Disability (US)

[DailyDi]

Anyone here on disability? I'm getting to the point where I'm going to have to seriously consider it, but I don't understand how you "prove" your disability. When my doctor diagnosed me, he didn't give me a written "You have _____" so do I need to get something in writing from him and my general doc, or what?

[~Brian~]

15 minutes ago, DailyDi said:

Anyone here on disability? I'm getting to the point where I'm going to have to seriously consider it, but I don't understand how you "prove" your disability. When my doctor diagnosed me, he didn't give me a written "You have _____" so do I need to get something in writing from him and my general doc, or what?

@DailyDi

Mikey: when you deal with SSI/SSDI: the SSI program is for people who are disabled who use it based on need, while the SSDI program is based on those who are determined to be “disabled“. Because I have cerebral palsy, and I have had it since I was before the age of 21, I believe the diagnosis was already part of my medical records, and because I was getting SSI since the age of 17, there was a diagnosis of a disability already on file. When my father and my mother retired: MOM retired first, dad retired next and then, for each person I ended up getting a packet of information. You get Medicaid, and then you get a certain amount of money every month, And in Vermont you can get what they consider to be “extra help“ so that you don’t have to pay Medicare premiums with your disability money. This will allow you to have a full amount of disability without any deductions for medical care.

I am assuming Mikey that what they will do is they will have a doctor either your general practitioner, or a specialist, let the Social Security administration know of your disability, and there will be somebody who will be making that decision, and I believe it will be based on documentation that you will present to them when they ask for it. It has been along time since I actually had to file paperwork for disability, and the only time that anything changed was when someone called me and said “Brian your dad retired so this is what will happen“, or “Brian your mom retired and this is what’s going to happen“.

Either way I am sure that your doctor whatever doctor it is or a combination of doctors will be able to certify that you are disabled if they believe that you are really disabled.  When I was considered “disabled“ under the law, three weeks after that, I was put into permanent disability forbearance, which meant that I would be able to eventually “get rid of“ my school loans because of my permanent disability. Once you have that set up, you should be able to receive your disability benefits according to the laws of the state you live in, in your case I believe Alabama.  Not sure how much she would get, but it would also depend on your work history and how much you were able to work. They end up deciding how much you get based on your work credits. If you have enough work credits, then you would be able to get it as well. In my case, I did not have enough work credits or work history, but I still got enough to be able to live on.

SSDI is also determined based on where you live at: if you live in the state of Vermont you may have one payment amount, while if you live in the state of Georgia or Alabama, you may have a different amount. It all depends on the work credits and everything else that is put in to play when they figure out how much they give you. If you end up getting SSDI, I am assuming you already get state Medicaid benefits. If you are considered disabled, you may end up having both Medicaid and Medicare. You will end up getting your Medicare card that will have your medicare number, which used to be The Social Security number of your mother or father, if that is how you were getting benefits through them, or your Social Security number. In my case it was my dad‘s Social Security number, followed by the letters “CI“. Now they have a new system where the number they give you for your Medicare number has nothing to do with your parents Social Security number or whatever it used to be. The number is generated by a system and has no connection to your Social Security number, so somebody can’t use that against you or be able to do something underhanded or sneaky.

I am sure that your doctor will be able to find a way to consider you “totally permanently disabled“ under the law so that you can get those type of benefits. I do not see why with your conditions that would be an issue, because of constant pain at least. There may be other conditions that are exacerbated because of back pain or whatever, but I don’t believe that anybody that is an examiner or person that determines the disability status would not take your disabilities into account when making that decision.  when I turned 17, I got my first SSI check: when my MOM retired, I ended up getting some SSI and then some SSDI: when my dad retired, they ended up going into the records and determining which of my parents made the most money. In that case, it was my dad, and when they did that, they put me under my dad‘s Social Security. This means that I am drawing on his Social Security, because of my disability. I had no problem approving the disability because I was disabled before the age of 25, and I believe that is what they use. As I said I am not sure of the rules of your state, but I am sure based on what I have read and understand of your disability status you should be able to easily get a doctor to certify you disabled. I warn you however, that it may take a while to get through all of this, especially if you have never applied before, but you should not have any problem getting certified disabled if you have all of your documentation and can prove your disability. Once you do that you should be golden. Not sure how much she will get, but whoever does the determination should be able to get you that information based on your work history, and your work credits.

