Social Security Announces Stimulus Payments in May 2009

Quatrini Rafferty has recently learned that Social Security intends on disbursing stimulus payments in May 2009. We have reprinted SSA's announcment below for your convenience:

Vice President Biden Announces $250 Recovery Payments to Go
to Social Security and SSI Beneficiaries in May; Payments will inject more than $13 Billion into Economy

Vice President Joe Biden and Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced today that the federal government will send out $250 economic recovery payments to people who receive Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits beginning in early May 2009 and continuing throughout the month. No action is required to get the payment, which will be sent separately from the person’s regular monthly payment. "The Social Security Administration and Commissioner Astrue have been working closely with other federal agencies to get these payments out the door in record time and into the hands of folks who need it most," said Vice President Biden. "These are checks that will make a big difference in the lives of older Americans and people with disabilities - many of whom have been hit especially hard by the economic crisis that has swept across the country."

"We have been working diligently to issue the $250 one-time recovery payments as soon as possible," Commissioner Astrue said. "The legislation requires extensive coordination with other federal agencies and I’m pleased we are on track to issue these recovery payments earlier than the statute requires. Soon more than $13 billion will be in the hands of more than 50 million Americans."

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides for a one-time payment of $250 to adult Social Security beneficiaries, and to SSI recipients, except those receiving Medicaid in care facilities. To receive the payment the individual must be eligible for Social Security or SSI during the months of November 2008, December 2008 or January 2009. The legislation also provides for a one-time payment to Veterans Affairs (VA) and Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) beneficiaries. The VA and RRB will be responsible for paying individuals under their respective programs. However, if someone receives Social Security and SSI, VA or RRB benefits, he or she will receive only one $250 payment. People getting Social Security or SSI should not contact the agency unless a payment is not received by June 4, 2009.

For more detailed information about the $250 one-time economic recovery payments, go to www.socialsecurity.gov/payment. To learn more about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, go to www.recovery.gov.

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Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation and Social Security: Can I Receive Both?

A Quatrini Rafferty Newsletter article by A. Tereasa Rerko, Esq.

If you're receiving workers' compensation benefits, it may seem that filing for Social Security disability benefits is unnecessary. Nothing could be further from the truth. For someone who may not work for at least a year or more, there are significant reasons to consider filing for Social Security disability benefits, even before workers' compensation benefits end.

Social Security disability benefits are insurance benefits, so eligibility for receiving them has a time limit. Generally speaking, you must prove you are disabled within five years of ending your employment. For example, someone who is injured in 2001, and stops working for wages that year, must usually establish disability by some time in 2006. Waiting until the workers' compensation claim is resolved in 2008 will make it more difficult to obtain the medical evidence and testimony necessary to establish disability before 2006. Therefore, if you expect to be out of work for more than a year due to your disability, consider filing for Social Security disability benefits as soon as you stop working.

Another reason to apply for Social Security disability benefits at that time is to protect your Social Security retirement benefits. Payroll taxes support the payment of Social Security disability benefits, and payment of these taxes ends when you stop working. This means that if you leave the workforce before age 62, your retirement account will show a number of years of "zero" income. However, when you are declared disabled by the Social Security Administration, your retirement account is not affected by those years of zero income because your earnings record is "frozen" by your receipt of Social Security disability benefits.

Additionally, if you are awarded Social Security disability benefits, you become entitled to Medicare two years after you begin receiving those benefits. Even while receiving workers' compensation payments, Medicare eligibility can provide access to valuable medical insurance and prescription benefits for non-work-related conditions.

Finally, an award of Social Security disability benefits can provide you with income protection if your workers' compensation benefits are terminated. Also, an award of Social Security disability benefits gives you the opportunity to resolve your workers' compensation claim for a lump sum, knowing that you have another source of income.

Contrary to what you may have been told, it is a good idea to explore the possibility of filing for Social Security disability benefits as soon as you leave the job market due to illness or injury. Contact us at Quatrini Rafferty to discuss your specific workers' compensation or social security disability situation.

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Quatrini Rafferty Congratulates Greater Latrobe Ice Cats on Penguins Cup, Pennsylvania Cup Victories

The attorneys and staff at Quatrini Rafferty extend our most sincere congratulations to the Greater Latrobe hockey team for their 3-0 win over Montour in the PIHL Class AA Penguins Cup final, and their 3-2 win over Council Rock South in this past weekend's Pennsylvania Cup final. The wins give the Ice Cats back-to-back Penguins Cup titles for 2008 & 2009, and, back to back state championships.

