September 2013 -- An NSCLC issue brief, Why SSI Needs an Appeal Process That Works, provides an overview of how Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients are harmed when the Social Security Administration decides to stop or decrease their benefits, and they have a legitimate challenge to that decision but have no effective means of presenting their side of the case.

If SSI recipients are going to have their benefits reduced or suspended for financial or other non-medical eligibility reasons, the Social Security Administration (SSA) must notify them, and by law, they have a right to appeal the agency’s decision.

Unfortunately, SSA too often does not follow required due process safeguards in cases involving appeals to non-disability determinations. For example, they may lose the paper work, fail to continue benefits for someone even when they filed a timely appeal, and delay case reviews and conferences.

The issue brief is part of a series of reports that will reveal specific problems with the SSI non-disability appeals process.