Cancelled benefits due to warrant, warrant now lifted...how to proceed?

[promicarus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Tx.

I have a potential claim with which I would appreciate any advice/assistance: I qualified for S.S.I. disability (2002), and received payments/coverage briefly thereafter, for only two months, as well as a "back-pay" lump sum payout in the amount of $6000. I was then disqualified due to an outstanding (but minor) warrant--from another state, and dating back some ten years, of which I was previously unaware.

Said warrant has since been resolved, and I am again in need not only of coverage, but at this point, additional urgent medical care that only the Medicaid coverage afforded to S.S.I. recipients is likely to supply, due not only to my lack of personal health insurance, but of course the problem presented by "preexisting conditions" to any future prospect of private coverage.

Again, any assistance you might provide at this time of great need would be very much appreciated. For example, would I be required to "re-qualify", and again endure the process of diagnosis/claim determination, or is there some route by which I might hope to circumvent such and simply "reactivate" my account, so to speak?

Of course, your offices could expect compensation for whatever charges normally apply to formal representation, should that need arise.

Please respond as soon as possible, as my health is worsening rapidly and need for coverage at this point is, again, urgent.

 

[cbg]

Reputable lawyers do not troll message boards looking for clients and the rules of the board prohibit referrals.

There is a Find A Lawyer section elsewhere on this site. But you cannot find representation on the forums.

 

[BL]

At the bottom of the page ,read IMPORTANT NOTICE.

How much time has gone by without benefits ?

Contact SSA.

Sort of the same scenario , maybe.

http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1208/kw/arrest%20warrant/related/1

 

[Onderzoek]

So you had a 1992 warrant. Was it a parole/probation violation? You got paid SSI in 2002 and checks stopped in 2002. The warrant was cleared in 2013?

Did you work between 2002 and 2013 or were you incarcerated?

Once someone has been ineligible for SSI for 12 months for any reason, excess income, excess resources, incarceration, felony warrants, outside the US, whatever reason, a new claim and a new finding of disability is required. No, it cannot be reactivated.

There is one exception (that has a lot of technical requirements), a class action suit Clark vs. Astrue that applies to parole/probation violation warrants issued on or after October 2006. Based on the timeline you provided, you are not a member of the Clark case.

You should start an online application this month for SSDI. Also complete the disability report. Once those are submitted online, you will be contacted for a new SSI claim on the phone or in person at your local office. Expect the process to take three to six months for the initial decision. 60% are denied. Your previous award from 11 years ago will not give you an edge. This will be just the same as the first application. A finding of disability is not a lifetime approval.

You can put it off but it won't change anything. I suggest that you find the fortitude to endure the grueling process. Plan to be in it for the long haul.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Here is the answer.

If you get SSI, we will stop you payments after you are imprisioned for a month. If you were convicted in March to serve at least a month-long sentence, you will not get an April payment. We can reinstate your payments the month you get out. However, if you are jailed 12 consecutive months or longer, you will have to file a new application and again be approved for SSI by Social Security

 

[promicarus]

Thank you all for your assistance

Here is the answer.

In answer to the first question--the warrant stemmed from a probation violation. To the second question, no I was not incarcerated between 2002 and 2013, I was supported by my family, and unable to work. Yes, the warrant was "cleared", or at least removed from "outstanding" status only recently. During that time I have received treatment periodically for the conditions listed. Unfortunately, as many are aware, the nature of psychiatric illness lends itself to inconsistency, rebellion to treatment, etc., and there were extended periods during which I refused care--thinking as is all to common--that "I could do it on my own", with supplements--as a result of resentment against the medical establishment, etc. The result being that I do not have a record of continuous care during that period. I do however have a record of drug abuse and minor arrests during the same period. Could these two factors--lack of continuum of care--and a record of drug abuse--negatively affect my application for disability at this point.
Again, any assistance would be appreciated, and much appreciation for the time and consideration shown by members to this point. I would like to add that I have been sober and drug free now for over two years.

 

[Onderzoek]

In answer to the first question--the warrant stemmed from a probation violation. To the second question, no I was not incarcerated between 2002 and 2013, I was supported by my family, and unable to work. Yes, the warrant was "cleared", or at least removed from "outstanding" status only recently. During that time I have received treatment periodically for the conditions listed. Unfortunately, as many are aware, the nature of psychiatric illness lends itself to inconsistency, rebellion to treatment, etc., and there were extended periods during which I refused care--thinking as is all to common--that "I could do it on my own", with supplements--as a result of resentment against the medical establishment, etc. The result being that I do not have a record of continuous care during that period. I do however have a record of drug abuse and minor arrests during the same period. Could these two factors--lack of continuum of care--and a record of drug abuse--negatively affect my application for disability at this point.
Again, any assistance would be appreciated, and much appreciation for the time and consideration shown by members to this point. I would like to add that I have been sober and drug free now for over two years.

The only answer I can give you with 100% assurance is that not filing a claim means no SSI. And that SSA will not pay you for any month that you do not have an active application.

Yes, lack of medical records and a history of substance abuse can be negative factors in whether or not SSA finds you disabled. So you can delay filing until you have more medical records and your SSI application date will start then. Or you can file now with the evidence you have and SSA may deny your case for lack of evidence. You could appeal and then work on getting medical care and treatment so you have evidence to back up what you know about yourself. Or maybe your condition is so obvious, that any one exam by a psychiatrist will show the longitude and severity of your problems (a real long shot IMO).

I find it odd that it took 11 years to clear a warrant but perhaps you didn't make it a priority. The Clark class action suit changed how SSA looks at parole violation warrants but you have to have an active claim for that to be used. It will not be applied to people who are not part of the class action suit.

You didn't say if you worked at all in the last 11 years or if you have enough credits at any point to also be insured for SSDI. Perhaps your family had enough money to take care of you; good for them. But if you filing for SSI now, be aware that SSA can and does eventually find out about assets in the year of filing and the year before filing so be sure to be upfront about that.

Helps to have current medical evidence that supports your allegations, but delay in filing can result in a loss of possible benefits.

 

[promicarus]

Repayment of back pay upon requalification?

One more issue--and again thanks for all assistance to date. When I was first qualified for SSI in 2002 ( and only received benefits for 2 months before status cancelled due to warrant), I was awarded $6000 in back pay...for which repayment was demanded after cancellation of benefits due to warrant. I never repayed. If I again qualify at this point, now that warrant has been lifted, will that back pay repayment still be demanded? Will extension of benefits be contingent upon my first repaying this back pay, or will it be subtracted somehow from benefits?
Of course, I have no problem with the amount being subtracted gradually from my benefit payments, over time--but am curious as to the protocol in this instance. If the repayment is demanded "up-front" I would be unable to comply, at this point. Would I then be denied benefits? Many Thanks for advice.

 

[Onderzoek]

One more issue--and again thanks for all assistance to date. When I was first qualified for SSI in 2002 ( and only received benefits for 2 months before status cancelled due to warrant), I was awarded $6000 in back pay...for which repayment was demanded after cancellation of benefits due to warrant. I never repayed. If I again qualify at this point, now that warrant has been lifted, will that back pay repayment still be demanded? Will extension of benefits be contingent upon my first repaying this back pay, or will it be subtracted somehow from benefits?
Of course, I have no problem with the amount being subtracted gradually from my benefit payments, over time--but am curious as to the protocol in this instance. If the repayment is demanded "up-front" I would be unable to comply, at this point. Would I then be denied benefits? Many Thanks for advice.

An uncollected overpayment would be collected from any lump sum amount due. If there was not enough of the lump sum, it will be recovered at 10% of ongoing monthly benefits for however long it takes to collect it.