A few differences between benefit programs

An individual who becomes disabled (in some fashion and to some extent) may possibly, depending on their employment situation turn to any one of a number of disability benefit systems, including federal disability (social security disability and SSI), Veterans disability, or Workers compensation.

All of these systems are quite distinct and different.

The federal social security disability and SSI system awards benefits on the basis of total disability and the benchmark consideration is that an individual's disabling condition must have lasted a full year or be projected to last that long.

Veterans disability, by contrast, allows for percentage ratings, though, to receive monthly disability benefits, a veteran must be rated 30 percent disabled or greater.

Workers compensation is entirely different from either of these systems. Workers compensation is not a government benefit and is not standardized throughout the country. Quite the opposite, workers compensation benefits and the standards for approval differ from state to state, though, like veterans disability, an individual who is not permanently and totally disabled may receive consideration for the degree or extent to which they are disabled.






For information on Social Security Disability, visit the

Social Security Disability SSI Resource Center

Medicare, FMLA, Health Insurance, and living with Cancer

The following link leads to a response to a news story. The poster details some of the difficulties involved in dealing with cancer treatment while trying to maintain employment. As she states, companies will allow an employee to have 84 days off under the provisions of the FMLA, or family medical leave act. After that, she states "who wants to keep an employee who is going to be out of work more than in?".

Other issues cited by the poster involve the difficulty of maintaining employment due to the fatigue brought on by chemotherapy and the resulting quandry caused by the inability to maintain the health insurance provided by an employer. Cobra only allows an employee to maintain their health insurance benefits for 18 benefits (and this is not free---the former employee must pay the premium). However, after this period is up, the individual must attempt to find private insurance, which can be extraordinarily expensive (premiums of up to one thousand per month are not unheard of).

Crucial information that your average person with cancer has to deal with on a daily basis





For information on Social Security Disability, visit the

Social Security Disability SSI Resource Center

Improvements in Stents for heart patients

According to an article at BBC News, scientists are now working on providing better stents for heart patients who have suffered artery blockages and have been forced to undergo balloon angioplasty followed by stent placement.

Angioplasty involves the inflation of a balloon within an artery to open it up to increased blood flow (decreased blood flow to the heart can result in a myocardial infarction and even death). After the balloon has been removed, stents are inserted to maintain the dilated width of the artery. The need for stents is actually temporary. However, as they are made of metal, they stay in "for life". Unfortunately, stents are subject to becoming blocked themselves.

The solution: biodegradable stents that dissolve in about four months.






For information on Social Security Disability, visit the

Social Security Disability SSI Resource Center

Medicare and Coverage for Spinal disc replacements

Nearly a quarter million spinal fusion surgeries are performed each year in the United States. Spinal fusions, in many cases, are a last resort option for individuals with severe degenerative disc disease. Unfortunately, not all fusions are successful and in some patients continuing pain levels are significant, in addition to lost mobility as a result of having a fusion performed.

Many have hoped that artificial disc replacement would provide a superior alternative to back fusions. However, according to an article by the New York Times, individuals who are over the age of 60 will not qualify for medicare coverage of either ProDisc-L or Johnson and Johson's Charite Lumbar disc.






For information on Social Security Disability, visit the

Social Security Disability SSI Resource Center

Unfunded liabilities and Social Security

According to this Washingon times article, surpluses that would have accumulated in the social security trust fund have been exhausted by the current administration, and there does not seem to be an end in sight for this approach to funding the day-to-day operations of government. The most frightening part of the article is the disclosure from a report issued by the social security administration trustees: SSA's unfunded liabilities come to nearly five billion dollars. This is an incredible burden, no doubt, to continually build up for future generations.

Busting open the lock box






For information on Social Security Disability, visit the

Social Security Disability SSI Resource Center

Chronic fatigue Sufferers

This is a fairly good article about disability and chronic fatigue. However, the tail end of the article may be a bit misleading in that it seems to suggest that there is an actual listing for chronic fatigue as an impairment. Unfortunately, chronic fatigue is not included in the SSA listing manual, as of yet. And it is for this reason, among many others, that it can be difficult to be given an allowance for benefits on the basis of this impairment.

CFS and its legal ramifications






For information on Social Security Disability, visit the

Social Security Disability SSI Resource Center