For the entire story on Latrobe's victory, see the write-up on the Pittsburgh Penguins website (http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=415110&page=NewsPage&service=page) or the story in Tuesday's Post Gazette (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09083/957822-364.stm)

For coverage of Latrobe's win in the Pennsylvania Cup, see the following Pittsburgh Post Gazette article: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09088/959140-364.stm

(photo by John Heller of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette)
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Brian P. Bronson, Michael V. Quatrini Receive Certification to Represent Veterans in VA Disability Claims

Quatrini Raffety attorneys Brian P. Bronson and Michael V. Quatrini were recently certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs to represent veterans in cases for disability compensation.

"The Psychology of Unemployment"

The National Public Radio news program "Day to Day" ran a story this afternoon on the psychological effects of unemployment. Although the program discussed unemployment due to the current economic downturn, the attorneys here at Quatrini Rafferty felt its message could apply to those unemployed for any reason - recession, work injury, severe sickness, etc.

Listen to the full program here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101619824

If you are having trouble with the link, email us at admin@qrlegal.com and we will forward the story.

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Michael V. Quatrini Successful in Federal District Court of Western Pennsylvania

On February 19, 2009, Quatrini Rafferty attorney Michael V. Quatrini obtained a Remand of a Social Security Disability case that was appealed to Federal District Court for the Western District located in Pittsburgh.

United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab agreed with Quatrini's argument that the functional capacity assessment produced by the Administrative Law Judge was not supported by substantial evidence because the ALJ relied on the Plaintiff’s use of drugs or alcohol as a basis for denying their application for benefits without making the requisite determinations with regard to their materiality.

The case will now go back for another hearing before an Administrative Law Judge.

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QR COMMENTARY: McDonald's Denies Workers' Compensation for McHero

We here at the Quatrini Rafferty blog recently heard about an astonishing workers' compensation denial and had to pass it along to our clients and friends.

We all remember the infamous "coffee spill" case from some years ago. It generated national news for the large jury verdict against McDonald's and became a poster child for out of control juries. At the time, and to this day, many individuals have been lead to believe that the Plaintiff in that case was just "out for the money."

But most people are unfamiliar with the real details behind the "coffee" matter. For starters, it is not well known that the Plaintiff was 83 years old and that the coffee was brewing at between 195-205 degrees....a temperature 20-30 degrees higher than any other restaurant. Or, that the Plaintiff in that case suffered third degree burns which necessitated $10,000 in medical bills. It is also not commonly known that the Plaintiff offered to settle for far less than the final jury verdict, a number that fairly represented her lost wages, out of pocket expenses, medical bills.

No, the public was lead to believe, by the negative public relations campaign paid for by McDonald's, that the Plaintiff was just looking to get paid.

Well, maybe McDonald's tough tactics finally caught up with them.

Last summer Nigel Haskett, an employee at a McDonald's in Arkansas, was shot when he attempted to restrain a McDonald's patron from abusing a woman in the restaurant. Due to his injuries, Mr. Haskett's medical bills totaled close to $300,000. Yet, when he filed a claim for workers' compensation, the company DENIED his claim:

"We have denied this claim in its entirety as it is our opinion that Mr. Haskett's injuries did not arise out of or within the course and scope of his employment."

At the time, McDonald's tough stance probably seemed like a good legal maneuver. But, their insensitivity came back to bite them when the national media picked up the story.

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/4563343/12219217

Because of the embarrassing press, the owner of the McDonald's in question has now voiced his support for Mr. Haskett against the insurance company. However, the insurance company has yet to budge.

Whether Mr. Haskett will be successful is tough to tell, as we have no knowledge of the workers' compensation law in Arkansas'. But, we sure hope that Mr. Haskett gets an appropriate award for his heroism.

For for the real facts on the "coffee" case check out the link below:

http://www.social.mtu.edu/faculty/speters/WrightsMcDonaldsfacts_000.htm

For more coverage of Mr. Haskett's situation, check out the video covering the story and read an article critical of the denial below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwhw-Inji0k&feature=email

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-weiner/mcdonalds-mcscrews-hero-o_b_169048.html

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Stimulus Package Boosts Social Security Administration

In addition to distributing direct payments to recipients of Social Security and Veterans' Disability, the stimulus package will also benefit the Social Security Administration.

