If you are lucky enough to have an iBot, HiZook notes that service will continue on the iBot until 2013.

Here is a commercial for the now departed iBot:

HiZook also  has a review of the Segway RMP 50 robotic platform,  an omnidirectional powered platform that reminds me of something I read in comic books as a kid. Can you imagine using something like this as a base for a powered wheelchair?

Segway RMP Omni 50 from Cressel Anderson on Vimeo.

I previously wrote about how Social Security stops benefits for fleeing felons. However, there has been considerable litigation across the country regarding what constitutes a “fleeing felon.”

Social Security changed its definition of “fleeing” due to a settlement in the nationwide class-action lawsuit.

The April 2009 issue of capital NOSSCR Social Security Forum has a lengthy discussion of this:

Under the POMS [a set of regulations which govern Social Security procedures], the mere fact that a warrant is active or outstanding, amounts to a “fleeing” determination by SSA, with no effort to determine the individual’s intent to avoid law enforcement and prosecutors intent to pursue the individual.

….

The settlement provides that SSA will change its policy from April 1, 2009, going forward. Effective immediately, SSA will suspend or deny benefits only if the individuals outstanding felony warrant was issued for one of the following three offenses, which are directly based on the concept of “fleeing”:

• Escape (offense code 4901)
• Flight to avoid prosecution, confinement, etc (offense code 4902)
• Flight-escape  (offense code 4999)

….

Relief will be provided to those whose benefits have previously been suspended or denied.

SSA will cease collecting overpayments based on challenged policy and will repay full retroactive benefits to individuals been suspended or denied as of January 1, 2007, or who had a live administrative claim pending on this issue on August 11, 2008, and who continue to be otherwise eligible for benefits.

SSA will send a notice to anyone who had benefits suspended or denied since January 1, 2000.

…

Note: [This] settlement applies only to nonpayment provisions for “fleeing felons.” Nonpayment provisions will continue to apply to those who violate their probation or parole.

Basically, Social Security is agreeing to consider the  individual’s intent  in determining whether an individual is a “fleeing felon.”

This suggests that simply having an outstanding felony warrant might not be enough for Social Security to discontinue benefits. However, this has been a hotly litigated area of the law. While this is a very favorable determination for anyone who had their benefits stopped due to the “fleeing felon” rule, the issue may not yet be settled.

To qualify for Social Security disability benefits you have to show that your disabilities prevent you from being able to work. In general, you have to show that you are unable to perform a substantial gainful activity (SGA).

However, there are exceptions to this general rule, including Subsidized Wages or Sheltered Work environments.

Social Security can only consider the money you earn in deciding if your work is a substantial gainful activity. Anything over the “reasonable value” of your work, may be a subsidy. Social Security cannot consider a subsidy, basically a “gift,” as earnings in determining if the work is a substantial gainful activity.

A subsidy is any compensation over the fair value of your work.  This often happens if you work for a family member or if you work through an agency like Goodwill.

If you are paid for a 40 hour week but you only work 25 hours, you have a 15 hour subsidy.  Another possibility is if the value of your work is $8.00 an hour, but you are paid $10.00 an hour (a $2.00 an hour subsidy).

If you subtract the subsidy, and your gross income is below the SGA amount, you might still be able to keep your Social Security benefits.

For example, if you are working for a an agency which receives state or federal funding to provide assistance, training or employment for individuals with disabilities, you may be working at a sheltered work environment and your wages may be subsidized.

I have also had many cases where an individual is given a job by a friend or family member and told to, “Watch the phones and take messages.” This may be both a sheltered work environment with subsidized earnings.

Another common example is in the military when a soldier becomes disabled. I have done a number of cases where the soldier was still receiving full pay in the military but whose duties were greatly reduced or eliminated due to disability. Sometimes, the soldier is part of the Warrior Transition Unit. Social Security will frequently consider this a sheltered work environment and allow the disability case to continue even though the earnings would otherwise be SGA.

