Many people wonder whether they need to continue medical treatments after receiving disability benefits. The reality is that in some cases, disability benefits can be impacted by the decision to continue or discontinue treatment. Understanding how this may impact your disability benefits with the continuing eligibility reviews is important. If you have questions, feel free to ask a Philadelphia disability attorney for guidance.

Do I Continue Medical Treatment?

The decision to continue or discontinue medical treatment depends on a variety of factors. Your doctor may recommend or advise continued treatments to manage or improve your medical condition. Depending on different factors, you may disagree with continuing medical treatment.

However, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has the power to invoke a cessation of disability benefits for a failure to cooperate with treatment. This means you could be denied disability benefits, or your disability benefits could be taken away if you have already started receiving them. A failure to cooperate is defined by the SSA as:

·      Not providing needed or requested medical evidence

·      Refusing to undergo a physical examination

·      Refusing to undergo a mental examination

The SSA may attempt to convince you to cooperate with treatment. When there is enough evidence to demonstrate a lack of cooperation, the SSA has the ability to remove your disability benefits for one month. A letter is usually sent with a warning to cooperate by a certain date or else disability benefits will cease completely.

Failure to follow or adhere to prescribed treatment for your disability can also lead to a termination of benefits. This can happen when someone refuses to follow treatments made by a doctor for unjustified reasons. Some examples include not taking medications, not doing physical therapy, or not undergoing medical procedures that could lead to improvement.

Continuing Disability Benefits Eligibility

The cessation of disability benefits can happen after you have been receiving disability benefits for days, months, or years. What the SSA does with certain disabilities that might be expected to improve is a continuing disability benefits eligibility review. A continuing disability benefits eligibility review aims to determine whether you still need benefits.

This review is usually conducted after an expected medical improvement or after a medical treatment that may improve your condition. The SSA defines a medical improvement as any decrease in symptoms caused by your disability. Symptoms or lab findings must show improvement.

As a result, your disability benefits might be removed depending on whether this improvement positively affects work performance. The exception is if the improvement does not increase your functional capacity at work. Try contacting a Philadelphia disability lawyer if you have questions or concerns about how this works. A lawyer might be able to help you increase your chances of receiving disability benefits.

Contact Edelstein & Nelson for Legal Help

Finding out your disability benefits application was denied can be disheartening. Consider talking to a Philadelphia denied benefits appeal lawyer about legal options if your application was rejected. All you have to do is call Edelstein & Nelson by dialing (800) 300-0909 for a consultation today. Our team of attorneys might be able to help you start receiving disability benefits sooner than later.