SSDI application

[Guest guest]

Hi, Laurel,

>I recently got my first SSDI denial. I can't decide if it would be worth

>it

>to hire an attorney at this point or try to appeal on my own. I'm

>completely

>housebound and virutally bedridden -- so I want to do the easiest thing

>possible! For those who have gone through the process, any suggestions?

>My

>doctor is willing to write a letter to assist me in the appeal.

>

>I was approved for long term disability through work.. so at least I have

>that and don't have to worry about funds in the meantime.

First thing to do is to call your LTD insurer. Most LTD policies have a

trade-off provision, where if you get SSDI they pay you that much less. In

that case they are always willing to help you get the SSDI, because it saves

them money.

Even if that is the case, you are ahead to go ahead and gert SSDI. First it

makes it much harder for your LTD insurer to suddenly dump you - they have

to prove you are not disabled, because if you are on SSDI there is a legal

presumption that you are disabled. Also, the SSDI cost-of-living increases

every year are yours, not traded off to benefit the LTD carrier.

If they won't help you get a lawyer, I would suggest going thru the

reconsideration by yourself. I saw a notice at the SSA office not long ago

that said that there is a single person in charge of your application. Call

that person and ask them point-blank what is needed for your application to

be successful. A doctor's letter is almost a must. A statement detailing how

much (or little) you can do each day is needed - especially if you are

nearly bedbound. Medical evidence is NOT, repeat NOT, required. A lack of

positive medical tests cannot legally keep you from getting SSDI. (Appeals

court decision on this,in an FM case.) The important thing is to stress what

you can, and cannot, do.

Jerry

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[Guest guest]

You do not necessarily get rejected on your first try. If you do it

correctly, you can get accepted.

My sister worked for Soc. Sec. and helped me when I filed. I got

accepted on the first try and recently received a check for a year's

worth of disability payments.

Be sure you include with your application every single medical

record you can get your hands on...no matter if it has to do with

PBC or AIH or anything else. The thicker the pile of paper, the

better. I even included a MRI of ny knees on a CD. Also, inform

ALL of your doctors you are filing for SSDI as they will be

contacted. My PCP had me come in and go over the paperwork with her.

The only thing SS wanted me to do was go to a one-time appt. with a

psychologist where I explained how it affected my daily life (brain

fog, profound fatigue, etc.). After that, I got my approval within

a month. The whole process took almost a year.

One note - if you get accepted for SSDI you are not eligible for

Medicare for two years from the date of your first eligible month.

I filed in February 2005, got accepted in January 2006, and can't

get Medicare until January 2007. Makes no sense to me as you'd

think the disabled are the ones who need the insurance the most.

A lot of people recommend this site:

www.disabilitysecrets.com/

Take care,

Sandy C.

[Guest guest]

The two year wait is a joke

I think they hope people pass on so they don thave to pay. Other than this I

see no sense in it when a person is in need this is when they need it the

most.

The first two year are oh so important

sherry

[Guest guest]

I agree about the 2 year wait of Medicare, its the disabled that have

been approved that need it the most. Does anyone know what the logic

is to the 2 year wait? I've always wondered.

I got SSDI within 3 months or so of my first and only application.

I've had it now for 5-6 years. Perhaps I filled it out correctly and

unconsciously knew how as I had help many who had recently become

disabled apply during my employment as a social worker at the local

county hospital. Or I just got lucky?

The forms seem overwhelming but I just parked myself at starbucks one

day with a big cup O joe and did it in sections. It was done within 3

visits to starbucks and it seemed much more manageable when broken

down in chunks. Alos, color coding helped, marking areas of the form

that I needed to gather more info about, missing addresses, spelling

of doctors names etc. Post it notes makes color coded flags that

helped mark these pages, and when the flags were all gone, I knew I

was done.

Jen

[Guest guest]

,

By all means, start your SSDI on-line application and electronically

send it. It will be faster - the field offices are just way too slow

using actual paperwork. Whatever you started at the SSA office is most

likely still sitting on someone's desk and will sit there for much

longer before anything is done. Your On-line application will go direct

to the main SSA data center and hopefully this should get you approved

for benefits faster.

And yes, you do NOT have to apply for SSI before SSDI, even if you are

ineligible for SSI. Also, something to consider, now the SSA (and Darryl and the

entire offce) have alot of your personal/financial information at their hands.

SSA employees are NOT bonded, and knowing someone's bank info/cc/DL, etc., can

set up an unsuspecting person for a big problem with theft. I don't mean to

scare you, but this is a reality, unfortunately.

Contact the OIG (Office of Inspector General) - to report this cr** that SSA is

having you do/telling you to do. I posted the link to it yesterday, but here it

is again http://oig.hhs.gov/

You can find your Congresspersons at http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/ just

click on your state and go from there.

~ Gretchen

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Gretchen.

I've already filed with the OIG and also with the SSA.

Then, I called and spoke with the local office manager who didn't really know

anything (not surprising) but she did get me in contact with Darryl's supervisor

who apparently filled out another record of

my complaint. He asked a lot of questions and took a lot of notes (I could hear

him typing). He is going to

speak with Darryl.

I still didn't get a warm fuzzy feeling that even the supervisor knew too much.

He said that there is an abbreviated SSI form that they complete with just one

of two questions to see if you qualify or not. He claims that you don't have to

lie about the marital status either. Personally, I'm thinking that there is a

glitch in their computer form that the supervisors aren't aware of and that the

employees have found a work around for (even though the work around is illegal).

Maybe my complaints will get them together to work out their problems.

As for me, I still can't file on-line because they've already started the form

when I was in the office. I even have the " receipt " stamp showing that I have

filed. The on-line application kicks me out because my SSN shows that I have

filed.

I'm definitely aware of the stealing information concern but I can't do much

about it at this point. I did tell the supervisor about those concerns as well

so, hopefully, just filing a complaint would deter anyone from trying to get

money from me.

So now, I'm going to complete the forms at home (my hubby can type them or write

them) and send them certified mail along with all of my medical files to the SSA

office. Hopefully, they won't screw up the

part where they put my information into my file!