In an online interview with Federal News Radio, SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue
tells the that the Administration is due to receive more than $1 billion from the bill and expects its fiscal 2009 budget to be $126 million more than the President's request.

For the first time in several years, Commissioner Astrue feels that Congress "finally understands SSA's technology shortcomings" and adds that the SSA "could be in the best financial shape in a long time." In terms of numbers, the FNR article notes that approximately $500 million of the Stimulus is dedicated for the Administration's "new national computer center."

Beyond finances, the FNR article had hopeful news for those waiting for hearings, noting that "The agency also plans to hire 3,000 to 6,000 new employees in 2009 to help deal with the backlog of disability claims and increase in retirement applications that is expected over the next few years."

With all of these big plans, it will be interesting to track SSA's progress over the next few years.

To read the entire FNR article, click below:

http://www.federalnewsradio.com/index.php?nid=35&sid=1609546

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UPDATE: Stimulus Bill Expands COBRA Coverage

The following article was written by Quatrini Rafferty partner, Vincent J. Quatrini, Jr., and will appear in the forthcoming Spring 2009 QR Newsletter

COBRA: THE STIMULUS LAW PUTS MEDICAL INSURANCE WITHIN REACH

COBRA is the federal law that requires Employers to allow separated employees to purchase medical insurance through the company group plan for up to 18 months after separation, at 102% of what the company is paying for that insurance.

Up until now, that 102% was well beyond the financial reach of almost all displaced workers. The new stimulus law, pushed by President Obama, and signed by Congress,provides real financial relief to displaced workers who want to stay in the company plan.

With the stimulus package, the government agreed to pay 65% of COBRA premiums for people who receive pink slips between Sept. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2009. The subsidy is limited to nine months and available only to those without another source of group health insurance.

Individuals who lost jobs after Sept. 1, 2008, but who did not sign up for COBRA at that time will get a second chance to do so. Employers must send these former workers a notice by mid-April. These workers have 60 days after receipt of the notice to pay into the plan.

Eligibility does not depend on income. But individuals with income over $124,000 will have to pay tax on the subsidized amount.

The subsidy money will not come to you directly. It will be sent to your employer in the form of an offset against payroll tax liability. You send in your payment of 35 % of the premium to your former employer and the government will credit the remaining 65% of the premium against your former employer's payroll tax.

For most people, the subsidies will start March 1. If you are already in the COBRA plan with your former employer, you will not receive reimbursement for any COBRA payments you made between Sept. 1 and March 1.

These are just the highlights. Many details still have to be worked out. Quatrini Rafferty suggests that if you do not hear from your former employer in the next 45 days that you contact your employer and find out who is administering their COBRA benefits. If that doesn't work, try the Employee Benefits Security Administration, a unit of the U.S. Department of Labor, at 866 - 444 - 3272.

Stimulus Bill Expands COBRA Coverage

The new Stimulus Bill signed into law by President Obama includes an unprecedented expansion for COBRA, the federal statute that provides workers and their families with access to 18 months of health benefits from their previous employer.

To this point, the former employee had to pay for his or her portion of what the employer once paid on their behalf. The new legislation lends a hand to the former employee, funding up to 65% of the COBRA premium for those who became eligible for COBRA coverage between Sept. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2009. The legislation also gives the recently unemployed a second chance to enroll in COBRA coverage.

An online article in the The City Wire (http://www.thecitywire.com/index.php?q=node/2977) does a nice job of breaking down the details of the plan:

Employee Eligibility

Individuals who have been involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009 with annual incomes less than $125,000 (single) or $250,000 (couples) are eligible for the COBRA premium assistance, along with their family. Qualified individuals, who initially decline COBRA coverage, would be given an additional 60 days after they receive notice of the special election period to elect to receive the subsidy. The election period begins on the date of enactment of the ARRA.

Special Enrollment

The bill allows group health plans to provide a special enrollment right to allow eligible individuals to elect different coverage under the plan in electing COBRA continuation coverage.

Notice Requirements

COBRA notices must include information on the availability of the premium assistance. Model notices from the Department of Labor are due 30 days after enactment.

Effective Date

These provisions are effective for premiums the first calendar month following the date of enactment.

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