more complicated from here:
You may have to fill out a HIPAA compliant authorization allowing the doctor’s office to release your records. Unfortunately, while HIPAA provides guidelines of what …
How To Get Your Social Security Medical Records – Part 2
In Part 1, we talked about some of the reasons why Social Security may not get all your relevant medical records.
Here is the real kicker: you often only find out what records Social Security has obtained in the denial notice.
In Colorado, where my Social Security practice is located, Social Security used to send out a letter listing what records they had before making a decision. This notice also asked if you had any additional records you wanted Social Security to consider before a decision was made.
I have not seen that notice in years. Nowadays, you get …
How To Get Your Social Security Medical Records – Part 1
If you just filed for benefits, you may be wondering if there is anything you can do to improve your chances of being approved?
Yes! Get your medical records!
Why should I get my own records? Social Security is supposed to get my records themselves — and that does not cost me anything. Why should I spend my money to get the records myself?
Unfortunately, you probably won’t know if Social Security actually got your records until they make their decision.
While you may have given Social Security the names and addresses of your doctors, AND signed authorizations allowing your doctors to release information to Social Security, there …
What can I do if I cannot afford medical treatment on my Social Security disability case?
It is vital to get regular medical treatment when you are applying for Social Security disability benefits. I have even seen Judges roll their eyes when a claimant says there are no doctors they can see.
But, I don’t have insurance and I can’t afford to see a doctor on a regular basis. What am I supposed to do?
I’ve gone through my savings.
I’ve asked my spouse, parents and other family members to help me get medical care.
I’ve already even applied for Medicaid….
Social Security tip: get regular medical treatment
I hear a number of reasons for not seeing a doctor on a regular basis:
I don’t like going to the doctor.
I prefer herbal medicine.
I have a high threshold for pain.
When I hurt I just stay in bed.
This is unfortunate because regular and ongoing treatment is one of the foundations of building a Social Security case.
Why? Treatment generates medical records which do several things to build your disability case:
Medical records can establish a medically determinable impairment. Social Security regulations prevent approving a disability claim based on symptoms alone. Social Security requires a medically determinable impairment, basically, a diagnosis …