Here are the regulations on this topic  (20 CFR 404.1574):

(2) We consider only the amounts you earn. When we decide whether your earnings show that you have done substantial gainful activity, we do not consider any income that is not directly related to your productivity.

• When your earnings exceed the reasonable value of the work you perform, we consider only that part of your pay which you actually earn.
• If your earnings are being subsidized, we do not consider the amount of the subsidy when we determine if your earnings show that you have done substantial gainful activity.
• We consider your work to be subsidized if the true value of your work, when compared with the same or similar work done by unimpaired persons, is less than the actual amount of earnings paid to you for your work.
• For example, when a person with a serious impairment does simple tasks under close and continuous supervision, our determination of whether that person has done substantial gainful activity will not be based only on the amount of the wages paid.
• We will first determine whether the person received a subsidy; that is, we will determine whether the person was being paid more than the reasonable value of the actual services performed.
• We will then subtract the value of the subsidy from the person’s gross earnings to determine the earnings we will use to determine if he or she has done substantial gainful activity.

(3) If you are working in a sheltered or special environment. If you are working in a sheltered workshop, you may or may not be earning the amounts you are being paid.

• The fact that the sheltered workshop or similar facility is operating at a loss or is receiving some charitable contributions or governmental aid does not establish that you are not earning all you are being paid.
• Since persons in military service being treated for severe impairments usually continue to receive full pay, we evaluate work activity in a therapy program or while on limited duty by comparing it with similar work in the civilian work force or on the basis of reasonable worth of the work, rather than on the actual amount of the earnings.

Even if you know the definition of a substantial gainful activity (SGA), could you apply it? Can you be sure that the last job you tried before you applied for Social Security disability benefits was SGA?

Charles Hall proposes that substantial gainful activity (SGA) has become just too complicated.

If one is engaging in SGA, one cannot be considered disabled, but SGA is a term of art. Work may not be SGA if low earnings, unsuccessful work attempts, made work, subsidized employment, impairment related work expenses, trial work periods, etc. are taken into consideration. 

…The biggest problem now is that SGA is just too complicated. Claimants have no idea how it works. Even many Social Security employees who should understand how SGA works, don’t.

Read Charles Hall’s original article is by Charles Hall on his Social Security News blog.

I have to give credit to Gordon Gates for bringing Charles Hall’s article to my attention in the first place. Gordon responds:

I also agree with the assessment that SGA is too complicated. There are some very important exceptions and adjustments to the $980 per month SGA amount, including the unsuccessful work attempt. A thorough knowledge of these complicated SGA rules is critical because SGA exceptions can make the difference between winning and losing a claim (the cliff).

Here is one of the exceptions taken from the introductory section of the Substantial Gainful Activity regulations (20 CFR 404.1571):

Even if the work you have done was not substantial gainful activity, it may show that you are able to do more work than you actually did.

Basically, this says that even if you earn less than SGA, you still might have a problem with a disability claim.

To some extent, this makes sense. Let’s say you are able to do construction work, but your disabilities limit you to only part-time work, and you earn less than the SGA amount ($980 per month for 2009).

Non-SGA heavy work may suggest the ability to do SGA work at a lighter level. 

Being able to do part-time construction work might mean you could do full time lighter work, such as a cashier where your earnings would be more than the SGA amount (and potentially make you ineligible for Social Security disability benefits).  

What it all comes down to is that the SGA is complicated. And this is only one issue. See all the articles dealing with substantial gainful activity.

If you hire a lawyer on a Social Security case after today, you may be surprised to learn that the maximum fees are $6,000.

I thought the most a lawyer can charge in a Social Security case was $5,300?  That’s what the attorney who helped my cousin said.

Don’t worry, no one is trying to pull a fast one. Social Security has just increased the fee cap (for the first time since 2002).

I have to pay $6,000 to hire an attorney?!?

