1. Matthews v. Eldridge (1976)

2. Social Security Disability Basic Procedure Drill - I Get a form the Social Security office What is the illness, the work history, the doc? SSI orders records A doc at SSI at Disability Determination Service - run by state as contractor - makes a determination Sends to regional office Regional office pays, QA, or denies Ask for reconsideration This is all done with records

3. Social Security Disability Basic Procedure drill - II At the state level, the examiner can call the patient's doc At the fed level, the expert is bound by the patient's doc Most problems arise because of poor documentation Applicants can submit new info and get a new evaluation After denial, you can ask for a hearing before ALJ At the hearing stage, you ask for an expedited review if the case is clear ALJ's decision is final At this point you can appeal to the federal courts

4. Volume of Claims How many claims does SSA decide every year? How big is the disability system (SSD)? Why is this important background for Matthews v. Eldridge Think about what this process looks like from the perspective of a disabled person tying to get benefits, or trying to avoid having benefits cancelled Will they usually have benefit of counsel?

5. Matthews v. Eldridge (1976) Why does SSD require periodic review of benefits? When does SSD provide a hearing? What if the claimant is successful at the hearing? How long can this take? Why does the Court find this is less critical than in Goldberg?

6. What does plaintiff want? What data is used for making disability determinations? Who would be the witnesses and how is their information collected? Does the claimant's testimony matter? How does this change the equities of Goldberg? Why is the administrative decisionmaker less prone to make errors in this case than in Goldberg?

7. Cost Benefit Analysis What are the Mathews factors? C = P x V Cost = Probability of increased accuracy versus Value of the benefit How would you apply these factors to Matthews? Does plaintiff get his pre-termination hearing? What about other administrative decisions?