Once denied disability benefits, Tennesseans face long waits to appeal

Thousands of people denied federal disability payments die each year while they wait for their chance to appeal the decision.

Congress in 2018 approved $90 million in additional funding for the Social Security Administration to reduce a backlog of people waiting to make their case to a judge that they were wrongly denied disability benefits.

In Tennessee, the average wait time for a hearing is 11 months, according to Social Security data. Those administrative judges then take more than one year — an average of 392 days — to make a decision.

More than 1 million Americans denied disability are currently waiting for a hearing.

Disability benefits include enrollment in Medicaid. A wrongful denial for uninsured applicants can mean the difference between access to ongoing health care — or ruinous medical costs and avoiding medical care altogether.

Advocates say it is critical state Disability Determination Services departments get the initial decision right.