Man with heart condition calls applying for Social Security disability benefits a 'demoralizing' experience

Earl Barry is frustrated with what he said has been a "demoralizing" experience navigating the process of applying for disability through the Social Security Administration. Barry told Scripps News Richmond he has been going back and forth with the SSA on claims for more than a year.

"It's been very difficult," Barry said. "I had to seek therapy because I was considering suicide."

Barry used to work for Office Depot but said he fell ill with severe pneumonia. A couple of years ago, he said he developed a condition that caused his heart to beat off rhythm.

"It's debilitating. You have severe shortness of breath, you have dizzy spells, you have severe things like exhaustion," Barry said.

In October 2022, Berry applied for disability and was denied.

He reapplied in December 2023 but again was denied.

The SSA cited a "medical reason" for his rejection, according to documentation he shared with Scripps News Richmond.

Confused by the outcome, Barry contacted the agency.

"I said, 'What medical forms are you missing?' Because I've contacted both my physicians who said 'yes, we filled out everything we've got,'" he said. "The person said, 'Oh, well, it's not a medical form. It's your application form.' How do they not have that on their system? I just don't understand how they work."

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In March 2024, Barry said the company Premier Disability filed a reconsideration request on his behalf. It's currently taking SSA seven months, on average, to respond to reconsideration requests.

Barry said Premier Disability recently informed him there could be a further delay.

"The representative found out that our appeal that we filed was not handled properly by SSA in March when they were supposed to have done it. They didn't transfer the file from the person who had it, the auditor, to the office for the appeal," Barry said.

But Barry said he can't afford to wait for assistance, should he get approved, any longer.

He said his savings have run dry and his Buckingham County house has now been foreclosed on.

"I'll be living in my car. I have nowhere — there's nowhere I can go," Barry said. "And I don't have any income. I literally have no money."

Barry isn't alone.

Earlier this month, Scripps News Richmond shared Ed Heavener's story, a Henrico County, Virginia, man who spent a year and a half waiting for disability and only got his money after our investigative reporters got involved.

Like Barry, Heavener said he also contemplated taking his life.

“At times this had me so messed up I was ready to commit suicide. I will not hide that fact," Heavener said. "I know I am not the only one they are doing this to. Something needs to be done about it because it’s not fair."

After the story aired, the Scripps News Richmond newsroom was inundated with messages from people across Virginia and beyond, including Barry, complaining about customer service issues with SSA.

"When I saw that, I thought, well, yeah, there's the same problem. And I didn't realize it was as widespread as it was. I thought it was just me to be honest with you," Barry said.

In March of this year, SSA Commissioner Martin O'Malley testified before Congress about the state of the federal agency.

"We are in a customer service crisis," O'Malley said.

He admitted the SSA's services and customers were "suffering" as a result of "historic underfunding and understaffing." He said the impacts were also felt by the state agencies responsible for making disability determinations.

O'Malley said it was "shameful" that it took the state agencies 228 days to make an initial determination and 223 days to make a reconsideration decision.

That's more than double the length of time it took 10 years ago.

"We have the longest average processing time and the highest number of pending cases ever in the history of our disability program for initial claims," O'Malley's testimony read.

O'Malley said reducing disability determination wait times would be one of his key focuses as he works to address a service delivery crisis.

Barry said he felt the process has been complicated, confusing, and uncompassionate. He said he believed lawmakers should take action to fix the system.

"I mean, it really is demoralizing," Barry said. "Don't make it so awful to deal with. There are a lot of things that they could improve."

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Scripps News Richmond reached out to SSA on Barry's behalf. A spokesperson promptly responded, and Barry was able to immediately get in contact with a communications representative.

Barry reported that the representative pledged to reach out to his local field office to escalate his case. He reported the employee reviewed his case file and said there should be no paperwork or information missing.

Scripps News Richmond also reached out to Virginia's Disability Determination Services agency on Barry's behalf. At this point, Barry continues to wait for a decision on his reconsideration request.

This story was originally published by Tyler Layne at Scripps News Richmond.