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Appeals Council

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As of this past weekend, the status of a representative's claims at the Appeals Council is available through SSA's online Appointed Representative Services. Just go to the Electronic Records Express (ERE) homepage, select "Get Status Reports" and then select "Get Appeals Council Status Report." As with the Hearing Office Status Report, you can choose between…

New Social Security Ruling 11-1p requires a claimant to choose between appealing an unfavorable ALJ decision and reapplying for benefits. In the words of the ruling:

we will no longer process a subsequent disability claim if you already have a claim under the same title and of the same type pending in our administrative review process.…

Social Security Ruling 11-1p, entitled "Titles II and XVI:  Procedures for Handling Requests to File Subsequent Applications for Disability Benefits" was published today in the Federal Register.

The Ruling prohibits a new application for benefits while a prior claim of the same title and benefit type is at the Appeals Council. This is a change in…

In Region 1, which comprises the New England States, we have the Decision Review Board (DRB) as a legacy of the DSI process. Most claims that are denied at the ALJ level are selected by the DRB for review. So instead of an Appeals Council appeal, we have the Decision Review Board. The DRB review…