Thursday, April 08, 2010
People with disabilities seeking help from the Social Security Administration can wait twice as long than others depending on where they live in the United States. A review of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) hearings by the company Allsup found Americans in Delaware have to wait an average of 10 months for a court date—while someone in Ohio faces a 20-month delay.
SSDI hearings are reserved for individuals whose applications for benefits have been rejected or who have already lost their hearing ruling and are seeking reconsideration. Many Americans must wait up to four years from beginning to end of the process to finally receive SSDI help.
Aside from Delaware, the 10 states with the lowest wait times are Maine, Texas, Louisiana, West Virginia, Utah, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Connecticut and Hawaii.
The 10 with the longest wait times are Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Nebraska, Illinois, Missouri, the District of Columbia and Alabama.
The national average waiting time is 14.5 months, with about 700,000 seeking hearings.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
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