Not endorsed or affiliated with social security administration
The Social Security Administration has contracted the Disabilities Determination Services (DDS) to assess medical eligibility for medical benefits for people living with disabilities. The DDS offices are in Anchorage at Patty Trott, 619 East Ship Creek #30
The DDS has professionals like physicians and disability specialists including psychologists who determine if a person living with disability is eligible for two main social security programs:
The DDS office anchorage process disability claims including:
To be considered for disability claims you must be have been unable to work for 12 months or more due to a physical or mental disability that can be medically proven. Other conditions that apply are:
An application can be done by one of these methods:
Application for SSI or SSDI can be made at your local social security office, or at the office in Anchorage. A social security official assesses if it meets the work credit criteria for SSDI or the income/asset criteria for SSI. If it does the DDS then takes it for a medical determination of the disability.
The application is assigned to a disability specialist who compiles medical and non-medical evidence for your case. The disability specialist relies on medical experts like physicians for medical evidence. The disability specialist takes the information from the medical experts and reviews it according to social security disability regulations.
If your application does not meet the regulations, a function by function assessment will be done. Other things considered include age, sex, and education and past work experience.
After processing the case is returned to your local social security office. If you were successful, the social security officer will tell how much support you qualified for and how you will be getting it. If you were not successful, the officer will explain why, and if there is a possibility to apply again.