As a resident of Kansas or Missouri who currently receives disability benefits from the U.S. Social Security Administration, you should know that the current presidential administration is considering reviewing recipients’ social media accounts in an attempt to cut down on fraudulent disability claims. At the Law Office of Michael J. Joshi, we understand that there are certain things you must prove if you wish to continue to receive disability benefits, and we are well-versed in the reasons the administration sometimes uses when denying or revoking benefits eligibility.
Per U.S. News & World Report, roughly 10 million Americans currently receive disability benefits each month, and at the moment, disability examiners are not looking at their online accounts to determine whether they are, in fact, as disabled as they claim to be. This may soon change, though, and the proposed new rule allowing disability examiners to comb through the social media accounts of disability benefit recipients could take effect as soon as 2020.
Just what types of things might examiners look for in your online accounts? Say, for example, you are receiving disability benefits because you have a serious and debilitating neck or back injury that prevents you from holding down a job. If your social media profiles show you, say, skydiving, bowling or otherwise showing that your injury is not, in fact, so severe, you can expect the SSA to take notice.
There are, however, already some potential problems associated with the proposed rule. For example, it is unclear how disability examiners would be able to tell whether a photo posted, say, yesterday depicting you engaging in physical activities was actually from yesterday, as opposed to, say, several years prior. You can find out more about disability benefits on our webpage.