WASHINGTON, May 16, 2012
A report released today by the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty shows that bureaucratic barriers are preventing thousands of homeless Americans from accessing Social Security disability benefits that could help them get off the street.
Social Security benefits are critical to keeping people with disabilities in stable housing through income support and health services. Unfortunately, the application process and decision criteria operates to freeze out many eligible homeless people. While up to 40 percent are potentially eligible due to physical or mental disability, only 14 percent actually receive benefits.
One key barrier is the severe restriction on the types of health care workers who can provide a medical diagnosis. Most health clinics for homeless people are staffed by non-doctors, such as nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants. If you’re poor, you won’t see medical doctors, you’ll see nurses and physician’s assistants. But Social Security regulations explicitly provide that these healthcare providers are not “acceptable medical sources” and their opinions and diagnoses do not carry the same legal weight as a diagnosis made by an M.D., D.O. or Ph.d.
As a result, poor and homeless people’s disability claims often lack critical supportive medical evidence and are not approved–thus perpetuating homelessness and poverty.
Only allowing a doctor’s diagnosis is meant to prevent fraud and ensure only eligible individuals can access benefits. But according to the Report, this approach is inefficient and unnecessary. There are 38 percent more nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants practicing primary care today than there are doctors, and their licensing and education requirements are stringent.
Moreover, increasing access to disability benefits–and thus permanent housing and supportive services–saves money otherwise spent on expensive hospitalizations and emergency room visits. According to Improving Access, homeless people who enter supportive housing have 77 percent fewer inpatient hospitalizations and 62 percent fewer emergency room visits.
“In essence, the current policy causes long delays for homeless people while also wasting government resources,” Rosen said. “Letting these other highly-trained professionals provide a diagnosis is a common sense solution for everyone involved.”
[We provided a link to a MarketWatch article on this subject from May 16, 2012, but the article is no longer available online.]