At 08:31 AM 5/14/98 EDT, you wrote:
>> To qualify for benefits under my individual plan, I must meet a
>> "regular occupation" definition. This policy also contains a Soc.
>> Security rider under which a supplemental benefit is paid to the insured
>> pending qualification of Social Security benefits. (FAT CHANCE)
If you have resources there probably won't be a SSI benefit until at the
end of the process. The amount risked by the insurance company is just the
difference in those two amounts.
>>
>> Social Security has responded with a series of lengthy questionaires
>> concerning my claim. They are bewildering to me. I have read the two
>> FAQ's concerning Social Security D.I. benefits. They would be
>> informative to a clinician, I guess...but I am a claimant sitting here
>> facing this pile of forms.
The word PD isn't magic, the forms are intended to allow the SS examiner to
determine if you are disabled according to their rules. Do not use the
defense mechanism that you are just partially disabled and you are working
part time. Disability is an oxymoron if you are still receiving wages of
any kind. Be prepared to stop the world and get off for the period
necessary to get this through.
Don't wait for Social Security to write for your records from the various
doctors...get them yourself and attach them to the application. Letters
that you are disabled without any clinical notes showing the diagnosis and
a progression of treatment and succeeding complaints and increase of
interference with work are worthless in determining your eligibility. As
flawed as the Social Security Disability determination process is, it is
all there is. Attach those clinical notes from the doctors.
Applicants that go to the doctors often have a better chance than those who
suffer in silence. A multitude of visits for various things over the years
will perhaps make up for some medical record being complete. If you have
been diagnosed and treated, attach your prescription records showing you
have taken the prescribed medicines. What documentation does is forgo
rejection on technicalities.
The two questions the Social Security examiner has to determine is are you
disabled and if so are there any jobs in numbers that you could do given
your disability and age and education. The diagnosis and treatment answers
part of that. According to the rules you disability must extend to at least
two extremities. the arm and leg are broken into two sub groups, upper and
lower. The examination records will document that.
The vocational and the mental status forms will outline your education and
skills and your mental status. Do not let your defense, coping mechanisms
fill out those forms for you. Coping time has passed...let it all hang out.
Outline how the different questions are impacted by Parkinson's and what
ever else ails you. If you have a grammar school education and have made
buggy wheels, Social Security has a vocational expert they will ask, given
your education and training and your difficulties are there any jobs you
can hold. The answers on the form can affect the outcome so be careful.
>> In closing this diatribe, allow me to tell you I am now 58. I have lost
>> 35 pounds in the last three years. My voice grows weaker. My dead-pan
>> stoic appearance is a crowd-pleaser, I am sure. I am impotent. I am an
You'll have your chance. For those in the same situations, there are two
documents on the Current Topics page that outline the rules that Social
Security uses.
What the Parkinsonian should know about Social Security Disability
Insurance is one of the articles and the other article is directed at the
doctors giving them insight into what Social Security is asking them to
provide.
These two articles are at:
http://www.ionet.net/~jcott/homepage/archive/ct.html
[log in to unmask] Search the parkinsn archive online at:
http://james.parkinsons.org.uk
Search the Parkinsn List Drug Database on line at:
http://www.ionet.net/~jcott/homepage/index.html
John Cottingham
