Robert.Bowes5th@p0.f4.n382.z1.fidonet.org (Robert Bowes5th) (05/09/91)
Index Number: 15447
Yes Bill,
It almost took me a year to get my disability as I have
epilepsy, where I have seizures that are sometimes hard to control.
So don't give up even if they deny you, you need to appeal until you
get it as I had to appeal 4 times until I got it, because my doctor
told me that I had a right to SSI disability & if he hadn't said
something I probably wouldn't have it today. Let me know what's going
on but most of all don't give up on it.
Take care,
Robert
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!382!4.0!Robert.Bowes5th
Internet: Robert.Bowes5th@p0.f4.n382.z1.fidonet.orgPandora.Nigh@f3.n157.z1.fidonet.org (Pandora Nigh) (05/09/91)
Index Number: 15450
Hi Bill, have just a little more patience. You have to be disabled for
6 month before they ecept the claim, if they except it. The standard
proceedure is half over for you, you've got your doctors signiture and
diagnosis plus the paperwork in. After they rule on your claim and if
excepted they will give you a lump sum for the back 6months.
Have you contacted the bureau of vocational rehabilitation in your
state? They may be able to help you take the education and apply that to
another field. Voc Rehab will pay for schooling, special supplies needed
to go to school, attendant fees in some states. The reason I bring this
option up is it is much better to be able to go back into the work force
than to try and make ends meet on the pitance that you will get from SS.
Just be patient they should be getting back to you in another month or
so.
Pandora
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!157!3!Pandora.Nigh
Internet: Pandora.Nigh@f3.n157.z1.fidonet.orgTerry.Norris@p0.f7.n3803.z1.fidonet.org (Terry Norris) (05/09/91)
Index Number: 15453
BS> Is this a normal thing with these people? I call and all they
BS> will tell me is that my "claim is being processed....and they
BS> can't say when it will be complete" We are rapidly approaching
BS> 5 months. .
BS> Any help? Advice? Sympathy? Hope?
Sometimes gaining disability is a long and drawn out process. It took me
over three years to finally start getting beneifts, and even at that there
is another years wait before I can start to utilize the medical benefits
allowable.
Expect your first petition to be denied, as it seems like it is almost
automatic, but you have the right to appeal their decision, and I would
encourage you to excercise that right....repeatedly. Appeal not only the
initial denial, but the appeals as well(if they too are denials). After
the third appeal on the same filing, it is turned over to the courts, and
a judge will review the situation instead of the normal Social Security
review system.
After being denied for several years, a Soc.Sec. person told me to do it
this way, and when I did, was awarded benefits. I am to be reviewed annually,
and have not been able to use the medical benefits as of yet, but at least
they help out a little with the monthly cost of living.
Wish you the best of luck
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!3803!7.0!Terry.Norris
Internet: Terry.Norris@p0.f7.n3803.z1.fidonet.orgFrank.Whitney@p0.f1000.n261.z1.fidonet.org (Frank Whitney) (05/15/91)
Index Number: 15634 >is that my "claim is being processed....and they can't say when it will be >complete" We are rapidly approaching 5 months. >. >Any help? Advice? Sympathy? Hope? > Prepare to be rejected at least one time. Just have your doctor resubmit everything if that happens. They are notoriously slow when processing a claim. My wife Jeanne was lucky in that she was able to get a full disability on her first try. She had two good doctors and she applied for her disability because of MS and depression combined with cognitive problems. Even so it took quite a while. Good luck you do have my sympathy. I hope that you get it on your first try. Frank. -- Via Opus Msg Kit v1.12 -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!261!1000.0!Frank.Whitney Internet: Frank.Whitney@p0.f1000.n261.z1.fidonet.org
Pandora.Nigh@f3.n157.z1.fidonet.org (Pandora Nigh) (05/15/91)
Index Number: 15644
Hi Bill, did you also aply for SSA (straight Social Security
Disability)? I had thought that's what you are waiting on. SSA allows
you to get Medicare and that comes out of your SSA check. SSI is a
combination of State and Federal Funds. The Social Security Offices
handle the SSI checks, but the medical coverage (medicaid is handled by
the state.) and is subject for the rules governing income that all low
income and poor are subjecto. If you have a pension or a good sized SSA
check you may be disqualified in most states from collecting not only
SSI but also medicaid. I missed what state your from. California is more
leanient than most others on the amount that you can earn per month.
