SSI

[Guest guest]

> Hi Amy,

>

> Blood work is not the only indicator of PA. If you have x-rays or

MRI's to show degeneration or progression of the disease, that is

also used to determine disability. A functional capacity exam (FCE)

is also helpful ...(snipped)

> Allayne

How is blood work an indicator of PA? I have been told that there is

no blood test for PA. The blood work can tell if there is arthritis

what with inflammation etc.. is that what you mean?

Can anyone tell me the name of the scan that " lights the joints up "

that has been discussed before? I don't remember reading the actual

name but that it was a scan.

Also, when someone goes in for a FCE are there do's and don'ts to

prepare? Does the patient stop all meds for a couple days? Does it

make a difference in the tests or are the meds influence taken under

consideration? i.e. can walk with meds and can't walk without meds.

Curious,

Pat B

[Guest guest]

---I am sorry for your frustations on this...I do understand....I had to

wait five months before recieving disability but it was worth the wait. I was

forturnate enough to know...how they worked. I believe the waiting period is

different for each state but I am not sure on that either. nosugar

[ ] ssi

hi,

for those who have no experience with trying to get

disability, be patient. check the fine print too. when i

finally gave up the fight and quit work, i went straight

to apply for ssi. i was denied and i appealed and was

denied again. they said i wasn't sick enough for

disability. it wasn't until i got a lawyer that i found out

that you have to actually be off work for, i think, a year

before you qualify for ssi. the time period may be

different, i haven't looked at my paper for a while.

that was so frustrating because i might not have needed

a lawyer if i had known to wait. it is a fight to the death,

because social security does not believe we are truly

disabled, and will be stay disabled. even a rheumy i

saw doesn't believe in it.

stay patient and don't get frustrated.

susan in ohio

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[Guest guest]

I filled out the paper work the first time August 1997 and was just approved

November 8, 2000. It took 2 appeals and a court hearing. After all of this

the court ruled March 5, 1998, was my disability date. I have huge medical

bills from a hospitalization at the end of July 2000. In my brain fog I

thought that Medicare possibly could cover some of those bills. Much to my

surprise the ss office today told me it may be months (4-5) to get the claim

processed and there will be an additional 5 month wait? Can anyone tell me

what is going on? What is this five month wait? If I add correctly that is

41 months after you are found to be disabled before you are eligible for

Medicare. How can this be? It doesn't seem logical or fair to make us wait

that long for medical coverage.

Oh well life isn't fair!

Ilene

[Guest guest]

Ilene, I am not sure why you would have to wait another 5months but I would

be asking someone who would tell me why...for me the wait was because I had

not been out of work long enough...and they told me it was a 24months to

wait for medicare after being on disabilty. I'm sorry I know I may not been

of much help, but my best regards to you! Keep asking SS office until they

find someone who can anwser that ? for you. Nosugar

Re: [ ] ssi

> I filled out the paper work the first time August 1997 and was just

approved

> November 8, 2000. It took 2 appeals and a court hearing. After all of

this

> the court ruled March 5, 1998, was my disability date. I have huge

medical

> bills from a hospitalization at the end of July 2000. In my brain fog I

> thought that Medicare possibly could cover some of those bills. Much to

my

> surprise the ss office today told me it may be months (4-5) to get the

claim

> processed and there will be an additional 5 month wait? Can anyone tell

me

> what is going on? What is this five month wait? If I add correctly that

is

> 41 months after you are found to be disabled before you are eligible for

> Medicare. How can this be? It doesn't seem logical or fair to make us

wait

> that long for medical coverage.

>

> Oh well life isn't fair!

> Ilene

>

>

>

> Please visit our new web page at:

> http://www.wpunj.edu/icip/pa

>

> This past year had moderated a chat on arthritis at

www.about.com on Thursday evenings and hopes to start up doing so again

soon- we will keep you posted! Meanwhile, if anyone would like to start a

weekly chat on egroups, please contact or . Thanks

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi llene,

The most important date for SS is the date that they say you were disabled, regardless of when you applied or how long it takes to get them to say that you are disabled for SS purposes.

