
Recently, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced the temporary suspension of Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs). This decision has sparked numerous questions and concerns among recipients and applicants alike. Whether you’re a current beneficiary or someone considering applying for disability benefits, here’s what you need to know about the suspension of CDRs and how it might impact you.
What Is a Continuing Disability Review?
A Continuing Disability Review is a routine process carried out by the Social Security Administration to verify if a person receiving disability benefits still meets the medical criteria for being disabled. If a person’s health condition has improved enough to allow them to work, they may not be eligible to continue receiving benefits.
The frequency of CDRs is based on the prognosis of your medical condition. If the SSA determines that medical improvement is expected, they will conduct a CDR not less than 6 months but not more than 18 months from the date of your most recent favorable medical decision. If medical improvement is not expected, the SSA will conduct a CDR at least once every five to seven years.
During a CDR, the SSA reviews medical evidence such as doctor’s reports, hospital records, and test results to determine if a person’s condition has improved . The SSA will not reopen or review the prior favorable decision; they will only review the beneficiary’s current medical records. If the medical evidence demonstrates that the beneficiary’s medical condition has improved to the point where they can return to full-time work, their benefits will end. If not, the benefits will continue.
Note that during a CDR, there is a presumption of continuing disability. Therefore, the CDR process is more favorable to claimants who have already been found disabled. However, understanding the CDR process is essential for those receiving disability benefits, as it determines their eligibility to continue receiving them. To learn how to pass a continuing disability review, check out our blog article here.
SSA Suspends CDRs for the Rest of 2024
In June 2024, the SSA announced that it would suspend CDRs for the remainder of 2024. If a CDR has not yet been initiated, ongoing disability eligibility will not be assessed for the remainder of 2024. All pending CDRs that require that a consultative evaluation be scheduled on or after June 21, 2024 will be canceled. The SSA is lowering its target for Medical CDRs from 575,000 to 375,000 in line with the full-year appropriation for this fiscal year. The suspension of CDRs will last for the rest of the fiscal year 2024, allowing Disability Determination Services (DDS) to concentrate on processing initial disability claims and reconsideration cases.
Suspension allows focus on initial disability claims
The purpose behind the suspension is to enable DDS to focus on processing initial disability claims and reconsideration cases. DDS is responsible for processing medical decisions at the initial and reconsideration appeal stages. Right now, there is a large backlog of cases.
In our experience, as of July 2024, it takes approximately six months to process initial applications and 9–12 months to process cases at the reconsideration stage. Now that DDS has been instructed to take no further action on unassigned CDRs that are pending in their receipt or staging queue, we are hopeful that the wait times on the initial or reconsideration stage will decrease.
Age-18 redetermination
For children who receive SSI (Supplemental Security Income) disability benefits, an age-18 redetermination is done to review the eligibility of SSI recipients as if they were applying for adult SSI for the first time. Disabled individuals who received SSI disability under the childhood rules the month before their 18th birthday will be reviewed within a year after their 18th birthday to determine if they are still entitled to SSI under the adult rules.
For age-18 redeterminations, if sufficient evidence is available at the publication date of the announcement on CDR suspension, the redetermination should be made. However, if the evidence is insufficient, no additional development should be initiated, such as requesting medical evidence of record (MER) or school records, scheduling for consultative examinations (CEs), or assigning to medical or psychological consultants for review.
What Does This Mean for You?
Here’s how the SSA’s suspension of Continuing Disability Reviews may affect beneficiaries like yourself:
Security of benefits
If you are currently receiving benefits and a CDR was not initiated, you can be assured that your benefits will continue for the rest of the year. Once the suspension is over, the SSA will continue to process CDR cases. This means that you may undergo a CDR in 2025.
Impact on scheduled CDRs
If you were scheduled for a CDR this year and it had not yet begun, this will no longer take place. This means that you will not have to provide additional evidence or go through the review process. Your benefits will continue as they are currently.
Consideration of submitted evidence
If you were going through the process of a CDR and you had already submitted medical evidence, you do not need to worry. If your CDR has already been initiated and a CE was not scheduled, DDS will continue to process your CDR. If your CDR required a CE and your CDR was suspended, the suspension of CDRs does not mean that your evidence will be ignored. It may be considered when CDRs are resumed.
Medical evidence is a critical component of the CDR process. The SSA reviews your medical record to determine if you are still disabled. While your CDR is suspended or delayed, it is important to continue to get medical treatment to document the symptoms and limitations of your disability. This ongoing medical documentation will be helpful to your CDR case once the suspension is over.
Focus on initial disability claims
The CDR suspension will allow the SSA to focus more resources and employee time on processing initial disability claims and reconsideration cases. If you have applied for disability benefits for the first time or are in the process of a reconsideration case, the CDR suspension may speed up the process.
If you have more questions about the CDR suspension and its implications, or you want to know more about the disability application process, give the professionals at LaPorte Law Firm a call.
FAQs
Suspending CDRs will allow the SSA to focus on the medical determination at the application and appeal stages of disability cases. We are hopeful that this will speed up the decisions for those seeking to obtain disability benefits.
While CDRs are suspended, the SSA will not review your case. Your disability benefits will continue without any further review. The SSA will not assess your eligibility for disability benefits until the suspension is over. The CDR process will not begin until the SSA resumes its reviews in 2025.
Once you win your claim for disability benefits, the SSA will periodically review your claim to determine if you remain disabled. To learn more about the CDR process and how to pass a review, visit our website.