No, the $6,000 amount is the cap on attorney fees. In most fee agreements:

1. You only pay fees if you win (contingency fee agreement).
2. If you win, you pay 25% of the back benefits owed to your or your family; or
3. the maximum amount, $6,000 as of June 22, 2009.

So, you only pay if you win and then only 25% or $6,000, whichever is less.

If you are wondering whether you will get Medicare or Medicaid with Social Security, it all depends on the type of Social Security you receive.

• Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) comes with Medicare.
• Social Security Supplemental Security Income (SSI) comes with Medicaid.

What’s the difference between Medicare and Medicaid?

The Colorado Bar Association has a great page discussing the differences. Here is a quick summary:

Medicare provides only partial coverage, and requires beneficiaries to pay premiums, deductibles, and co-payments.

Medicaid provides more complete coverage, without significant payments from the beneficiaries.

Click to read more about the differences.

I recently came upon an article asking the question why doesn’t the Department of Veterans Affairs provide money for service dogs?  There is no question about the benefits provided to disabled individuals by service animals.

… while the VA talks about “providing” dogs, the only thing they’ve really been trying to decide is whether to pay the same monthly stipend to disabled veterans with a service dog that they’ve been paying to those with guide dogs for many years.  That’s it – there’s been no intent (and that I’m aware of there still isn’t) to “pay for service dogs” the way some describe it, i.e., fund organizations who train assistance dogs.

There was a January 2008 memo signed by the former Secretary which summarized their position. …  I’ve read the memo, but I’ve got something even better for you – the man behind the memo describing the VA thinking about service dogs in his own words a few months later.

Fred Downs, the VA’s Chief Consultant, Prosthetics and Sensory Aids did an hour-long interview with Brian Lamb for C-SPAN on June 5th, 2008, during which he discussed many things, including his handling of the service dog issue.  You can watch the video below – skip to the 51:20 mark which is where the pertinent section starts.

Click the link: Al Brittain to read the entire article and watch the linked video.

If you win your claim for Social Security disability insurance (SSDI), you are also eligible to receive Medicare benefits. But, you don’t get Medicaid right away, with some exceptions, you have to be “in pay status” for 24 months before you become eligible for Medicaid.

That means you have to be receiving 24 months of Social Security disability insurance to get Medicare.

Another two years? I just waited two years to get my case approved.

Fortunately, Social Security considers your back benefits when they count the 24 months. So, if Social Security 24 months of back Social Security disability insurance, you are already “in pay status” for 24 months, and you can get Medicare now.

Aren’t there any exceptions to the 24 month Medicare waiting period?

Only two. If you have one of the following conditions, the waiting period does not apply and you can get Medicare immediately:

1. End stage renal disease.
2. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lour Gehrig’s disease).

Can you imagine the therapeutic value of this? From phobia therapies like the one below, to helping people with social phobias, to even more complex therapies such as helping individuals with Asperger’s syndrome pick up on social cues, vocal inflections and body language. The possibilities are amazing!

It also opens the possibility of long distance and even multiple provider therapies: the patient interacts with a single avatar which may be “driven” by different therapists at different times (allowing 24 hour care and a consistent “face”), or even running on auto-pilot as in the “Milo & Kate” demo above.  I did not realize we were so close the the ‘ractors in Neal Stephenson’s Diamond Age.

Virtual Phobia Therapy:

Virtual therapies could be amazing, or they could be awful! What’s your opinion?

Many people have asked who is eligible for a service dog?

Guiding Eyes is a regional program and participants and has the following requirements:

• Child must be 2-10 years old.
• Child must have an autism diagnosis.
• Child must live within 2 hours of the Training School in Yorktown Heights.
• All family members must be open to a service dog in the home.
• No one in the home can be afraid of or allergic to dogs.
• Child must need the service dog for safety.
• The family must understand that an autism service dog represents a lifetime commitment.
• One or both parents must be able to spend five days and four consecutive nights at our Yorktown campus.
• Applications for this program are available only by phoning 914-243-2228 or emailing heelingautism@guidingeyes.org. 

