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Home :: FAQ :: Physicians Issues and Answers

Physicians Issues and Answers

  1. How does it financially benefit a Physician to assist the disabled?

  2. I thought Social Security had their own doctors who determine disability; is that correct?

  3. Am I, the Patient’s treating physician qualified to complete a Residual Functional Capacity form for my patient? Don’t I need to send the patient out for a Functional Capacity Evaluation?

  4. When does the patient’s eligibility for Medicaid or Medicare benefits start?

  5. How can I learn more about Social Security Disability and issues involving payment for patient services under Medicare and Medicaid.

  6. If a patient is in dire need of a transplant or in danger of losing his or her life without medical care and treatment, how would such a case be handled if that person was not already on Medicare?

  7. If I a Disability Claimant  is a Veteran who has applied for Social Security Disability or SSI  Benefits, must my VA Doctor assist that claimant in completing paperwork helpful to my Social Security Disability or SSI case?

  8. What is The General Analytical Framework for considering a Social Security Disability claim?

  9. Is “Disability” a medical determination?
  10. If disability is not per se a medical determination what issues will the court consider in a Social Security Disability case to decide if a person is disabled or not?

  11. If a physician writes that a claimant was unable to work full time at any employment from a date certain how is that relevant to his or her claim?

  12. If "disability" is not a medical determination, but an administrative one, what law will apply in a Social Security Disability case?

  13. What happens at step 1 of the sequential evaluation process?

  14. What happens at step 2 in the sequential evaluation process?

  15. What happens at step 3 in the sequential evaluation process; is a medical opinion relevant here ?

  16. Must an ALJ consider anything before continuing onto step 4 in the sequential evaluation process?

  17. What is Residual Functional Capacity?

  18. How is RFC determined; is this where a physician can be of any aid?

  19. What happens at step 4 of the sequential evaluation process?

  20. What is Past Relevant Work?

  21. What happens at step 5 of the sequential evaluation process?

  22. Why the National economy?

  23. What generally does the court consider in evaluating a case?

  24. What about earnings subsequent to the filing of a disability claim?

  25. What is an “Extended Period of Earnings”?

  26. Will the judge consider a claimant’s mental or psychiatric condition in determining if I am disabled or not?

  27. Will the judge consider whether a claimant meets a Medical listing?

  28. Besides a Medical Listing, is there some other way for a claimant to get disability benefits?

  29. If the judge does not find that a claimant meets a Medical, Vocational or Social Security Rule listing, can a claimant still be found disabled?

  30. What about a claimant’s work background, what will the judge consider?

  31. What about a claimant’s past and present medical care and treatment, does the judge have to consider that?

  32. Does it matter that a claimant cannot afford medical treatment because he or she is poor?

  33. Does the judge have to take into consideration a claimant’s residual functional capacity, physical, postural and exertional limitations at the hearing?

  34. Does stress matter in a claimant’s disability case?

  35. What about what a claimant can or cannot do in a competitive work situation?

  36. Will the judge consider a claimant’s reasonably imposed lifting restrictions and why?

  37. What if a claimant has good days and bad days, does that come into play in a Social Security disability case?

  38. As a physician, I treat patients. Don’t these RFCs have to be completed by a Social Security Doctor, or as a consequence of “Functional Capacity Evaluations” done at testing facilities?

  39. What about non-exertional limitations, like mental impairments, are they considered in a disability case?

  40. What good can a psychologist or psychiatrist or even a general or family practitioner who prescribes me anti-anxiety or anti-depression medications be in proving a disability case?

  41. Will the judge consider a claimant’s ability to do work-related activities on a day-to-day basis in a regular work setting?

  42. What sort of things must a physician, psychologist or psychiatrist find or will they look for in determining a claimant’s aptitude and ability to do Unskilled Work?

  43. What about a Claimant’s mental abilities and aptitudes needed to do Semiskilled and Skilled Work, what is considered by the judge or medical expert?

  44. What about a Claimant’s ability to do other types of jobs?

  45. What about a “Mental Impairment Analysis”? What is it and what does a judge look for?

  46. What are "C" Criteria listings?

  47. What are "GAF SCORES" and why are they relevant to a finding of a disability based on psychiatric grounds?

  48. If a claimant is psychologically disabled, will he or she be allowed to manage his or her own money?

  49. Do a claimant’s subjective complaints of pain have to agree with test results or clinical findings by a physician to be relevant?

  50. Based on the elements of record and the claimant’s statements of record and in light of the objectively documented physical and medical findings within the record if the Claimant does not have the residual functional capacity to perform a full range of even sedentary work or is generally unable to sustain or maintain an eight hour workday or a forty hour work week or its equivalent on a regular and consistent basis is he or she disabled?

  51. Based on the Claimant’s age, education, transferable job skills or lack thereof and based on the Claimant’s Residual physical and Mental Residual Functional Capacity, and where the Claimant is significantly unable to engage in substantial gainful activity or sustained full time employment is such a person disabled?

  52. If a claimant does have an impairment or combination of impairments that meets or medically equals one of the listed impairment(s) in 20 CFR 404, Subpart P, Appendix 1 (20 CFR 404.1520(d) and 416.920(d)) is he or she disabled?

  53. If the severity of the claimant’s (mental) affective disorder impairment meets the criteria of listing section 12.04 et seq., of 20 CFR Part 404, Subpart p, Appendix (20 CFR 404.1520(d) and 404.1525) is that claimant disabled?