I wish you luck mikey:  going for disability is not easy, what if you are able to prove your medical status in your conditions it should not be very hard to get there.

Brian

[ppdude]

@DailyDi -- get an appointment at yourlocal Social Security office (man, I hate government) to apply for disability. They'll let you know if you qualify and will probably want documentation. They can look up your work history and amounts withheld. That will determine your award amount and your monthly payout. You'll probably have to see one of their incompetent doctors to validate your claim. Good luck dealing with them!

 

 

[Cute_Kitten]

3 hours ago, ppdude said:

@DailyDi -- get an appointment at yourlocal Social Security office (man, I hate government) to apply for disability. They'll let you know if you qualify and will probably want documentation. They can look up your work history and amounts withheld. That will determine your award amount and your monthly payout. You'll probably have to see one of their incompetent doctors to validate your claim. Good luck dealing with them!

 

 

I just want to add, if you do get a "no" (not saying you will, just saying IF), don't give up and don't take no for an answer. Fight it. File an appeal. Get a disability lawyer who specializes in that area of law. My aunt had to do that when she got diagnosed with fibromyalgia and a few other conditions and was turned down for disability. She had to fight but in the end she got it.  (But I really hope you don't have to go through that, it's a pain in the ass. I think the bastards design it that way to discourage people)

[waynecook52]

4 hours ago, ppdude said:

@DailyDi -- get an appointment at your local Social Security office (man, I hate government) to apply for disability. They'll let you know if you qualify and will probably want documentation. They can look up your work history and amounts withheld. That will determine your award amount and your monthly payout. You'll probably have to see one of their incompetent doctors to validate your claim. Good luck dealing with them!

 

 

Getting ssi or ssdi they determine the amout you make inthe last few years you work.It has NOTHING to do with amounts withheld.I have had to tell this same thing to a bunch of people.

[willnotwill]

Many people get turned down on the initial application.  I have a friend whose entire law practice is getting such things taken care of.

As pointed out there are two distinct programs.    SSDI which is the program for those who have worked in the past.    You qualify by having had a job that paid into social security in addition to being disabled.    A modest limit ($18,000 and change) of income is permitted before benefits start to be reduced.

SSI is also a disability program, but work experience is not required.   What you can't have income OR much in assets.    Program benefits are also reduced if someone else is providing you room and board.

These programs may also be required to get on (pre-65) medicare.

Tons of information on the SSA website.    Information on working and getting benefits at the same time are here:  https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10095.pdf

 

[Little Cub Pants]

18 hours ago, ~Brian~ said:

@DailyDi

Mikey: when you deal with SSI/SSDI: the SSI program is for people who are disabled who use it based on need, while the SSDI program is based on those who are determined to be “disabled“. Because I have cerebral palsy, and I have had it since I was before the age of 21, I believe the diagnosis was already part of my medical records, and because I was getting SSI since the age of 17, there was a diagnosis of a disability already on file. When my father and my mother retired: MOM retired first, dad retired next and then, for each person I ended up getting a packet of information. You get Medicaid, and then you get a certain amount of money every month, And in Vermont you can get what they consider to be “extra help“ so that you don’t have to pay Medicare premiums with your disability money. This will allow you to have a full amount of disability without any deductions for medical care.

I am assuming Mikey that what they will do is they will have a doctor either your general practitioner, or a specialist, let the Social Security administration know of your disability, and there will be somebody who will be making that decision, and I believe it will be based on documentation that you will present to them when they ask for it. It has been along time since I actually had to file paperwork for disability, and the only time that anything changed was when someone called me and said “Brian your dad retired so this is what will happen“, or “Brian your mom retired and this is what’s going to happen“.

Either way I am sure that your doctor whatever doctor it is or a combination of doctors will be able to certify that you are disabled if they believe that you are really disabled.  When I was considered “disabled“ under the law, three weeks after that, I was put into permanent disability forbearance, which meant that I would be able to eventually “get rid of“ my school loans because of my permanent disability. Once you have that set up, you should be able to receive your disability benefits according to the laws of the state you live in, in your case I believe Alabama.  Not sure how much she would get, but it would also depend on your work history and how much you were able to work. They end up deciding how much you get based on your work credits. If you have enough work credits, then you would be able to get it as well. In my case, I did not have enough work credits or work history, but I still got enough to be able to live on.