4PawsforAbility has the following requirements:

• No age requirements
• Two responsible adults (including 1 parent) must attend training.
• Cost of training is obtained through fundraising in cooperation with 4PawsforAbility.org.

Do you have a service animal? What organization did you use and what were your experiences.  Tell us in the comments.

I previously wrote about the various exceptions which may allow you to keep your Social Security disability benefits even if you return to work. The most common of these is an Unsuccessful Work Attempt (UWA). 

If you work for 6 months or less at a substantial gainful activity (SGA) level, your work may qualify as an Unsuccessful Work Attempt and not affect your application for benefits (or your current Social Security disability benefits if you have already won your case).

Another benefit of the Unsuccessful Work Attempt exception is that it applies for both Social Security Disability Insurance (20 CFE 404.1574) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) (20 CFR 416.974) cases. This is a major difference between Unsuccessful Work Attempts and Trial Work Periods.

A common misconception about Unsuccessful Work Attempts:

Before we get into what you need to prove to qualify for an Unsuccessful Work Attempt, let’s talk about the biggest mistake people make about Unsuccessful Work Attempts. 

Work lasting longer than 6 months cannot be an Unsuccessful Work Attempt. FALSE!

If the earnings drop to below the SGA level before the end of the 6 month period, the work can still be an Unsuccessful Work Attempt even if it lasts for more than 6 months.

The regulations dealing with Unsuccessful Work Attempts clearly state this (20 CFE 404.1574 & 20 CFR 416.974).

Ordinarily, work you have done will not show that you are able to do substantial gainful activity if, after working for a period of 6 months or less, your impairment forced you to stop working or to reduce the amount of work you do so that your earnings from such work fall below the substantial gainful activity earnings level.

How to qualify for an Unsuccessful Work Attempt

Here is how to prove your work was an Unsuccessful Work Attempt and should not count against you even though it would otherwise count as a substantial gainful activity.

1. A “significant break” between prior work and the Unsuccessful Work Attempt. 

According to SSR 05-02, a “significant break” means the following:

1. You were out of work for at least 30 consecutive days. Or 
2. You were forced to change to another type of work or another employer. 
3. However, on rare occasions a break lasting a few days less than 30 may satisfy this requirement if your subsequent work episode was brief and clearly not successful because of your impairment.

It is even possible to have a significant break without leaving your last job. Again, referring to SSR 05-02:

Such an interruption would occur when, because of your impairment or the removal of special conditions related to your impairment that are essential to your further performance of the work, the work was discontinued or reduced (or limited) to the non-SGA level.

How about that! You could even meet the “significant break” requirement if your earning drops below SGA levels due to a removal of special conditions.  Don’t worry, I will provide examples of “special conditions” in just a bit.

The next requirement changes depending on whether you worked for less than 3 months, or if you worked less than 6 months.

2. If you worked 3 months or less. 

We will consider work of 3 months or less to be an unsuccessful work attempt if you stopped working, or you reduced your work and earnings below the substantial gainful activity earnings level, because of your impairment or because of the removal of special conditions which took into account your impairment and permitted you to work.

This is the easiest way to have work qualify as an Unsuccessful Work Attempt.

If you work for 3 months or less at an SGA level, and had to stop either because of your disability or because the boss took away a special accommodation, it may qualify as an Unsuccessful Work Attempt, and not count against you.

3. If you worked between 3 and 6 months. 

We will consider work that lasted longer than 3 months to be an unsuccessful work attempt if it ended, or was reduced below substantial gainful activity earnings level, within 6 months because of your impairment or because of the removal of special conditions which took into account your impairment and permitted you to work and

(i) You were frequently absent from work because of your impairment;

(ii) Your work was unsatisfactory because of your impairment;

(iii) You worked during a period of temporary remission of your impairment; or

(iv) You worked under special conditions that were essential to your performance and these conditions were removed.

