Who is the New SSA Acting Commissioner? Her Qualifications and Career History Revealed

A few weeks after the former SSA Commissioner Michael J. Astrue announced that he will be stepping down from his position, the Social Security Administration (SSA) finally revealed its new acting Commissioner through its official press release web page.

On February 14, the SSA has finally appointed its new acting Commissioner, Carolyn W. Colvin, who on December 22, 2010 has been confirmed by the United States Senate as President Barack Obama’s nominee. She was then a Deputy Commissioner that time. She had also served as a trustee to the Social Security Board of Trustees.

Accordingly, throughout her career, Colvin has managed several programs that assist people with their healthcare and financial needs. In fact, she previously held some of the executive positions at Social Security Headquarters. See details below:

•    Deputy Commissioner for Policy and External Affair – from 1994 to 1996
•    Deputy Commissioner for Programs and Policy – from 1996 to 1998
•    Deputy Commissioner for Operations – from 1998 to 2001

Moreover, before returning to SSA, Colvin’s previous records revealed some of her significant role in the society. Kindly see below:

•    Director of Human Services for the District of Columbia – from 2001 to 2003
•    Director of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services – from 2003 to 2007
•    Special Assistant to the Secretary of Maryland’s Department of Transportation – from 2009 to 2011

In addition to her humanitarian services, she also served at Maryland’s Department of Human Resources as the Secretary way back in 1989 until 1994.

Moreover, in her time of service, she has received numerous remarkable awards and recognitions for her managerial expertise and innovativeness. Her achievements include Maryland’s Top 100 Women from the Daily Record and the Women of Achievement Award from Suburban Maryland Business and Professional Women in 2005. She likewise served on different boards in Commission including the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare according to report.

Apparently, the newly appointed acting commissioner has really spent her entire career serving those people who are in need of extra special care and support from the federal government. Therefore, many Los Angeles social security claim lawyers never even doubted the new acting commissioner’s capacity when in delivering quality humanitarian service. Hopefully, her years of expertise in the same field will make her even more efficient head of the federal agency.

New Bill Introduced to Help Military Sexual Harassment Victims Get Disability Benefits

A new bill that would help former military personnel who have been victims of sexual assault to get disability benefits was recently introduced by two Democratic legislators in the U.S. Congress.

According to news reports, the new bill sponsored by Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine was named after a Navy Veteran who was left homeless and depressed after she was repeatedly raped in 1987 by her supervisor.

The Ruth Moore Act aims to make it easier for veterans to prove that their mental health problems were a result of the sexual assaults during their time of service with the U.S. military.

According to the Service Women’s Action Network, out of three claims of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from Military Sexual Trauma (MST), only one was approved by the Veterans Affairs (VA) between 2008 and 2010. Supporters of the bill presumed that the overly high threshold for the survivors made them impossible to be seen as eligible for disability benefits.

The bill made it clear that documentations such as the official record of the assault, as well as medical reports, are no longer required. Apparently, the overall intention of the Ruth Moore Act is to prevent many victims to go without treatment because their assault was unreported and mishandled by the military due to lack of documentation. Nevertheless, claims would only be accepted if a mental health professional confirmed that a claimant’s condition is consistent with sexual trauma and that their claims are not contradicted by evidence, the bill noted.

Incidentally, Ruth Moore’s appearance before the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee last year made a significant change to the existing problems regarding claimants who are survivors of military sexual trauma. During her testimony, Moore’s claimed that she was repeatedly raped by a superior in her first overseas assignment. Unfortunately, when Moore reported the assault to authorities, she was then raped again in retaliation. Thereafter, she attempted to committed suicide. She was subsequently misdiagnosed with borderline personality disorder and was subsequently discharged from the Navy. Since then, she has struggled for disability benefits from the VA due to her misdiagnosis.

Meanwhile, several Los Angeles Social Security Disability Lawyers agreed that the current rules regarding military sexual assaults are only limited. Therefore, they called the newly introduced bill as a powerful tool to fix the broken system. 

Lower Your Risk of Heart Attacks by Eating Berries

In a recent study published before the Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, it claimed that eating three or more servings of berries in a week could lessen the risk of heart attacks by as much as one-third.

The researchers explained that brightly-colored berries like strawberries and blackberries contain high levels of flavonoids, which is a dietary supplement that is also commonly found in grapes, eggplants and other vegetables.

The study was a result of an 18-year regular monitoring of the dietary habits of 93,600 women aged 25 to 42. Subsequently, researchers found out that the women who consumed the most amounts of berries on a regular basis had a 32 percent lower risk of heart attack.

In a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heart attack is the number one killer of women in the United States and that approximately 300,000 were killed due to heart-related diseases in 2009. Unfortunately, many of the said cases were without any previous signs and symptoms of heart ailments.

Meanwhile, researchers are further trying to find new ways to reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes and other severe and disabling diseases.

In a statement released by a Los Angeles social security disability firm, it reminded people that although eating berries has been clinically proven to reduce the risk of heart attacks, still, it would not totally prevent the disease. Therefore, people need to take extra precautions particularly in their lifestyles and current health conditions that may later add to the risk of heart attacks and eventually lead to permanent disability and even death.

Why Social Security Disability is Crucial for Women with Cervical Cancer

In a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are approximately 12,000 new cases of HPV-associated cervical cancer diagnosed in the United States each year.

Nevertheless, further studies at the agency claimed that cervical cancer has declined. Thanks to the screening tests, which can detect early stages of the disease, it is now highly preventable. Therefore, the number of cancer deaths in women in the country has been significantly reduced.

Every January, when the Cervical Cancer Awareness Month is being held, several non-profit organizations all over the country spread awareness to the public stressing out that cervical cancer can now be diagnosed early through the use of screening tests including Pap smear and the human papillomavirus (HPV) test. Both tests are very important to early detection of the disease.

Unfortunately for women who were diagnosed with cervical cancer, physicians strongly recommend them to stop from working. This is where the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) becomes crucial since the program provides their monthly benefits even if they are under their full retirement age. However, to be eligible for the said federally mandated program, a patient must have paid FICA taxes.

Meanwhile, a Los Angeles disability lawyer noted that although the Social Security Administration (SSA) has medical listings for cervical cancer that is referred to as carcinoma or sarcoma of uterine cervix, not all cases meet all of the criteria of the agency’s listings. However, the claimant may still have other medical conditions in combination with her cancer that would correspond to a medical listing.

The side effects of cervical cancer treatment may likely produce debilitating side effects such as extreme fatigue and limiting symptoms that prevent a claimant from working. In that case, the SSA’s disability examiners will evaluate the claimant’s condition including his or her residual functional capacity. In addition, a documentation of all the symptoms suffered by the claimant from their doctors would to a lot of help to support the claim, he further explained.