Will My Benefits Stop Social Security Continuing Disability Reviews (DCRs)

Whether you are collecting Social Security Disability (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), your medical records will be reviewed periodically to see if you are still disabled enough for benefits to continue.

Social Security calls these medical reviews “Continuing Disability Reviews,” or CDRs. They should not be confused with the financial reviews that SSI recipients receive every year to confirm their financial need for SSI.

Each time Social Security reviews your medical file, they set the schedule for the next medical review. Your initial Notice of Award of benefits will tell you approximately when they next plan to review your medical record to determine if you remain disabled.

For claims in which they expect to see some medical improvement, they schedule the next review for three years. For claims in which they do not expect to see improvement, they schedule the next review in five to seven years. Claimants disabled due to hepatitis C are usually scheduled for review in five to seven years, however, in some cases, they will schedule it sooner.

Because of these reviews, it is important that you continue to report all your symptoms to your physician and make sure they are entered into the record.

When it’s time for a CDR, Social Security will send you one of two forms:

• Short Form CDR (SSA-455-OCR-SM)

• Long Form CDR (SSA-454-BK)

The “right” way to fill them out depends on which form of CDR you are sent.

The short form (SSA-455-OCR-SM) is the “easy” one. It is only two pages long and is read by computer (OCR stands for Optical Character Reader). It is sent primarily to beneficiaries who have a low probability of medical improvement.

This is good in that the short form assumes you are still disabled unless you give them reason to question that. A human only looks at the short form if the computer kicks it out for one reason or another. If it isn’t sent to a human for further review, then your benefits continue uninterrupted.

Assuming you are still disabled and your condition has not measurably improved, there are some things you can do to see that the computer accepts the form without sending it for further review:

• Fill out the form exactly as instructed. Use a box for each letter or number. If the boxes run out, stop, even if it’s mid-word.

• No new information. The goal of this form is to simply confirm the information they already have, so you don’t want to include any changes, not even administrative changes such as an address change on this form. New information will cause the form to be kicked out for human review.

• Use original diagnosis. Under “Reason for Last Visit,” use the same diagnosis for which you were approved.

The long form (SSA-454-BK) is 10 pages and is very similar to the original forms that you filled out when you first applied for Social Security Disability. It primarily asks for the names and addresses of all your providers. They will obtain your medical records directly from them.

This form not only goes to persons whose condition is expected to improve, it is also sent to persons whose short form was “kicked” by the computer, and is randomly sent to persons as part of a trial or study that Social Security may be conducting.

The long form should be filled out just as thoroughly and completely as when you initially applied for disability benefits. On this form, it is important to note any changes in your medical condition, especially new infections, symptoms or diagnoses. Make sure your doctors are alerted to the review and that they submit new medical records since your last review promptly.

Be sure to make copies of the completed CDR, including the short form, before sending it in. This will facilitate the next review when it comes.

The CDR performed by Social Security is entirely different from the periodic reviews conducted by disability insurance carriers. Social Security does not necessarily “try” to find reasons to terminate benefits. Current medical records that show you are still under a doctor’s care and that you still have the condition and the symptoms that prevented you from working initially are usually all that is needed to continue your Social Security benefits without interruption.

What if SSA finds that my disability has ceased but I’m still not able to work? The notice, which you will receive from SSA following a “continuing disability review,” will explain your appeal rights. Read this notice carefully. If you appeal within ten days of the date you receive the notice, your benefits will continue during your appeal. So be sure to act quickly.

Is there anything that I can do now to help insure that my benefits will continue? The very best thing you can do is to continue seeing your doctor. A lot of people with long term chronic medical problems stop seeing their doctors because no treatment seems to help. This is a mistake for two reasons. First, it means that when SSA conducts its review, no medical evidence will exist to show that your condition is the same as it was when you were first found disabled. Second and perhaps even more importantly, doctors recommend that even healthy people after a certain age periodically have a thorough physical examination. This is even more important for people who already have chronic medical problems.

Is SSA going to make it as difficult to keep my benefits as it did to get them in the first place? No. Not at all. The disabilities of the vast majority of people are found to continue at the initial evaluation. Few people have their benefits stopped.