One Stop Shopping At Social Security
Strictly speaking United States Social Security in America does a good job but it could be better.
Social Security enrolls dependants of a dead breadwinner, retired or disabled people into the social security survivor, retirement or disability payment systems and the Medicare program which pays about 80% of the bills and the enrollee pays the other 20% unless he or she has a supplemental insurance plan with a private insurance company.
Social Security has a lot of information on each American and their family group. First of all they have everyone's age. They have a complete history of the social security wages and contributions while each person worked. The applicant for disability have to document their illnesses completely. For death survivors benefits they know about each dependant child and spouse.
For 99.99% of the claimants, a social security administrator can judge whether the applicant will severely struggle to live on social security payments and medicare benefits or will be comfortable or be somewhere in between. They have ages, wage levels, and sometimes medical history. Depending on past earning history, they can predict how many assets if any the applicant probably has and whether any would be beyond a home and personal items such as pensions and investments.
Many people when they become disabled or of retirement age have difficulty traversing America's safety net for poor indigent people. Many surviving spouses especially those with children are already overburdened caring for their children without traversing the safety net. Social security and application for medicare are federal programs. Other safety net programs are state run programs such as Medicaid and Food Stamps.
Some people cannot travel to offices to apply for safety net programs. Some people are very handicapped and cannot think clearly or speak for themselves are doing without safety net benefits they would probably qualify for. Americans are confused about the programs available, whether or not they would qualify for them, and how to apply for them.
Some people refuse these programs because they think it is charity care and they are too proud. They become burdens on their families greater than they realize and jeopardize their health and quality of life. They soon enough become angry at the system as they lose their health, the bills accumulate, they do without critical necessities like food, heat in the winter, and medicine and they lose possessions like their car and house. Many of these people are citizens who served our country during wartime and have paid taxes for forty or more years, and have been volunteers in the community. They should realize that they "paid" for the safety net. And a nation is judged by how well the poor and unfortunate are taken care of by its society, so nobody else should be left behind either.
Many of the safety net programs, while most are financially supported at the Federal level, are run by State agencies where there are differences in qualifications and benefits for each program. For most people in greater or lesser need, these programs are almost a secret with barriers to apply and qualify for benefits.
Many people cannot afford supplemental insurance policies for Medicare and cannot pay the 20% of the cost that Medicare does not pay. Many people's sole income is the Social Security check and it does not adequately provide shelter and food each month. Suffering is enormous. Some people die because they are penniless and used up limited Medicare benefits and should be on Medicaid with the additional needed benefits but have not been enrolled.
I propose that any application to Social Security for survivor, disabliity, or retirement benefits or Medicare acts as a universal application for the individual to also potentially qualify for Medicaid, Food Stamps, and all other Federal, State, and Local safety net programs.
Right now it takes a Philadelphia lawyer to traverse these programs. It is unfair. It is cruel. It is unjust. Probably millions of people who are qualified for additional safety net programs do without because of the difficulty of knowing about each program, finding out whether the program would be worthwhile to pursue and whether or not an individual or family would likely qualify.
There are no national level advocates for the needy that can provide knowledgeable qualification for the various safety net programs. If you are denied social security benefits you need to hire a lawyer to appeal the decision. Hiring a lawyer to obtain Food Stamps, Veterans Administration benefits, or to obtain other safety net programs seems necessary sometimes but also evil in that it had to go to court to be remedied. Right now each safety net program has its own beaurocracy to traverse and we all know how difficult that is.
I think that Social Security Administration offices are the first step for most people with a major change in their life such as death of a spouse or parent, retirement, or disability and should also be the one stop shopping source for all other social welfare safety net programs. It makes sense. If you agree write to your federal senators and representative. One stop shopping is doable, makes economic sense, would make the lives of millions of fellow americans better, and is the right thing to do.
Social Security enrolls dependants of a dead breadwinner, retired or disabled people into the social security survivor, retirement or disability payment systems and the Medicare program which pays about 80% of the bills and the enrollee pays the other 20% unless he or she has a supplemental insurance plan with a private insurance company.
Social Security has a lot of information on each American and their family group. First of all they have everyone's age. They have a complete history of the social security wages and contributions while each person worked. The applicant for disability have to document their illnesses completely. For death survivors benefits they know about each dependant child and spouse.
For 99.99% of the claimants, a social security administrator can judge whether the applicant will severely struggle to live on social security payments and medicare benefits or will be comfortable or be somewhere in between. They have ages, wage levels, and sometimes medical history. Depending on past earning history, they can predict how many assets if any the applicant probably has and whether any would be beyond a home and personal items such as pensions and investments.
Many people when they become disabled or of retirement age have difficulty traversing America's safety net for poor indigent people. Many surviving spouses especially those with children are already overburdened caring for their children without traversing the safety net. Social security and application for medicare are federal programs. Other safety net programs are state run programs such as Medicaid and Food Stamps.
Some people cannot travel to offices to apply for safety net programs. Some people are very handicapped and cannot think clearly or speak for themselves are doing without safety net benefits they would probably qualify for. Americans are confused about the programs available, whether or not they would qualify for them, and how to apply for them.
Some people refuse these programs because they think it is charity care and they are too proud. They become burdens on their families greater than they realize and jeopardize their health and quality of life. They soon enough become angry at the system as they lose their health, the bills accumulate, they do without critical necessities like food, heat in the winter, and medicine and they lose possessions like their car and house. Many of these people are citizens who served our country during wartime and have paid taxes for forty or more years, and have been volunteers in the community. They should realize that they "paid" for the safety net. And a nation is judged by how well the poor and unfortunate are taken care of by its society, so nobody else should be left behind either.
Many of the safety net programs, while most are financially supported at the Federal level, are run by State agencies where there are differences in qualifications and benefits for each program. For most people in greater or lesser need, these programs are almost a secret with barriers to apply and qualify for benefits.
Many people cannot afford supplemental insurance policies for Medicare and cannot pay the 20% of the cost that Medicare does not pay. Many people's sole income is the Social Security check and it does not adequately provide shelter and food each month. Suffering is enormous. Some people die because they are penniless and used up limited Medicare benefits and should be on Medicaid with the additional needed benefits but have not been enrolled.
I propose that any application to Social Security for survivor, disabliity, or retirement benefits or Medicare acts as a universal application for the individual to also potentially qualify for Medicaid, Food Stamps, and all other Federal, State, and Local safety net programs.
Right now it takes a Philadelphia lawyer to traverse these programs. It is unfair. It is cruel. It is unjust. Probably millions of people who are qualified for additional safety net programs do without because of the difficulty of knowing about each program, finding out whether the program would be worthwhile to pursue and whether or not an individual or family would likely qualify.
There are no national level advocates for the needy that can provide knowledgeable qualification for the various safety net programs. If you are denied social security benefits you need to hire a lawyer to appeal the decision. Hiring a lawyer to obtain Food Stamps, Veterans Administration benefits, or to obtain other safety net programs seems necessary sometimes but also evil in that it had to go to court to be remedied. Right now each safety net program has its own beaurocracy to traverse and we all know how difficult that is.
I think that Social Security Administration offices are the first step for most people with a major change in their life such as death of a spouse or parent, retirement, or disability and should also be the one stop shopping source for all other social welfare safety net programs. It makes sense. If you agree write to your federal senators and representative. One stop shopping is doable, makes economic sense, would make the lives of millions of fellow americans better, and is the right thing to do.
posted by God Bless America - Bob at 2:19 PM
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