Earn in the sense that the SS administration means, ie. any income that
you get including SSA or SSI, not necessarily a paycheck type of income.
Most of us on the echo can relate to your medical coverage problems.
One of the changes that will occur in 1982 under ADA is that companies
that offer medical insurance will also have to cover the disabled
employee or a disabled spouse even if it is at a high risk premium. The
restriction on this is if the company is very small and doesn't earn a
lot of money.
Another thing that you may find intresting is : A new l, effective
July 1 1990 allows former disability beneficiares (who lost premium free
Medicare hospital insurance coverage because of work) to puchase this
coverage, as well as the medical insurance coverage. The beneficiary has
to be under age 65 and still have a disability. He does not have to be
working at the time of filing. Previously the law allowed people to
retain Medicare coverage, even though the were working, for up to four
years after beginning work. Under the new ruld, the person may elect to
buy Medicare protection once they are no longer eligible for this
extended coverage. The combined premium for this new coverage is $206.90
per month in 1991, with requirements that states pay all or part of this
amount for people with limited income and resources. You can get more
info on this from you SS office. Hope some of this info could give you a
hand.
Pandora
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!157!3!Pandora.Nigh
Internet: Pandora.Nigh@f3.n157.z1.fidonet.orgFred.Kreitzer@p0.f10.n137.z1.fidonet.org (Fred Kreitzer) (05/17/91)
Index Number: 15725
Hi Girl
I did not know you were versed in S.S. matters. I devote several hours
aweek helping vets get there benefits for non service related
disabilities. Its a nice way to spend an afternoon and you already know
how hard the Dept of Health and Human Services is to deal with if you
dont hire a good laywer. I have no legal background, claim non, but do
enjoy a good fight with them. They would disclaim a dead horse if it
were still warm, I think they hope to fool people into not asking for a
reconsideration. I have gotten many decisions changed on a case review
basis only and avoided informal and formal conferences. I know that if I
did not have a military pension, the only thing that I could get with my
wife's income would be DIB and medicare benefits, think of all the taxes
I would have paid if I had been working on Wall Street all these years,
all wasted, down the tubes. Since I was stationed in states other then
my state of record, I got away with only paying Advalorium taxes .
later kid Sarasota fred
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!137!10.0!Fred.Kreitzer
Internet: Fred.Kreitzer@p0.f10.n137.z1.fidonet.orgEric.Bohlman@p1.f778.n115.z1.fidonet.org (Eric Bohlman) (05/24/91)
Index Number: 15793
BS> call for help, and the one overriding theme from them is "you will get
BS> rejected the first time". I wonder why they just don't go on to the
BS> second time the first time. I guess that's why I am not in government.
About the only sense I can make of it is that it enables them to divert funds
from client payments to administrative activities (I can't believe that the
"turn down on first application" policy really saves them money because of the
extra administrative expenses needed to stonewall applicants).
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!115!778.1!Eric.Bohlman
Internet: Eric.Bohlman@p1.f778.n115.z1.fidonet.orgPandora.Nigh@f3.n157.z1.fidonet.org (Pandora Nigh) (05/24/91)
Index Number: 15799
Hi Fred, yeah SS is a real trip, I try and keep up as much as possible
with all of their changes, and let me clue you they change things alot.
What most people don't realize is on somethings they don't have to have
a major law change to change things. Some of the changes that they make
on coverage are the results of interperting the existing laws and from
court precedents. What makes things even a bigger mish mash is that the
states Medicaid systems are different, so that if in one state you can
get something covered under the state level to compliment you Medicare
benefits it doesn't hold true some place else. It's a real mess and head
ache. One of the quickest way I find out on specific adaptable
equiptment is when I cover stuff for my show I always ask how the person
can get help and pay for the device or service. The suppliers know very
well what Medicare will and will not pay for. It is amazing the stuff
they don't cover. An earlier post had asked if SSA paid for speech
prosthesises, my notes on that are at the studio still because I'm still
working on the Prentke Romich shows. So I don't want to make a sure
statement right now or to them, but my memory if it is serving me right
(sometimes it does) tells me that SSA doesn't and they don't even
recognize a voice synthesizer or other type of voice out put device as a
prosthesis, but the State of Ohio under Medicaid does. What makes this
even more confusing is the fact that the State also gets part of it's
medical funding money from the Feds. You would think that there would be
some consistancy because of that.
