Many Coloradans previously unable to afford medical care can now receive Colorado Medicaid. From the perspective a Social Security Disability attorney, this is wonderful! Disability benefit applications are more likely to be approved when an applicant has medical care and provider’s treatment notes to support his or her claim. Without medical care, or with limited medical care, the Social Security Administration typically sends disability applicants to their own doctors, known as consultative examiners. Consultative examiners spend little time with disability applicants and make opinions based on that limited time. Without medical care, a disability applicant’s chances of receiving a favorable decision are poor. When a Colorado Medicaid recipient has his or her own medical provider, his or her chances improve greatly. Colorado may see an increase in Social Security disability approval ratings at all levels of the disability process based on its expanded Medicaid program.
