Although I am still able to work, I don't know what the future may hold. Is RA something that might be covered under Social Security Disability? My mother had RA for 40 years but never got disability payments, but I wonder if that has changed?
SSDI is not as much about the Dx as it is about whether you can be gainfully employed (make at least 0 per month). That figure is the lowest disability payment at this time.
I am in the Administrative Law Judge stage. Not all but most awards are won at this stage. I filed in Oct 05 and the average time for an award is 2 yrs but I have heard of up to 6 yrs.
You must have a Dr behind you and be unable to work for at least 12 months. You also must have worked 5 of the last 10 yrs.
There is a lot more to it and I highly recommend an attorney or a firm that specializes in SSDI claims if you need to look at filing a claim. I use a firm and they do all of the work.
Although I don't collect benifits; and am far from needing them now, there are a lot of folks here that do. Hopefully someone will be along shortly thatt can help you understand how it all works. All I know is that RA if sever enough will be considered a disabilty.
If I haven't welcomed you already....Welcome to AI. Glad you're here.
Yes, it is covered as one. If you go to SSA.gov and search their site you can find a whole list of medical conditions and RA is one of them.Yes it is covered. You can apply as soon as you can not work, you have to have a condition, that will cause you not to be able to work for a year. I applied online at SSA.gov. Make certain that your doctor knows that you are applying so they can expect the paperwork to fill out. I was approved with in 2 months. It took me about 6 weeks to fill the application out online though it is very complex. I posted a few days ago the post is called SSDI. Maybe that will give you more info.
How much you would recieve is determined by the amount of wages you have had in years past. Every year the SSA sends you a statement in the mail, on that it tells you how much you would get
if you retired and if you become disabled. You canalso equest that statement online.
Good Luck.
Karen