JoB
New resident…
I am going to assume you are just ignorant about how the disability process works in the United States.
To get disability, you have to be unable to work for medical reasons, you have to have been unemplyed for a period of time which i think is at least 6 months… and you have to be under a doctor’s care.
You can’t get disability for any condition which can be treated and managed well enough for you to return to work…
work means ANY gainful employment.
at your final disability hearing.. an “expert” on employment possibilities will present their opinion on what work you could possibly do in spite of your disability… based simply upon the your doctor’s medical report.. without meeting you or evaluating your capabilities.
I explain all of this to you because i want you to know that the process for applying for disability is not for whimps.
it can take 6 months to several years for your application to be processed… but if you are truly disabled and persist.. the chances of your application being finally accepted at your hearing are pretty high.
the backlog in the system which created such long waiting periods isn’t due to people trying to cheat the system. It’s due to underfunding the system.
The last time i checked the statistics, more people died in my county waiting for the social security disability determination than were turned down as a fraudulent application.
if you are without substantial savings… you will need to find a free clinic to treat you.. because you can’t get disability unless you are under a doctor’s care.
and you can’t get state funded medical care unless you are on disability… or most other kinds of public assistance.
For instance, you have to have an address to qualify for food stamps… but if you are living at a friends… whether for free or paying rent.. the entire household income is considered in your application.
if you are living in your car.. you have no address.
so.. you wait a year or two or three before you get your hearing.. and by the way.. that’s after you are already disabled and unable to work for more than 6 months (i think it’s 6 months).
If you are lucky, you have savings to support you while you wait…
but most don’t. Many don’t survive long enough to collect the benefits they were entitled to…
And you are not done once you are granted benefits. Depending upon your disability, you will be reviewed periodically and can have your benefits suspended during the review.
suicide is the greatest health risk to the disabled…
that doesn’t say much for our society.
BTW … you should know…
social security disability is not a handout program.
It is public disability insurance that you have no choice but to contribute to while you work…
and is paid out dependent upon your personal earnings…
Instead of being based on your lifetime earnings, your benefit is based on the earnings during the last 4 quarters… if you were out of work for any time before filing, for any reason including your medical condition… your benefit decreases.
Unfortunately, many people aren’t educated about that benefit and wait too long to file.. hoping against hope that they will recover and return to work.
I am afraid the reality is a long ways from the myth of people trying to scam the system… and yet severely ill people are marginalized daily because of that myth.