The Role of Physicians in the Disability Programs of the Social Security Administration or the Care and Feeding of a Beneficent Monster

Abstract

The cover story of the June 12, 1978, issue of TIME magazine characterized the US. Department of Health, Education and Welfare as The Beneficent Monster. The physicians and lawyers of this nation often find themselves acting as sometime keepers and trainers of The Monster in many of its activities. While numbers of monstrous proportions may not intimidate the current generations who have witnessed the coining of the words googol (the number 1 followed by 100 zeros) or googolplex (10 raised to the 100th power), most of us are impressed when we discover that millions are affected and billions of dollars spent annually by the Social Security Administration.That we will come into contact with The Monster is quite likely: As individuals we may become members of the beneficiary population; as practicing professionals, we may be involved in pursuing for another what may appear to be a tortuous process to guide that person to benefit status under the Social Security Administration Disability Programs.