You are very lucky that you are a vet. There are some weird gaps in
the SS system. While Social Security gives me a pittance a month for my
son off of my SSA they don't cover him under medical. Because I received
SSA and when I was receiving SSI before I made $5 to much for him to be
covered under Aid to dependent children and thus covered under Medicaid.
Net result is my son ends up with no medical coverage. For some reason,
while SSA acknowledges to an extent that disabled people can have
children on the other hand they don't acknowledge them. I don't know how
the figured that a person on SSA could afford private policies for
medical coverage on dependents specially when a policy costs more than
what they give you a month to live on.
Pandora
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!157!3!Pandora.Nigh
Internet: Pandora.Nigh@f3.n157.z1.fidonet.orgPandora.Nigh@f3.n157.z1.fidonet.org (Pandora Nigh) (05/24/91)
Index Number: 15812
[This is from the Spinal Injury Conference]
Hi Bill, good luck on your SSI and SSA filings and don't forget to
apply for both. SSI maybe a little harder to pull at present depending
on what your pitance is in the bank while SSA is more leanient on the
amount that you can have. Each state is different on the amount of money
that you are alowed to have check out and see what the amount is. Here
in Ohio you are only alowed $1,500 and this covers not only bank
accounts but other assets as well such as stocks,car and if you have a
life insurance policy you must turn it over to the state. If your bank
account is at present higher than LA. will allow then you can reaply
latter as it is dimminished or you can come up with alternative plans
for investing some of it now and thus meeting the requirement. (if you
get what I'm hinting at).
Pandora
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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!157!3!Pandora.Nigh
Internet: Pandora.Nigh@f3.n157.z1.fidonet.orgPandora.Nigh@f3.n157.z1.fidonet.org (Pandora Nigh) (05/31/91)
Index Number: 15883
Hi Fred, yeah SS is a real trip, I try and keep up as much as possible
with all of their changes, and let me clue you they change things alot.
What most people don't realize is on somethings they don't have to have
a major law change to change things. Some of the changes that they make
on coverage are the results of interperting the existing laws and from
court precedents. What makes things even a bigger mish mash is that the
states Medicaid systems are different, so that if in one state you can
get something covered under the state level to compliment you Medicare
benefits it doesn't hold true some place else. It's a real mess and head
ache. One of the quickest way I find out on specific adaptable
equiptment is when I cover stuff for my show I always ask how the person
can get help and pay for the device or service. The suppliers know very
well what Medicare will and will not pay for. It is amazing the stuff
they don't cover. An earlier post had asked if SSA paid for speech
prosthesises, my notes on that are at the studio still because I'm still
working on the Prentke Romich shows. So I don't want to make a sure
statement right now or to them, but my memory if it is serving me right
(sometimes it does) tells me that SSA doesn't and they don't even
recognize a voice synthesizer or other type of voice out put device as a
prosthesis, but the State of Ohio under Medicaid does. What makes this
even more confusing is the fact that the State also gets part of it's
medical funding money from the Feds. You would think that there would be
some consistancy because of that.
You are very lucky that you are a vet. There are some weird gaps in
the SS system. While Social Security gives me a pittance a month for my
son off of my SSA they don't cover him under medical. Because I received
SSA and when I was receiving SSI before I made $5 to much for him to be
covered under Aid to dependent children and thus covered under Medicaid.
Net result is my son ends up with no medical coverage. For some reason,
while SSA acknowledges to an extent that disabled people can have
children on the other hand they don't acknowledge them. I don't know how
the figured that a person on SSA could afford private policies for
medical coverage on dependents specially when a policy costs more than
what they give you a month to live on.
Pandora
--
Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!157!3!Pandora.Nigh
Internet: Pandora.Nigh@f3.n157.z1.fidonet.orgPandora.Nigh@f3.n157.z1.fidonet.org (Pandora Nigh) (05/31/91)
Index Number: 15884
They don't always turn you down on the first application, the catch is
what they have on their hotlist for disabilities. Certain diagnosises
just automatically get approved. Of course while they may approve you
right off the bat you may have to argue over the amount of coverage.
Pandora
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Internet: Pandora.Nigh@f3.n157.z1.fidonet.org