SSDI is also determined based on where you live at: if you live in the state of Vermont you may have one payment amount, while if you live in the state of Georgia or Alabama, you may have a different amount. It all depends on the work credits and everything else that is put in to play when they figure out how much they give you. If you end up getting SSDI, I am assuming you already get state Medicaid benefits. If you are considered disabled, you may end up having both Medicaid and Medicare. You will end up getting your Medicare card that will have your medicare number, which used to be The Social Security number of your mother or father, if that is how you were getting benefits through them, or your Social Security number. In my case it was my dad‘s Social Security number, followed by the letters “CI“. Now they have a new system where the number they give you for your Medicare number has nothing to do with your parents Social Security number or whatever it used to be. The number is generated by a system and has no connection to your Social Security number, so somebody can’t use that against you or be able to do something underhanded or sneaky.

I am sure that your doctor will be able to find a way to consider you “totally permanently disabled“ under the law so that you can get those type of benefits. I do not see why with your conditions that would be an issue, because of constant pain at least. There may be other conditions that are exacerbated because of back pain or whatever, but I don’t believe that anybody that is an examiner or person that determines the disability status would not take your disabilities into account when making that decision.  when I turned 17, I got my first SSI check: when my MOM retired, I ended up getting some SSI and then some SSDI: when my dad retired, they ended up going into the records and determining which of my parents made the most money. In that case, it was my dad, and when they did that, they put me under my dad‘s Social Security. This means that I am drawing on his Social Security, because of my disability. I had no problem approving the disability because I was disabled before the age of 25, and I believe that is what they use. As I said I am not sure of the rules of your state, but I am sure based on what I have read and understand of your disability status you should be able to easily get a doctor to certify you disabled. I warn you however, that it may take a while to get through all of this, especially if you have never applied before, but you should not have any problem getting certified disabled if you have all of your documentation and can prove your disability. Once you do that you should be golden. Not sure how much she will get, but whoever does the determination should be able to get you that information based on your work history, and your work credits.

I wish you luck mikey:  going for disability is not easy, what if you are able to prove your medical status in your conditions it should not be very hard to get there.

Brian

Brian, have you always had cerebral palsy?!??

[~Brian~]

@BabySpiderBoy

yes I’ve always had cerebral palsy: to me it is not really a problem except for sometimes when you have to be able to move in one of your body parts doesn’t want to move or your muscles decide that they don’t want to work. I am the type of guy that does not like to use his “disability“ and less I have to use it. There have been a few times in my life where I had to use the fact that I am disabled to get something that I need. When that happens, I have no problem doing so. From Mikey‘s description he sounds like he is in a lot of excruciating pain from having to move around and stand.

They say it is very hard to get disability, but I would assume that if you have all the medical records that you need you should have no problem. If you do have some issues, hopefully someone will be able to help you get what you need for a diagnosis Mikey.  This is a case where I would use my disability to The fullest extent possible, because if you’re able to get what you want and you need then everything is cool. If not, you might have to wait a long period of time before you get a decision because someone will be fighting you all the way. I wish you all the best Mikey because I know that it is a pain in the neck to try to get disability. From what I understand, you have gone through hell a lot and I would expect that you would be able to get what you need and I pray that you do!

have a great day, stay warm, and have a hot chocolate on me!  (It is cold up here in Vermont)

Brian

[rusty pins]

23 hours ago, ppdude said:

@DailyDi -- get an appointment at your local Social Security office (man, I hate government) to apply for disability. They'll let you know if you qualify and will probably want documentation. They can look up your work history and amounts withheld. That will determine your award amount and your monthly payout. You'll probably have to see one of their incompetent doctors to validate your claim. Good luck dealing with them!

