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And I forgot to add one thing to Nina's list. First, always remember that the person you are communicating with at SS or an insurance company has NO CLUE about PD.nothing!!...and doesn't actually care to know anything. WATCH the words your neuro writes into your medical file. WATCH the words you write on ANY document. If the question is yes or no, answer it that way.no elaboration!! I manage three website for PD (two) and non-PD (one). When I see the annual question, "Do you have a personal website?" I answer NO and I don't elaborate about have other kinds of websites. Since none of these three websites are "personal" for me alone. I heard about a situation where a PWP had his award from SS for several years. Then one day his neuro wrote "improved" in a SS form reply. Of course this word "improved" actually meant, as we all understand, that his meds were doing their job and his symptoms were improved accordingly. If not for working meds.hummm! Well, leave it to SS to construe that one little word. They immediately took away his SSDI because he was "improved," sending him a letter explaining their interpretation of "improved." It takes the cost of one arm and one leg (LOL) to get your SSDI back again. So take special care of the words you use in any document, whether it is a reply to SS or a reply to a private disability insurer or an employer disability insurer. Typically when I reply annually to the stupid form that my disability insurer (employer's) sends me, I type the questions and answers in a Word document and send that in. After receiving this reply from me, the person at the insurance company invariably calls me on the phone to ask me the same questions. I suppose they want to catch me in a lie or something.who knows how they think. One year he said to me.and I will never forget it."I see you typed the answers, certainly helps you to know what you said so that next time you can repeat yourself." I wanted to reach through the phone a smack him. But, I said, "I do that so you can read them." Well the next year I hand wrote my answers so he could read them nicely. LOL, he deserved it! Carolyn I am responsible. Although I may not be able to prevent the worst from happening, I am responsible for my attitude toward the inevitable misfortunes that darken life. Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself. Walter Anderson quotes _____ From: Carolyn Stephenson [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2008 10:18 AM To: [log in to unmask] UTORONTO. CA ([log in to unmask]) Subject: How to survive the Social Security Disability Process Nina, posted a great list of How to Survive. I am single with no second income, so as with many of us, it is especially hard to plan on what SS will or will not do and the speed with which they will do it. The difficultly/success of the process is also State to State. Although it is a Federal program (Social Security) it is managed by each State, and they are each so so different. I started my process in 2000 in Florida. After two years I had not one single word from them. I moved to south central NYS in 2003. I re-filed there. Within two weeks I had an appointment for a physical with an SS doctor. (I didn't take any meds that morning and even though I probably could have driven myself, I made sure my daughter drove me to the appointment. Within two weeks of this appoint I had an Award Letter in the mail. I do understand the "what will I do if I live on no-income for a period of time or have not health insurance for a period of time." I faced this problem. Here is a thought some may want to consider. I knew my disability insurance took three months to kick in. I crunched and crunched number here at home. I finally decided to step down from my middle management position and take a supervisory position. Of course I didn't tell my employer I had this plan, but it worked for me. My disability was approved (employers plan) because I "can't work at my original position" and at the end of the three months I quit and went to that disability. When I received my SS award it was a good day (retro to April 1 2003, not back to my initial disability date or the date I left work Nov 1, 2000), but when I calculated when Medicare would kick in.ouch.two years after the Award date, I could see that I would have six months of NO health insurance coverage at all, as my COBRA would lapse before the two years. Luckily for me I remained healthy for those six months! Today, I have LTD plus SSDI (of course the LTD is offset by the SSDI amount.a bummer) and I have Medicare and a Medigap Plan. I truly do not understand why the Medicate Advantage Plan(s) are even offered. What do they do that a combination of Medicare and Medigap don't do. I have never paid out a penny for anything, except for my annual eye exam, which has a $25 co-payment/deductible. I have never found a physician who didn't take Medicare. And I don't live in a metropolitan city. Don't here in PA, didn't in rural south central NYS. Carolyn I am responsible. Although I may not be able to prevent the worst from happening, I am responsible for my attitude toward the inevitable misfortunes that darken life. Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself. Walter Anderson quotes ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn