YOU CAN STILL REFUSE A HEARING BY VIDEO TELECONFERENCE

Social Security recently addressed the question of whether a claimant can opt out of a hearing by video teleconference (VTC) and ask to appear in person before a judge.  The final rule does still permit a claimant to opt out of VTC hearings and ask to appear in person before the judge.

 I no longer object to video hearings unless my client does.  The main advantage of a hearing by VTC is getting it scheduled a bit sooner.  It's my observation that a video hearing will happen 3 or 4 months sooner than an in-person hearing.  Obviously, it gives Social Security more flexibility in scheduling.

 Claimants who wish to opt out of a VTC hearing must still exercise that option before the hearing has been scheduled.  Social Security will send an opt out form after they receive the appeal.  The claimant must decide at that time whether to opt out of the VTC hearing and return the form within 30 days.  Failure to opt out will result in the hearing automatically being scheduled for VTC.

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