If you worked longer than 3 months, but less than 6 months, Social Security has a few more requirements to prove that the work was an Unsuccessful Work Attempt.

You still have to show that you had to stop either because of your disability. Additionally, you also have to show that you either missed a lot of work, did not do a good job, were working while your condition was better, or you had special accommodations which let you do the job, until the accommodations were taken away.

4. If you worked more than 6 months. 

We will not consider work you performed at the substantial gainful activity earnings level for more than 6 months to be an unsuccessful work attempt regardless of why it ended or was reduced below the substantial gainful activity earnings level.

In short, if you work more than 6 months at a SGA level, it cannot be an Unsuccessful Work Attempt.

You can have more than one UWA:

Did you know that you can have more than one Unsuccessful Work Attempt? 

As long as you meet the requirements of a “significant break” between Unsuccessful Work Attempts, many jobs can qualify as UWA.  This often comes up in bi-polar disorder cases where an individual has a tried to work in a lot of jobs, but has not lasted very long at any of them (often due to problems working with supervisors, co-workers, or the public). 

If you can eliminate each job as an Unsuccessful Work Attempt, you may be able to push the onset date further back and potentially increase your back benefits.

When CAN’T you use an Unsuccessful Work Attempt:

This will not apply for most people, but it is good to keep in mind:

When the UWA is Applicable: The UWA policy explained in this SSR is to be used in initial disability cases. It is also to be used in continuing disability cases in determining whether, because of work activity, your disability continues or ceases. However, the UWA criteria do not apply in determining whether payments should be made to you for a particular month during the reentitlement period after disability has been ceased because you did SGA, or during the initial reinstatement period after you have been reinstated through the expedited reinstatement provision. 

SSR 05-02

Basically, you can use an Unsuccessful Work Attempt to excuse work which is a substantial gainful activity when you are trying to get benefits or during a Social Security review if you have already won your case. However, you cannot use a Unsuccessful Work Attempt during a the Extended Period of Eligibility following a Trial Work Period.

Work under special conditions:

SSR 05-02 provides guidance about what constitutes “work under special condition.”

Performance of Work Under Special Conditions: One situation under which your SGA-level work may have ended, or may have been reduced to the non-SGA level, as set out above, is “the removal of special conditions related to your impairment that are essential to your further performance of work.” That is, you may have worked under conditions especially arranged to accommodate your impairment or you may have worked through an unusual job opportunity, such as in a sheltered workshop. Special or unusual conditions may be evidenced in many ways. For example, you:

a. May have required and received special assistance from other employees in performing the job; or
b. Were allowed to work irregular hours or take frequent rest periods; or
c. Were provided special equipment or were assigned work especially suited to your impairment; or
d. Were able to work only within a framework of especially arranged circumstances, such as where other persons helped you prepare for or get to and from work; or
e. Were permitted to perform at a lower standard of productivity or efficiency than other employees; or
f. Were granted the opportunity to work, despite your medical condition, because of family relationship, past association with the firm, or other altruistic reason.

Remember that these are examples only and other accommodations may also qualify as work performed under special conditions.

Alright! Dean Kamen’s prosthetic “Luke” arm is one step closer to helping amputess, especially injured veterans:

Last week, VA announced the start of a three-year clinical trial that represents the first large-scale testing of the arm, a critical step before it can be made widely available. The first patient was fitted with an arm in April.

The device was developed by Deka Research and Development, the New Hampshire company whose founder, Dean Kamen, invented the Segway and various medical devices. 

The robotic arm, nicknamed the “Luke arm” after the artificial arm worn by Luke Skywalker in the “Star Wars” films, allows those who have lost a limb up to their shoulder joint to perform movements while reaching over their head, a previously impossible maneuver for people with a prosthetic arm.

via VA Tests New Arm That Could Benefit Amputees – washingtonpost.com.  

Check out the video demonstrating the arm in my earlier post.