It's widely regarded the same way in the US. Most guides I've ever seen concerning applying for disability in the US (regardless of state) warn that you'll probably be denied the first time no matter what. You're also told to hire an attorney to appeal. That usually works, and you can still appeal again if it doesn't and that almost always goes through.
It's ridiculous. I suspect it's a process that's "evolved" from the need to weed out obvious scammers and people who "don't really need it" by forcing them to "work for it," but it's fucked up that you need to be able to afford an attorney just to get on disability. If you present adequate (or even overwhelming) evidence supporting your claim, or i.e. go in person to apply and you're obviously missing a limb, you shouldn't have to jump through more hoops to get help.