 

20 hours ago, Cute_Kitten said:

I just want to add, if you do get a "no" (not saying you will, just saying IF), don't give up and don't take no for an answer. Fight it. File an appeal. Get a disability lawyer who specializes in that area of law. My aunt had to do that when she got diagnosed with fibromyalgia and a few other conditions and was turned down for disability. She had to fight but in the end she got it.  (But I really hope you don't have to go through that, it's a pain in the ass. I think the bastards design it that way to discourage people)

Everything I have seen on TV commercials for the lawyers seems to indicate you will automatically be turned down until you get a disability lawyer to fight for you.  When I needed Medicaid for a short time between jobs I was turned down over and over because I was white in our area.  I submitted all kinds of paperwork and was always turned down, no explanation except one time I received a letter stating Medicaid was not for anyone between the ages of 21 and 65!  I finally bundled up all my information, tax returns and copies of letters I had received, 12 pages and sent them to the Governor's office.  I mailed them Thursday morning, received an email from the Governor's quick response team Friday afternoon and received a call from the local Department of Human Services Monday morning stating I had been totally approved with apologies all over the place!  Sometimes you have to fight for justice!

9 hours ago, willnotwill said:

Many people get turned down on the initial application.  I have a friend whose entire law practice is getting such things taken care of.

As pointed out there are two distinct programs.    SSDI which is the program for those who have worked in the past.    You qualify by having had a job that paid into social security in addition to being disabled.    A modest limit ($18,000 and change) of income is permitted before benefits start to be reduced.

SSI is also a disability program, but work experience is not required.   What you can't have income OR much in assets.    Program benefits are also reduced if someone else is providing you room and board.

These programs may also be required to get on (pre-65) medicare.

Tons of information on the SSA website.    Information on working and getting benefits at the same time are here:  https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10095.pdf

 

Find out the laws that apply to you.  You can also work so many hours along with disability pay as I have a friend in a wheelchair on disability who can work but only so many hours a week.  Your diaper selling business might be allowed to continue if you get disability, just make sure you know just how many hours a week or month you can spend on it.

[willnotwill]

You can also work so many hours along with disability pay...

If you are in the United States, then the SSA rules I referred to IS the law that applies and it's based on dollars earned not hours.    You exceed the SGA threshold and they don't consider you disabled anymore.   There are a few exceptions, but that's the basis for it.

 

[DailyDi]

I've heard they have an almost universal turn-down rate for first timers. I expect to have to hire one of those billboard lawyers

[steveg]

I got my VA disability way faster than any form of SSI.  SSI turned me down 3 times sayin I can do a less domanial job this was while i had a massive herniated disk and could barely walk each time and with learning disabilities.  I did hire a ambulance chaser who got me a closed time settlement for almost a years and half of disability and a 30k settlement.  it took 2 years before it went to a Judge for that determination.  the VA took less than 6 month for a 50% disability rating after i got off my ass after 20 years deciding it was time to do something. 

[technomonkey]

you will need to have a few doctors on your side like neurosurgery, pain doctor , family doctor. you will have to prove why you can't do any jobs. With Every one looking for workers SSD will turn you down first time then you go to court and they will have some one saying you qualify for this type of work, like desk job answering phones IE phone center. You can't turn down surgery if a surgeon says it will make you better. Because SSA will ask you why u turned it down. They will ask you what kid of skills you have. The more you tell them the more jobs they will try to find you.

[Nyte Kitsune]

They will do anything to get out of giving people disability, I can't get it, though my hemorrhoids' are extremely severe (Internal, Prolapsed and become thrombosed) and have asthma, but to qualify I have to have a "Major" underlying medical condition. However, if you are military or former military you can collect disability for hemorrhoid's without any other requirement. Doctors here in the US are corrupt and biased, their only interest is how much money you can make them.

[ppdude]

On 11/30/2021 at 8:16 PM, DailyDi said:

I've heard they have an almost universal turn-down rate for first timers. I expect to have to hire one of those billboard lawyers

For something that is easily proven, as in my case as loss of eyesight and others I know that have lost limbs in industrial accidents it is a waiting game. It takes time to conform to their crazy requirements but in the end (I can't believe I'm saying this) not horribly bad.

 

 

[Crinklz Kat]

On 11/30/2021 at 8:16 PM, DailyDi said:

I've heard they have an almost universal turn-down rate for first timers. I expect to have to hire one of those billboard lawyers

[oliver d]

In Israel having moderate/severe hearing loss qualifies me for disability percentages. If I would apply for it I would get about 300$ extra to my pay check a month.