disability

Lamb, my gi recommended I go on disability in 2004. He said you will be 2nd patient that I have recommended this to & I will provide any information SSD needs. He's pretty conservative. I applied & was approved immediately. I urge you to discuss this with your gi, his words will go a long way over your GP.

Lawyers typically do not want to get involved until a person gets denied. I had a phone interview with SSD & we went over my earnings to make sure the figures were correct. They sent me the paper work & I filled out the forms & sent them back. Just my thoughts, not everyone needs to hire a lawyer. A person should never, never pay a lawyer up front. The way it works if a person gets denied, they should hire a lawyer that works on a contingency fee basis. Meaning, if they win at a hearing, they have to provide a fee petition to SSD for approval of the fees to be withheld from past due benefits. They have to prove what they did on the claim & SSD sets a cap on the fees. Make a separate file just for SSD & always keep a copy of everything.

I have experience with SSD from my work in the legal field. If you would like you can email me with some questions. I will help any way I can. Just put in the heading you are from HW so I don't delete the email, lol.

Thanks for your replies. I'll get started asap.

Disability is a word that often lurking in the background. It is a scary word, because it creates many uncertainties. So far I can understand SSD insurance payment is not a lot of money averaging $1K-$2K a month. How hard is it to live with such dramatic reduction in income? How would that affect your family, such as your spouse relation and your children's education? Nothing can be worse than being poor and sick at the same time.

Lamb, when filling out the forms about how your condition prevents you from working, details are important. It also asks about how your conditions prevents you from doing your daily activities, be specific & do not glaze over your issues. You have to remember the people reviewing your file are not drs, always keep this in mind. Never assume they know what your health problems are about, they don't.

SSD pays more than retirement at 65 in most cases. Like you said, having some money is better than none. Be sure to read about Medicare entitlements. I was not entitled to it until 18 months after my favorable decision, counting all time involved it was 24 months. I stayed with regular Medicare plus a supplemental policy. My husband is also on regular Medicare & he has a lot of medical problems. I have had zero problems getting my treatments, no wait time, nothing. Medicare advantage plans vary state to state & too restrictive for our taste.

Take care.