Flint, Michigan
Flint SSDI and SSI Lawyers for Genesee, Saginaw and Bay Counties
Claims from Flint, Saginaw and Bay City share one Social Security hearing office, on West Second Street in Flint. Downard & Associates represents claimants in Flint, Michigan, and across that service area with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims, from the application through reconsideration and a hearing before an administrative law judge. We work by phone or video from our office in Lebanon, Tennessee, and there is no fee unless you win.
How we help
How We Handle a Flint Disability Claim
After a denial, we respond to the reasons Social Security gave.
Some Flint claims start while a state benefit is already paying something. State Disability Assistance comes with a duty to pursue SSI, and the state can be repaid from SSI back pay for the months both were paid, so the two claims have to be handled together, and the Social Security file should be built with that in view.
An application needs your treatment and work history on the forms; an SSI claim also needs your income and resources documented. After a denial, we respond to the reasons Social Security gave. At a hearing, we prepare you to testify and present the evidence. Our Michigan disability lawyer page covers the rest of the state.
We have no Flint office. Consultations and hearing preparation happen by phone or video. We represent adults age 18 and older. We handle SSDI cases for people who receive VA benefits, but we do not handle VA claims or appeals. We do not take disability cessation or continuing disability review cases, or new cases involving back-pay issues alone, and we refer federal court appeals to affiliated counsel.
Hearing office
The Flint Hearing Office and Its Four Field Offices
Social Security's hearing office locator lists the Flint hearing office at 300 West Second Street, Flint, MI 48502, open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It serves four field offices: Flint (Downtown), Flint (North), Saginaw and Bay City.
So Bay City and Flint claims go to the same hearing office. Owosso is not on the list: the locator sends the Owosso field office to Lansing, not Flint. For an in-person or agency video hearing, the Notice of Hearing names the place, and Social Security can change the time, manner or place of a hearing when necessary.
Hearing formats
Phone, Video or In Person for a Flint Hearing
Deadline
30days
20 CFR 404.936
Social Security's ways to attend page lists four ways to appear: in person at one of its offices, by telephone, by agency video at one of its offices, or by online video on your own device from a private place.
You have 30 days from the day you receive the notice Social Security sends before scheduling, under 20 CFR 404.936. In that time you can object in writing to a phone or agency video appearance, agree in writing to online video, or both, and you can withdraw an online video agreement before the hearing starts. For a Saginaw or Bay City claimant, online video can replace the trip to Flint.
Local treatment records
Medical Records From Flint, Saginaw and Bay City Hospitals
Hurley Medical Center: Hurley's medical records page takes requests through MyChart (Request my Records) or through Datavant, its records vendor, with separate online links for patients, for health care providers, and for legal, insurance and other requesters. The records department phone is 810-262-9214.
McLaren Flint and McLaren Bay Region: McLaren's records page uses one authorization form, mailed or faxed to the hospital, and asks you to allow 5 to 7 business days. Radiology is a separate department at both hospitals, and x-rays need at least 24 hours to be ready.
Covenant HealthCare (Saginaw): Covenant's release of information page sends requests through an online request system and says most are processed within 8 business hours.
Henry Ford Genesys (Grand Blanc, formerly Ascension Genesys): Henry Ford's records page says records from former Ascension locations reach MyChart for physician office visits from November 8, 2025 and hospital care from June 6, 2026. Anything earlier needs an online or paper request, which can take up to 30 business days, and radiology films or CDs come from the Radiology Department.
State programs
State Disability Assistance and Your SSI Claim
Michigan's State Disability Assistance (SDA) provides cash assistance to eligible disabled adults, and it is tied to Social Security from the start. Michigan's benefits manual requires SDA and disability Medicaid applicants to apply for or appeal benefits through Social Security, and the state verifies with Social Security that an application or appeal is on file.
The money is recovered later. Social Security's Michigan interim assistance instructions list SDA among the state programs repaid from retroactive SSI: Social Security sends the state its share and pays any remaining balance to you at the same time. Plan for that before counting on back pay. Our SSI claims page explains how SSI works for adults.
Flint medicaid
Medicaid Through the Flint Water Demonstration
A federal approval dated April 2, 2026 extends the Flint Section 1115 demonstration from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2031. It covers children up to age 21 and pregnant or postpartum women with household income above 133 percent and up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level who were served by the Flint water system between April 1, 2014 and September 30, 2025 and would not otherwise qualify for Medicaid. Its benefits include targeted case management.
For a claimant age 18 to 20 who qualifies, that coverage can pay for the treatment whose records the disability claim depends on. Tell us if you have it, so we request records from every provider it paid.
For more on how Medicaid and SSI connect, see our guide to Medicaid with SSI.
Get organized
Keeping a Flint Claim File Together
For Henry Ford Genesys, note whether the care was before or after the MyChart start dates.
Flint-area treatment can be spread across Hurley, McLaren, Covenant and Henry Ford, and a state benefit may already be in the picture. One list keeps the claim from losing pieces.
Providers: every hospital, practice, clinic and therapist in Genesee, Saginaw and Bay counties, with visit dates. For Henry Ford Genesys, note whether the care was before or after the MyChart start dates.
Imaging: where each study was done, so films or CDs can be requested from radiology and the written reports from medical records.
State benefits: SDA or Medicaid start dates and any letters from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services asking about your Social Security application.
Recent jobs: Social Security looks at the past five years of work. Under 20 CFR 404.1560, a job that started and stopped in fewer than 30 calendar days does not count as past relevant work, so list how long each job lasted as well as its duties.
Notices: every letter from Social Security and the state, with the date it arrived.
Bring the list to the first call. We use it to request records and to answer the state's questions about your Social Security claim.
After a denial
Deadlines After a Flint Denial
A denial notice gives you 60 days from receipt to request reconsideration in writing, under 20 CFR 404.909 for SSDI and 20 CFR 416.1409 for SSI. Under 20 CFR 404.901, the notice counts as received 5 days after its date unless you show it came later. After a reconsideration denial, 20 CFR 404.933 and 20 CFR 416.1433 allow 60 days from receipt to request a hearing.
If you receive SDA, an appeal also matters to the state benefit, because Michigan checks that a Social Security application or appeal is on file. Missing the deadline can affect both.
Common questions
Flint Disability Claim Questions
Is a Saginaw or Bay City disability hearing held in Flint?
Yes, for an in-person or agency video hearing assigned there. Social Security's hearing office locator lists the Saginaw and Bay City field offices under the Flint hearing office at 300 West Second Street. Social Security can schedule online video instead if you agree in writing.
Do I have to apply for SSI to keep State Disability Assistance?
Michigan's benefits manual requires SDA applicants claiming disability to apply for or appeal benefits through Social Security, and the state verifies that the application or appeal is on file.
Does Michigan take State Disability Assistance back out of my SSI back pay?
Yes, for the months in which both were paid. Social Security's Michigan instructions list SDA as a program repaid from retroactive SSI, and Social Security sends the state its share and pays any remaining balance to you.
How do I get older Henry Ford Genesys records that are not in MyChart?
Henry Ford's records page says records from former Ascension locations before the MyChart start dates need an online or paper request, and processing can take up to 30 business days.
Discuss your claim
Talk Through Your Flint Claim With Us
Tell us which field office took your claim, what Social Security has decided and whether you receive State Disability Assistance. We will explain the next step by phone or video.