My date was set as September 1997, and the SS disability payments then started after five months of disability as set in the SS law. That for me was March 1998 after more than two years of paperwork, etc. I was notified by SS in August 1999. After all that time there is some good news, you get a lump sum of all payments back dated to that second date, March 1998.

Your medical coverage, Medicare, starts one year after the disability payments date set by the Social Security folks. Again in my case that was March 1998. So in March 2000 I started Medicare hospital, part A and medical insurance, part B. You have to decide to take Part B, and they will take $45.50 out of your SS disability payments to pay for part B. Most of us on disability need both part A and B, but you will need to look into that for your own case.

When you get the dates for your case in order then you can tell when your coverage for medical care started and you will know what medical bills will be included in the coverage. Since you said in your email that March 5 was the date that SS said you were disabled, my guess is that your disability payments should have started in September 1998 and your medical coverage should have been effective in September 2000. The bad news is that medical care before that date is not covered. So the critical thing to do is get all the SS letters and notifications and just write down those key dates to see just where you are.

Hope this helps...........Bob in VA

[Guest guest]

Ilene

To my knowledge and I'm on SS you have a waiting period of two years before

you are eligible for Medicare and it sounds like they are going from the

March 5.1998. But I'm with you about the additional 5 month wait. I don't

understand that one. Maybe some else has a light on that one.

I knew about the wait so continued with my own medical coverage from work

till the Medicare kicked in then I switched my own insurance to a supplement

and tis a good thing I'd be living a cardboard box somewhere. (it is a law

now that your employer has to offer the same coverage called Cobra for 18

months. Of coarse you have to pay the premium.)

Best of Luck ......Nanny

[Guest guest]

Ilene,

When you say that the administrative judge set March 5, 1998 as

the date of disability, do you mean that he says you were disabled

on March 5, 1998 or that your social security would start on March

5, 1998?

Medicare coverage begins 2 years after the social security

payments begin. In my case, I was found to be disabled from May

17, 1997, eligible for social security in November, 1997 and eligible

for medicare in November, 1999.

The delays are due to what they believe will be coverage from work,

I think. In most cases you would stay on the payroll of the

company for close to a year after beginning short term disability

which normally lasts 4-6 months. After the company terminates

(or you quit) you are eligible for COBRA for at least 18 months.

The system is tough but it is certainly a help once you finish

jumping through all of their hoops.

Charise

[Guest guest]

Ilene,

If you do get medicare, you will not be eligible for a supplemental policy unless the state you live in makes sure there are some available to disabled people. They usually cost a fortune and rarely do they have prescription coverage. Your best bet would to go with a medicare HMO. They have to accept all people on medicare, whether or not they are on disability. Not all places have medicare HMO's. Check out www.medicare.gov and go to the medicare compare section. It will tell you all you need to know about what is available in your area as well as providing you with your state insurance dept phone #, who can fill you in on any local programs. You can also call 1-800-medicare to get this information. If you have been applying for ss disability (which is different than SSI by the way-SSI is supplemental security insurance and is for the low income-SSD is social security disability and that is what is being discussed in this thread) anyhoo, if you have been applying for two years and five months (the waiting period of SSD) and you are then approved, it will go back retroactively, you will get a fat check and automatically be put on medicare-which incidentally cost 45.50 a month. If your claim goes back any further, you will be charged retroactivley (out of your fat check) the medicare premiums for the months that you should have been on it and also all your med claims should retroactively go back through medicare (something of a paperwork nightmare, if you ask me). Warning, if you do not sign up for medicare in the initial enrollment period when you are first eligble, you can not sign up until the next open enrollment period (jan, feb, march) your coverage will not start until July and you will be charged a 10% penalty for each year you did not sign up and were eligible (that means your premium will be 10% more each month for each year you rejected medicare) UNLESS....you have coverage from an actively employed spouse. Good luck!

