Proving that a person is eligible for Social Security disability benefits is not a one-time thing.
Because the government pays Social Security Disability Insurance or SSDI, and Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, only when a person is legally disabled, the Social Security Administration will conduct a continuing disability review, or CDR, of a beneficiary’s case.
How often the Administration will review a case depends on the circumstances. As a default, the Administration will conduct a CDR every 3 years.
However, for certain medical conditions, specifically those that do not seem likely to improve, the Administration will only do a review every 5 to 7 years.
On a side note, Supplemental Security Income recipients will also have a review of their existing income and resources to make sure they meet the program’s financial requirements.
The results of a CDR may be appealed
Participants in the CDR program must provide accurate and complete information during the CDR.
At the end of the process, one possibility is that the Social Security Administration may terminate benefits if the Administration believes the recipient could return to work because his or her condition improved.
Like other decisions of the Social Security Administration, termination after a CDR is an appealable Social Security decision. A San Diego resident who disagrees with a CDR determination may take similar steps to those who had a disability claim denied at the outset.
Appealing these decisions is not an easy or automatic process. Someone who receives an unfavorable decision should first of all note any deadlines to ask for further review. Not following these deadlines could mean a person loses the right to appeal.
Someone facing these circumstances may want to gather the necessary medical and other evidence to challenge an unfavorable CDR determination.