uk DLA | Arthritis Information

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Hi all a quick story.. a person i know has been on dla 16yrs
getting highrate mobility component for a back injury..
then last year got Lupus he reapplied for the care component..
they wrote to him saying his whole case had been reasesed
and was no longer entitled to any dla.. he is apppealing this
deision.. i wonder what would have happend if a motability
car was involved....

Boney
I get DLA and mobility car. I used to get care componant as getting up and about during the night was something i needed help for as thats when stiffness sets in and if I have been asleep I cant hold a cup of water let alone open my tablets. When I had to be assesed for my DLA after 3 years they took away my care componant!! They said i didnt need it anymore despite the fact that my condition had got worse not better and also I was having bad effects from the meds and wasnt on anything that was helping me. I'd like to know how they worked that one out!!hi pin i have been told they have to reject so many cases..
you have to appeal.. the dla hope this causes to much stress and most
people wont  appeal...

Boney
I can see the sense in that!!! my advice to you is get your local disability services to complete the form
for you they know how to word it..
foregot to say photocopy everything for future reference Good morning B and pin, its morning over here anyway in California.  Just curious, I'm guessin DIA is something about disability but what is "mobility car"?

 
A curious American
 
hi joi D.L.A   is disability living allowance.. it is based on apersons condition.

aperson can get DLA while still at work.. the mobility part of dla is to help
the person to get about .. paid in cash..but can be spent on anything

there is a scheme called motability were a person can choose a brand new car
and use the dla payment to hire the car  for 3yrs. everything is included in
the payments ..insurance... breakdown ..roadtax etc.. basiclly you just drive it
then choose another in 3yrs time..
Well, up until the car I was thinking it sounded really close to what we have to go thru to get disability in the US.
 
Pip
hi pip this is not that type of diability money... when a person comes out of
work they get incapacity benefit...  the dla  is extra
Boney,
 
Thanks for the info.  We don't have anything like "motability" here in the States, but as Pip mentioned, our process to get disability benefits is similar, in that it can be a headache.  Sometimes folks have to appeal several times after being rejected, and some even hire a lawyer. 
 
Our government has 2 programs for disability benefits -- SSI and SSDI.  SSI is a program for people who haven't worked, or are poor with no assets.  They are eligible for health insurance, Medicaid, when they become eligible for SSI.  SSDI is for those who worked and paid into the program, their disability benefit amount is based on what they paid in, but these people are not eligible for the government health insurance, Medicare, until 2 years after becoming eligible for SSDI.  So our system like yours, can be a bureaucratic headache too.
    
Yeah, but one without a car.  The disabled people I know all take the bus.  For those in wheelchairs, it's a nightmare as the lifts don't always work.
 
Boney - is it true that in the UK you can get some 'extra' stuff like in Canada?  Like access to complementary or alternative medicine?  Accupuncture?  We have Physical Therapy - sometimes.
 
Pip
ohhhh, so when a person can no longer work they get incapacity benefits, thats like our social security disability, I'm not sure if we have something like a disability living allowance, some people that are severely disabled may be eligible for some type of caregiver or home care program, but for some people needing a lot of assistance, they sometimes end up in nursing homes.  not a desired place to be.    My husband works but I get DLA , Its made up of mobility allowance, disability living allowance and care componant ( which i dont get) I use my mobility allowance to finance a new car every 3 years which allows me to get around, i dont have to have the car and could have a brand new scooter or use the money for taxi's but i choose to use mine for a car. The DLA is given on 3 different rates, lower, middle and higher, I get higher which then entitles me to get mobility. I could still get DLA if I worked full time but as fatigue and pain has seen to that for the time being I do not work.hi pip there is accses but you need to be refered by the docs.
other wise you need ..to pay..

joi we have the social services here .. they can help get the help a person needs
home care.. adaptions to the house stairlift shower room.. ramps. etc

the uk system is.. incapacity benefit for illness.. must have worked 3yrs to qualify
income support for people who cant get incapacity.. or single parents
can get it..
job seekers allowance. for people out of work..

strange enough if you get income support or job seekers you get
all meds -prescriptions free
if you are ill and get inapacity you pay for presriptions   . I could still get DLA if I worked full time but as fatigue and pain has seen to that for the time being I do not work.   quoty pin thingymebob

hi pin this a statement that may disqualify you getting carers..
as i say if you misword the form thats it... thats why the disability services
have a person who specialises in filling them out..

example of person  i  know whith Lupus  based the form on what
Lupus can do rather than what it has done..

i think whith modern meds controlling diseases better
more people will find it hard to get benefits allready incapacity
benefitis being scrapped in october
Thanks for the info Pin.  Its interesting that the UK has a disability living allowance for the disabled that still work.  Here in the States, working people with RA have to make some difficult decisions. 
 
For many, their health insurance is provided through their employment, so if they are having a hard time with RA, they can't reduce their work hours because often health insurance benefits are only provided to full time employees.  If they left their job and lost their health insurance, they could try and buy private health insurance, but private health insurance premiums can be expensive and many insurance companies won't sell an insurance plan to someone with a preexisting condition like RA.
 