  54. If, after careful consideration of the record, the judge finds that a Claimant’s limitations so markedly restricted the Claimant’s ability to perform even sedentary work, as defined by the regulations and result in such an erosion of the occupational base for which the Claimant would otherwise qualify that there are no jobs available in the national economy which the Claimant could perform is the claimant disabled?

  55. If, after careful consideration of the record, the judge finds that a claimant has the residual functional capacity to perform sedentary work as defined in 20 CFR 404.1567(a) and 416.967(a) with lifting no more that 10 pounds occasionally and can stand/walk no more than 2 hours in an eight hour day. And sit for less than two hours of an eight hour day, would that person be disabled?

  56. If after careful consideration of the record, the judge finds that the Claimant does not have the residual physical capacity for a full range of light work and the Claimant’s residual functional capacity for sedentary work is markedly reduced by the Claimant’s limitations would that person be disabled?

  57. In making his or her decision, is there any form of analytical process the judge must use in determining whether or not the claimant may be entitled to benefits?

  58. If a claimant’s acquired job skills do not transfer to other occupations within the residual functional capacity as defined in (20 CFR 404.1568 and 416.966) and the claimant does not have transferable job skills that would enable the claimant to return to either regular full time employment or substantial gainful activity is that claimant disabled?

  59. If considering the claimant’s age, education, work experience, transferable job skills and lack thereof, if there are no jobs that exist in significant numbers in the national economy that the Claimant can perform (20 C.F.R. 404.1560(c), 404.1566, 416.9608, and 416.966) is he or she considered disabled?

  60. What if there may be some job out there like Wal-Mart Greeter that my patient may be able to do, is he or she not disabled?

  61. Must an ALJ elicit testimony from a vocational expert (VE) if it is found that a claimant cannot go back to my past relevant work?

  62. What if a claimant is absent excessively or suffer from incontinence due to his or her condition, will that be considered as part of the Social Security Disability case?

  63. Does a claimant’s pain really matter in a disability case?

  64. Must a judge sufficiently articulate the reasons for assigning treating physicians opinions little or no weight and relying instead on parts of the opinion of a non-examining medical consultant that had not examined the claimant or considered the record as a whole?

  65. Will a claimant’s own physician’s opinions that are consistent with the claimant’s treatment record be given controlling weight in his or her disability case?

  66. Must an ALJ develop a full and fair record and take into account the claimant’s medical history, absenteeism and pain in assessing a claimant’s residual functional capacity?

  67. Must an ALJ consider ALL of a claimant’s limitations?

  68. Must an ALJ consider or address the side effects of a claimant’s medications on his or her employability?

  69. What if the ALJ fails to consider the claimant’s need for medical care and treatment that will occur on a regular basis, or the absences he or she will probably have for this medical care or just being too sick to work a few days or more per month due to sickness?

  70. What is the claimant’s burden to prove in his or her disability case?

  71. Once a claimant meets the burden, does the burden shift to the government and how does the SSA go about showing that a claimant is not disabled?

  72. What if a claimant’s pain or depression prevents a claimant from concentrating on simple one or two step tasks throughout the day, is that something the ALJ has to consider if a claimant testifies about it or his or her doctors have written about this and those reports are in the record?

  73. If a claimant suffers from Obesity and it is not his or her primary disabling condition, must the ALJ consider the effects of obesity on residual physical capacity in determining if the claimant is disabled or not?

  74. What if a claimant has fibromyalgia; what must a judge or physician find if he or she is to be eligible for SSI or Disability benefits?

  75. What is the American College of Rheumatology’s definition of Fibromyalgia?

  76. Are "environmental restrictions" important to a disability case?

  77. What if a claimant has Crohn's Disease, IBS, Colitis? What are the legal or medical considerations that a treating physician should document?

  78. Can a minor be considered disabled?

  79. Are a disabled child’s SSI benefits payable prior to the date his or her application is filed?

  80. Under what authority can an ALJ find a child disabled?

  81. What are the steps of analyses involved in determining whether a child is disabled?

  82. What is step two in determining whether a child is disabled?

  83. What does step three entail?

  84. What must the ALJ consider?

  85. What is the purpose of determining the "Six Domains" and functionally equaling a listing?

  86. What does an ALJ have to do to make this assessment?

  87. What else does an ALJ have to consider?

  88. What do you mean by a child’s "marked" limitation?

  89. What is an "extreme" limitation?

  90. What must an ALJ do to determine the degree of limitations in each of the “Six Functional Domains”?

  91. How does an ALJ evaluate a child claimant’s symptoms?

  92. What is the first of the six "Functional Domains"?

  93. What is the second of the six "Functional Domains"?

  94. What is the third of the six "unctional Domains"?

  95. What is the fourth of the six "Functional Domains"?

  96. What is the fifth of the six "Functional Domains"?

  97. What is the last of the six "Functional Domains"?

  98. If a child has only one "marked" limitation and no "severe" ones, can she be found to be disabled?

  99. When does a claimant become eligible for Medicaid or Medicare if he or she is disabled?

  100. In Florida, If a person is disabled and a Medicare recipient, can a physician legally charge him or her more than Medicare will allow?

  101. So, if a disabled person is in an accident , what should the physician do?

  102. Does Florida law define me as a Medicare recipient?

  103. If a Medicare recipient becomes an injured party, and is a Medicare Beneficiary, who is liable for damages including the amounts that treating physicians charged under contract/letters of protection?

  104. How can a physician go about legally charging more than Medicare will pay?

  105. So, how would this work out in an accident case involving A Medicare beneficiary?

  106. How do courts limit these recoveries from physicians in Florida?

  107. RESIDUAL FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY FORMS