Re: [ ] ssi

Thanks Bob! You make perfect sense, I wonder why SS can't explain it so a person can understand it? It has been almost 2 years of unrelenting paperwork for me also, the most ridiculous questionnaires and busy work. Some of my Doctors had to send copies of my medical records four times. The file was at least 5-6 inches thick, I can't imagine how SS gets anything done with all of the busy work they require. I am so thankful that I was not destitute while they took their old sweet time with this. Did you have to appeal the decision before a Judge? I was scared and hired an attorney to help but, the hearing was a breeze since SS brought in a retired internist to review the medical record as an expert witness. He wasn't sure it wasn't rheumatoid even thought I have had no positive blood tests for it. He was able to interpret the 19 other drugs I'm on and the impact of the asthma, aspirin, NSAIDS, and other drug allergies I have. Do you know what the rating they give is or what it means? They rated me 1.02 and added up other percentages to get there. It was all over my head. After the ruling how long does it take them to get the paperwork together so I can start receiving the benefits? The decision was made on November 8, 2000. I see they also have the right to review the case for 60 days after the hearing and deny it again, do you know if they ever do that? If I finally receive Medicare am I eligible to get Medicare supplemental even though I am not actually a senior (48)? I would add for those of you who may be considering disability, if you are 50 and over it is much easier, since you are only judged on the ability to do the jobs for which you have training. If you are under 50 you are judged on the ability to do ANY type of gainful employment. Which includes watching a security camera where you can get up move around at will, everything but lay down to make yourself comfortable. So, if you are considering this and have the leeway to wait until you are 50 it is easier. Also, if you are off work too long your quarters of eligibility run out, I think you have to have earned 20 credits in the past 10 years. So, if you have been to sick to work very long you may be considered ineligible, my eligibility ran out in December 1999, so this was my only shot at it. I hope the only thing left is to wait for them to complete the paperwork because, it depressed me terribly every time they sent reams of questionnaires to me. I can rest easier knowing that when my health insurance reaches its maximum (I'm sure before I'm 62) I'll have something other than bankruptcy to fall back on. IlenePlease visit our new web page at:http://www.wpunj.edu/icip/paThis past year had moderated a chat on arthritis at www.about.com on Thursday evenings and hopes to start up doing so again soon- we will keep you posted! Meanwhile, if anyone would like to start a weekly chat on egroups, please contact or . Thanks

[Guest guest]

My son is 18, we applied for his SSI and instead of him getting approved, I have to take him to a PHD this Monday for I guess him to decide, he doesn't even know my son. Has anyone else experienced this? We gave them all his doctor's reports, dah, you would think they could decide from those. pj

[Guest guest]

I am in Virginia and having the same problem. My oldest child who has Aspergers

receives SSI for the past 2 years and he is now 9. My youngest is more severe

with Autism and has been denied twice and going in for our hearing FINALLY the

end of September. We applied for him in April of 2008 when he was almost 3, he

is now 4. The reasons for denial that we got were my son is able to carry on a

normal conversation and answer yes or no questions. Number 1, even a year and a

half later, he still cant carry on a convo, let alone answer simple questions

from anyone but me. I am a stay at home mom and have him in a special ed

preschool but he does not speak to anyone all day long at school. So please

tell me how on earth they came to the conclusion that he is able to do something

that I know he cant. It doesnt make any sense to me. Hopefully with this

hearing it will shine some light on our actual situation.

We are told to bring our child with us to the hearing and any additional

papework or evidence. I do not plan on bringing an attorney as I dont think it

would benefit me personally. I have 10 years of lawfirm experience under my

belt to back me up. And honestly if we are approved after 17 months of waiting I

dont want to have to give up most of the back pay as payment to the attorney.

Other ideas would be to get notes from anyone who is close to your child, such

as teachers or doctors that are on your side. Having them say why they think

you sould be approved or how difficult it is to have a child with an Autism

Spectrum Disorder and how you would benefit from receiving benefits.

Best of luck at your hearing, I hope it all goes well for you.

Hobson

>

> Does any one have any experience with trying to obtain SSI for their child? We

live in Delaware, I've been denied twice and now I have a hearing before a

judge. Any suggestions?

>