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From: MsMonarchdancer on 1 Aug 2008 17:23

**My special thanks to Arthur for sending me this excellent info!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/14/eveningnews/main3712382.shtml

Disability Benefits Resources

FYI: Information About Filing For Social Security Disability Benefits

NEW YORK, Jan. 14, 2008

(CBS) American workers pay part of each paycheck into Social Security
disability insurance. And that federal money goes toward paying
benefits to those who are injured - and can no longer work.

Each year, 2.5 million people apply to get some of that money back,
in the form of disability benefits. But most applicants are denied.

A two-month investigation by CBS News found that this safety net
might not be there when the most vulnerable of Americans need it most.

The following are resources about disability insurance compiled by
our Investigative Unit.


The Basics

* Check out the official Web site of the Social Security
Administration. http://www.ssa.gov/disability

* For the Veterans Administration, click here. http://www.iris.va.gov/

* Find out more about housing for people living with disabilities at
the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
http://www.hud.gov/groups/disabilities.cfm

* The Department of Labor has information about working with a
disability here. http://www.dol.gov/odep

* More resources are available at the American Association of People
with Disabilities. http://www.aapd-dc.org/

* Check out the National Organization of Social Security Claimants'
Representatives, which provides representation and advocacy on behalf
of those seeking Social Security and Supplemental Security income.
http://www.nosscr.org/

* Seeking help from a community of people living with disabilities?
Check out the Handicap and Awareness Support League.
http://www.haslonline.org/

* For Information about Applying for Disability, visit the Social
Security Administration disability Web site.
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/d&s1.htm

* To get more general information about Social Security Disability,
click here. file://www.socialsecurity.gov/disability

* The SSA also has information about efforts to identify and
implement compassionate allowances for children and adults. Learn
more here. http://www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionateallowances


Dig Deeper

* Check out the Social Security Administration plan to reduce the
hearings Backlog and Improve Public Service or its 2007 end-of-year
fiscal report (.pdfs).
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/hearingsbacklog.pdf
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/appeals/annual2007_12_7.pdf

* The Social Security Disability Coalition offers free information
and support, with a focus on SSDI reform. Check it out here.
http://groups.msn.com/SocialSecurityDisabilityCoalition

* For information on the Fullerton - Edwards Social Security
Disability Reform Act, click here.
http://groups.msn.com/SocialSecurityDisabilityCoalition/fullertonedwardssocialsecuritydisabilityreformact.msnw

* Think it couldn't happen to you? Read a first-person account of
injury (graphic content) here.
http://www.frontiernet.net/~lindaf1/SOCIALSECURITYDISABILITYNIGHTMARE.html


Information for specific injuries or illnesses

* The Social Security Administration (SSA) recognizes MS as a chronic
illness or "impairment" that can cause disability severe enough to
prevent an individual from working. Check out what the MS Society is
doing to help individuals in trying to prevent difficulties in
securing SSDI coverage.

* Or, check out the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

* For mental health resources, visit the Web site of the National
Mental Health Association. http://www.nami.org/

* The Invisible Disabilities Advocate is another resource. Visit it
here. http://www.myida.org/


Getting the Benefits you Deserve

Allsup, Inc., is a for-profit company that helps individuals in
applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits.
The company's Web site includes several resource sheets, including:
http://www.allsup.com/

* Disability guidelines
* Disability resources
* Disability eligibility evaluation

To help individuals with disabilities apply for and receive the
benefits they deserve, Allsup provides its "Top 10 Tips for Breaking
through the Backlog."

1. Determine eligibility. To be eligible for benefits, claimants must
have been disabled before reaching full retirement age (65-67) and
meet the Social Security Administration's definition of disabled,
which generally means being unable to work due to a medically
determinable mental or physical impairment expected to result in
death or last for at least 12 months. Individuals must be under age
65 and also have worked and paid into the program for five of the
last 10 years.

2. File immediately. If an initial claim is denied, Allsup notes that
the wait for an appeals hearing now takes an average of 524 days.
There is no time to lose.

3. Obtain doctor's agreement. Claimants need written medical
confirmation of their qualifying conditions when they apply.
According to Allsup, not having a doctor's agreement when filing
could delay the process a month or more.

4. Get help. Filing for disability benefits is a complicated process
akin to preparing a difficult income tax return. Allsup emphasizes
that the earlier applicants seek help, the more support they can get
to help put them back on the right track.

5.Prepare an accurate medical record. A comprehensive factual record
is required to convince the government to provide benefits.

6. Establish your work history. Compile records of dates and tenure
of previous employment. As noted above, individuals must have worked
for five of the previous 10 years to qualify for benefits.

7. Meet deadlines. If benefits are denied at any stage of the
process, claimants have only 60 days to file an appeal. If the
deadline is missed, the process starts over from the beginning.

8. Reduce spending. The long wait for benefits means that people lose
their savings, their cars and sometimes even their homes. Cut out
unnecessary spending as quickly as possible and prepare for the long
haul. And don't use credit cards. Allsup reminds applicants that
high-interest debt will add to long-term problems. There may be
other, more affordable options for handling expenses.

9. Maintain health insurance. There will be a temptation to cut
spending on insurance, but Allsup notes that even after individuals
begin receiving disability benefits there is a two-year waiting
period for Medicare eligibility.

10. Don't give up. The Social Security Administration denies more
than 60 percent of all initial applications, but two-thirds of the
people who appeal eventually will receive their benefits.


~*~Time heals all wounds, unless you pick at them~*~

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