“These people lounging around on benefits should be made to work hard, like me!” says man standing on a roof on work time not actually working but instead staring a complete stranger who may or may not actually be on benefits.
I don’t think disabled people should lose their benefits when they get married.
Adults who became disabled before age 22 risk losing their benefits when they get married. Any benefits they receive through a parent’s work record are discontinued, and if their spouse makes too much money, they can’t receive SSI either. All disabled people on SSI, regardless of when they became disabled, risk losing their benefits by getting married. The only people who are guaranteed to keep their benefits are those who worked long enough to receive SSDI through their own work record.
Marriage is an important religious and social milestone for many people, and it confers important legal protections upon couples. I think that all disabled people should be able to get married without losing their only source of income and their financial independence.
I recall that I think it was Florida got caught with internal memos and stuff years ago, with an “unofficial”-official policy of automatically denying applications regardless of eligibility in hopes that people would just go away and not be able to appeal. And that was stuff like TANF, where they knew full well that little kids were bearing the brunt.
That was just one case where it was documented and they faced scrutiny over it. I am sure that other states (very much including Virginia, where I was–and it’s at least as bad as Florida in a lot of ways) are doing the same crap, besides all the paperwork “losing” and “oops, you’re just not in our system!”. Besides similar bureaucracies at the federal level.
The only reason I had any kind of disability or medical benefits for years was because my mother knew her stuff and was persistent. A lot of people just don’t have the knowledge or the ability to keep chasing after them and making effective threats. I just don’t have the ability, at all, and never have. If something happens to my partner, I’m just screwed now.
It struck me as particularly ridiculous how they kept dumping me off Medicaid, which I shouldn’t have even had to submit a full application for since SSI makes you automatically eligible. Because they did have to cover the gap with back payments every time. (Unlike the food stamps, where they did actually save money.)
But, I was temporarily very limited in the medical care I could get, though thankfully my grandmother could temporarily cover any regular prescriptions that the doctor couldn’t make up in samples. (My main doctor was a good guy and would see me anyway, but you can bet pharmacies aren’t giving stuff out and billing later. And a lot of medications are bad to stop suddenly…) A lot of other people wouldn’t have that kind of backup available. I was lucky.
It was disruptive, and I suspect that was the main point. Besides the fact that it would have been hard for Social Services to claim they’d never heard of me to avoid paying out the huge $25/month in food stamps, without also dumping me off Medicaid–with their administering both programs. 😐
Reminded of this again, with the most recent Medicaid fuckery. Glad I found an earlier post I thought I remembered, not to have to repeat.
Haven’t been running across much discussion of this crap as an additional goal with the application changes. When pretty much anyone who has dealt with the system has already run into enough deliberate obstructionism as things stand already. Just another way to try to weed people out–and generally the ones who need it the most.
It does frustrate me, how many people who have not needed to rely on these programs want to assume they’re working fine now.
(Including with the “Medicare For All is the only way!!!” crowd. If you truly think that, you probably haven’t dealt with Medicare yourself or had people you care about harmed by the system as it exists in reality. Let’s fix it to be fit for purpose, and then maybe we can consider the rest. Yeah, some coverage in theory is way better than nothing at all. But, I am not going to pretend that’s ideal in practice. Those are not the only choices.)
You’ve been receiving benefits for a couple of years, and your regular “review” came and went. They probably made you fill out that dehumanizing form about what you are and aren’t able to do (which you need to answer as if you’re talking about your worst days; you’ll probably feel like you’re exaggerating if you do it right), and maybe they made you see one of the horrible state-paid doctors that are likely to minimize your disability, trick you into hurting your own case, and lie about what you said.
You hoped it was all over, but the letter came back saying that “your health has improved” and you are no longer disabled. You want to laugh – because your health has probably only declined – and cry, and scream, and you probably have thoughts of ending it all.
Before you do anything else, bring the letter to your local Social Security office and request an appeal. Check the box that says you want to stay on benefits while your appeal is processed. You must do this within 10 days of when they think you received the letter (which is probably earlier than when you actually received it). If the office is open when you get the letter, go now. If not, go the next business day. You cannot afford to put this off.
Give them the names and contact information of any medical providers you have seen since you filled out the disability review paperwork. Save a copy of all the paperwork from this visit in case they claim to have lost it.
The next step is to go to your local independent living center and ask for advice on your case. They may be able to recommend doctors and lawyers to help you win.
If there isn’t one in your area, or if they can’t recommend a lawyer, look for a disability lawyer here or contact your local legal aid.
From now on, your full-time job is winning your appeal. (I know you’re on disability because you can’t actually work a full-time job; that’s why this system ends up killing so many people. I hope you have friends or family to help you through this process.)
Go to as many appointments with doctors, psychologists, physical therapists, and whatever other medical providers apply in your case, as you can handle. Make sure to save their contact information, and whenever you go to a new one, go to the Social Security office and update your paperwork with their information.
Stay in regular contact with your caseworker at the state disability determination office; their name should be printed on the denial letter you got. Ask them if they need more information. Being in contact with them might actually convince them not to “oops, mysteriously lose” your paperwork or mix you up with someone else (yes, this does actually happen).
If you’re lucky, you won’t have to go to a hearing at all, and they’ll reinstate you after a reconsideration. If you’re not so lucky, you’ll have to go through several stages of hearings. The odds are in your favor at these hearings. Don’t lose hope. They need to prove that you have medically improved enough to go back to work, which you haven’t.
Yay, you’ve been reinstated! What do you do now? Well, this has probably caused a hiccup in your Medicare. Even though you checked the box that said you wanted to continue your benefits, something probably got screwed up. If you’re on SSI, they’re probably deducting the Medicare premiums from the months you were considered “not disabled” from your checks even though SSI recipients are supposed to have their Medicare paid for. Your state SSI supplement might also be screwed up. Your Social Security office will tell you who you need to call/visit to expedite this being straightened out. Medicare may also have refused to cover doctors’ visits from the time you were considered “not disabled” and you’ll have to call or write them to appeal that.
Good luck, may everything work out in your favor, and may your next review go off without a hitch.
Urocyon's Jaunts 2.0 