I think if the US had a different health care system, that provided affordable health insurance to all citizens, then people with RA could still stay in the workforce, working reduced hours or part time or working for an employer that did not provide health insurance.  There's a lot of talk about health care reform in the US, but so far not much has changed.
 
 
 
 
hi joi the us system appearse to be a nightmare..

i think the system its self must make a persons condition worse..

so what happens if a person cant work and has no insurance..

i did see a article in uk paper that a young boy died in the u s

because his parents could not afford treatment..

allso due to the insurance system you have ..
biologics and the like are being kept at sky high prices
by the drug companies whic reflects in other countries

Boney
The US heath care system is a patchwork of health insurance programs and plans that leaves gaps of which 47 million uninsured fall through.  Its not an efficient nor equitable system.
 
There are so many different health insurance programs.  The federal government has Medicare -  for the disabled and those over 65; Medicaid - for the poor; SCHIPS - for children of the working poor; VA - for veterans; DOD - for military families.  Individual states have their health insurance plans:  Hawaii requires all employers to provide insurance; Massachusetts has a plan that requires all to purchase insurance; Oregon has a health insurance for the working poor but only can fund a limited amount of people so had to resort to a lottery to select eligible recipients.  More states are trying to come up with ways to provide health insurance as our federal government does little.
 
Besides public or government plans, there is private health insurance.  Many get it through the employers, if you work for a large employer, generally coverage is better, but if you work for a employer of a small number of workers, your premium may cost more and your coverage may be less.  A person can buy an individual plan but often it is expensive, and if you have a preexisting condition, often the insurance company won't sell you a plan.
 
Of individual health insurance plans, there are different levels of coverage that one can buy.  One could buy just a catastrophic plan, that covers only major stuff, or a comprehensive plan.  The choice and cost of prescription drugs also depends on your health insurance plan.  For example, I know of a woman with a DOD (military) plan that pays a month for her biologic, I pay a copay of a month, another woman pays a month, a Medicare Part D plan may classify it as a Tier 4 drug and it may cost 0-0 a month and yet some insurance plans may not allow coverage of a biologic at all.
 
Hmmm, did I cover everything?  Probably not, but if a person doesn't fall into any of these groups, he simply goes without insurance and health care.  And not all of the people in this group are unemployed, many people working full time at low paying jobs that do not provide insurance fall into this group.  So if an uninsured person needs medical care, they  go to the emergency department of a hospital who cannot refuse treating them, but its an awfully expensive way of delivering medical care that often could be provided at a doctor's office.
 
While no countries health care system is without problems, the US needs to do better, and hopefully will cuz its a scary, stressful situation for many, for the uninsured and also for the rest of us.
 
 
 
   
woe .. now that is a mess.. but a lot of cash involved.
so what would happen  to a person who has been working and
paying the insurance and being treated by the same docs for years
then find they can no longer work .. do they lose the insurance if so
i assume all the  docs and treatment goes to...

Boney

if they cannot afford to continue paying the premiums (which usually increase considerably when you leave the  company) then you have no more health care.
 
My son has no health care sas we own a small business -my husband is self employed and cannot afford private insurance for him or my hubbyso unfortunetly they go without If a emergency arises and we dont have the money to pay a doctor visit I take them to the er. What else can you do?
 
hi doobgirl so you even have to pay to see a gp.. which we just book
a apointment and go in... the more i read the worse it gets..  [QUOTE=Boney]woe .. now that is a mess.. but a lot of cash involved.
so what would happen  to a person who has been working and
paying the insurance and being treated by the same docs for years
then find they can no longer work .. do they lose the insurance if so
i assume all the  docs and treatment goes to...

Boney

[/QUOTE]
Okay, I'll try to answer as best I can without giving you and myself a headache. 
 
As far as being able to continue seeing the same doctor, that presents another possible problem.  If a person goes from private insurance onto Medicare (gov), some doctors won't accept that, because some doctors feel the government reimbursement rate is too low, so you may have to shop around and find a doctor that accepts Medicare patients.
 
Access to affordable health care is an increasing concern for many -- I read there is a growing number of people marrying for health insurance.  Also, half of all bankruptcies in the US are due to medical expenses, and over half of those people had insurance when they became sick or injured.  Its a scary situation, the only current solution is to stay healthy, stay very healthy or marry for insurance. 
 
this just gets  more complex.. the insurance companies must be making
big money.  but i am unsure were your goverment comes in. would it be
safe to say they have side steped the whole issue.  of medical care.
now a person would think the u s  would have a reall good medical
system..i wonder if there was a emergency and a ambulance called
would a person need topay for the ambulance..
[QUOTE=Boney]hi doobgirl so you even have to pay to see a gp.. which we just book
a apointment and go in... the more i read the worse it gets..  [/QUOTE]
 
Even though one may have insurance and pay insurance premiums, many have copays for a doctor visit or have to pay a portion of medical tests, procedures or surgeries.  It all depends on one's insurance plan.
 
I saw the PBS program "Sick Around the World" that looked at health care systems in five countries, of which the UK was one, and two older British ladies remarked they had never seen a medical bill in their life!  I had files and files of health insurance papers and medical bills for my Mom.   
joie this is true .  the only uk residents who pay are those who
choose to go private.. but they still get the same surgeon as those
who have not gone private.. maybe they get there a little faster,.



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