Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs)
How to Pass a Continuing Disability Review (CDR) in Michigan & Ohio
Receiving Social Security Disability benefits is a tremendous relief when you’re coping with a debilitating health condition and can no longer work.
Disability benefits are permanent—until you switch to retirement benefits—but that doesn’t mean they always continue uninterrupted.
Social Security is legally required to check on your case from time to time to ensure you still qualify for benefits. This is called a “continuing disability reviews,” or CDRs.
How often you get reviewed depends on the likelihood that your medical conditions will improve:
- 6-18 months after benefits awarded benefits: For conditions that are expected to improve
- 3 years: For conditions where recovery is possible
- 5-7: For conditions with little expectation for improvement
A CDR dives into your health condition and treatment plan. Social Security will review your income, other resources, living situation and work status. If you’re under 50, you can expect more CDRs than people over 50.
What should you do when confronted with a continuing disability review? The disability lawyers at Levine Benjamin Law Firm can help you make sure the process doesn’t derail benefits that you need.
With offices in Detroit, we help people all over Michigan, Ohio and across the country. Our disability law firm has helped 80,000 people and counting.
From applying to appealing, we help you every step of the way.
What would you like to do?
How Does a Social Security Disability CDR Work?
Other than the periodic checks, other situations can trigger a CDR, including:
- You returned to work
- Your medical records show your condition improved
- You reported you’re doing better
- Someone tells Social Security you’re not following your treatment plan.
- A new treatment has come out for your condition.
Depending on your situation, you will receive one of two forms about your continuing disability review:
- Disability Update Report: A short form that you can send in or fill out online, the Disability Update Report tracks your health, your treatments, and your non-medical (employment and economic) requirements for eligibility.
This most often applies when your health impairments are not expected to change. These forms are usually processed within one to three months after you submit them.
Usually your benefits won’t change unless your situation significantly changes.
- Continuing Disability Review Report: This is a longer, more intense evaluation of your health status and non-medical eligibility for disability benefits.
Social Security most often requests this if your condition is expected to improve, or evidence shows your situation has changed. You can expect a Continuing Disability Review Report to take six months to a year to process.
If Social Security decides to reduce or end your benefits, you can always appeal. In this case, you’ll want an experienced disability attorney to support you.
Talk to the Levine Benjamin disability lawyers to get an idea of what comes next.
How Do I Pass a CDR from Social Security Disability?
When Social Security sends you a continuing disability review request, first off, take a breath.
Remind yourself this is a normal process. You should know it’s also rare for Social Security to reverse benefits. The most common reason is an improvement in your health.
Here are tips for getting through your CDR without losing benefits you rely on:
- Stay informed about your own health and medical records.
- Continually provide Social Security updates on your impairment.
- Follow your doctor’s advice and keep up with ongoing treatment. (Social Security considers a break in your treatment a red flag that could threaten your benefits.)
- Try new treatments recommended by your doctor.
- Have an experienced disability lawyer protect your right to benefits.
The Michigan disability lawyers at Levine Benjamin can help you maximize your chances of winning benefits in the first place— and then keep those benefits as long as you need them.
We know how to work with Social Security. We’ve been helping people in Detroit, Flint, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Toledo and all over Michigan and Ohio since 1964.
Hold on to a more stable, secure place in life. Let us help.