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How Many Stage 4 Girls are getting SS disability..

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Comments

  • LoriFL
    LoriFL Member Posts: 587
    edited June 2008

    I received a letter from Social Security yesterday about a new Medicare program. Anyone else get it? It seems like they changed the eliligbility for Medicaid to help pay for copays for Medicare by lowering the qualifying income levels.

  • LoriFL
    LoriFL Member Posts: 587
    edited June 2008

    I received a letter from Social Security yesterday about a new Medicare program. Anyone else get it? It seems like they changed the eliligbility for Medicaid to help pay for copays for Medicare by lowering the qualifying income levels.

  • cneal318
    cneal318 Member Posts: 2
    edited July 2008

    bump

  • Chris526
    Chris526 Member Posts: 2
    edited July 2008

    For anyone waitig for SSD and have not heard anything...call your local Congressperson and/or Senator.  That is what they do and if the paperwork is lost and /or someone's desk......it will move quickly. 

    Chris

  • luannh
    luannh Member Posts: 350
    edited July 2008

    Lori, I got a letter months ago about changing the two year waiting period and I was eligible for the study.  needless to say I never got a call from them and I don't like calling from letters like that because of people who scam you.

  • KiminJax
    KiminJax Member Posts: 3
    edited July 2008

    I just want to thank everyone that contributed to this thread.  I got my first SSDI check in June and what a relief and a help.  It was not too hard to get it although I had to follow up with my local office two times.  I signed several release of information forms and SS got the medical records - I did not have to.  There was a long waiting period between approval and the first check but thankfully I'm still here to get it!  Thanks again to everyone.  Kim

  • LoriFL
    LoriFL Member Posts: 587
    edited July 2008

    I didn't respond to the letter either....But was wondering if anyone else received it. I don't qualify for Medicaid so I didn't think it had anything to do with me.

  • cneal318
    cneal318 Member Posts: 2
    edited July 2008

    bump

  • JoyRebecca
    JoyRebecca Member Posts: 16
    edited July 2008

    I've been on SSDI and I started Cobra the following month. Since there's a 2 yr. waiting period between the time you start SSDI and are eligible for Medicare, I'll have a 6 mo. gap between the time COBRA runs out and Medicare starts. I just found out that to apply for an extension to COBRA, you have to apply 60 days after you start COBRA!!!!!! They said I could write a letter to request an appeal, but even if they approve the appeal, the rates will increase 49% above what I'm paying now!!!!! I'm so upset that I can't even think. We are not going to be able to do this, financially.

    Joy

  • Analemma
    Analemma Member Posts: 139
    edited July 2008

    I also looked up information on student loans.  We have taken a lot to put our children through college.  I knew that they were forgiven in the case of death, but I just found out that they are also forgiven in case of permanent disability.  So I'm going to print out the forms and get my dr to sign.  It's not a lot per month in payments, but every little bit helps.  Luckily we took some in DH's name and some in mine, but none jointly.  If they were joint, they would just pass to the other borrower instead of being forgivin.

  • LoriFL
    LoriFL Member Posts: 587
    edited July 2008

    JoyRebecca contact Libbyslegacy.org. (It might be libbyslegacy. com) They are in Orlando, Fl and they might be able to help you through the gap of coverage.  

  • Godsgal
    Godsgal Member Posts: 3
    edited July 2008

    Hey there girls,

    I received STD for 6 monhts and when that ran out my company put in for my LTD.. I had no problem qualifying for SSD.. I was approved in about 2 1/2 months.. It seems that when you qualify for both they will off set the smallest amount that you recieve from the larger amount so your monthly amount will never be more than the largest amount between the 2 (?). I also had my student loan canceled..

  • JoyRebecca
    JoyRebecca Member Posts: 16
    edited July 2008

    Thanks so much for the info, Lori !! BTW...where are you in Fl??

  • bleiker
    bleiker Member Posts: 1
    edited July 2008

    Stage IV breast cancer is an automatic approval from SS if you've paid in enough. I had no problems getting it when I quit working in January of 2008, I will get my first check after the waiting period this August. SS was very helpful and expedited my application, which I filled out on line. All you need is the doctor to verify the diagnosis of Stage IV.

  • denise1962
    denise1962 Member Posts: 18
    edited August 2008

    Hi Ladies,

    I have applied for ssdi and am waiting for approval. My doc says I have less than 12 mos to live, and have found out I can get 50% of my life insurance before I die. Does any one know how this effects ssdi?

    Thanks

    denise

  • luannh
    luannh Member Posts: 350
    edited August 2008

    Denise, collecting on your life insurance now will not affect your ssdi.  Why is your onc saying you have less than 12 months to live?  Or is that just so you can get your insurance money?

  • denise1962
    denise1962 Member Posts: 18
    edited August 2008

    Hi Luann

    I will try and keep this short. In May of 2006 I was diagonised with er+/pr+/her2+. Went through mast, ac, tax, and herceptin for 1 year along with radation. By march 2008 my ct/pet was completely neg. In May I started having really bad chest, rib pain that would move side to side. I was thinking maybe a hernia. Xray was neg. In June I was still having the pain and noticed a bb size lump on my scar line. I was really lucky and able to get in too see my surgon that day. She did a biobsy and it came back postive. The oncologist started me back on herceptin. Within a week I had another bump in armpit. In between this time I had another ct/pet which showed mastatsis to clavicle ribs, kidney, liver spine and pelvis. The brain and lungs are clear at this point. The path has shown I am know triple neg. ( I have yet to see this report though). The oncologist said she has never seen this and will be contacting Stanford. (she has been doing thhis for 20 years) At first she said 2-3 years survial, but now has changed it too less than 1 year.

    Yes I know these are numbers and everyone is different. Beleive me I do not intend to give up, I will keep on fighting. I really want too prove her wrong and I know it can be done.

    Denise

  • luannh
    luannh Member Posts: 350
    edited August 2008

    Denise, that is very odd, I have not heard of all three changing status mid stream.  You definitely have a sneaky cancer.  I hope the onc is wrong about the life span and you get many years to enjoy life!  As long as he signs the paper for the insurance you will get your money and it won't affect any of your benefits you recieve.  The only thing I don't know is if life insurance money is taxable.

  • kgrimm
    kgrimm Member Posts: 20
    edited August 2008

    Denise,  They told me that it didn't matter how much other money I had coming in so I doubt the life ins.  would affect your Social Security benefits. 

  • kgrimm
    kgrimm Member Posts: 20
    edited August 2008

    A question for Godsgal.  I have parent plus loans.  Do you think they would be cancelled.  Who did you contact?

  • Brenda_R
    Brenda_R Member Posts: 52
    edited September 2008

    bumping this

  • kgrimm
    kgrimm Member Posts: 20
    edited September 2008

    More info to the top for tclawmen.

  • wayover20
    wayover20 Member Posts: 191
    edited September 2008

    I'm copying my post to this board in case anyone has info they can share about local recurrence and ssdi. 

      July 08 made 1 year since last chemo for rt mastectomy, trip neg, clean nodes. Well that one year celebration was short lived because in Aug 08 I was diagnosed with "local recurrence" of 7.5cm mass to the mediastinum. all scans are clean otherwise so I'm doing 33 rads (6 more to go!) and then rescan to see where we go from there,do chemo again or not.

    According to my onc I went from stage II to stage IV with this recurrence and I've been on short term disability since the mass makes it hard to breathe. I'm a nurse.

    I too wonder if I would qualify for SSDI and I've been doing alot of research on it lately and what I read is that if its a local recurrence that is controlled with antineoplastic therapy, then it doesn't qualify.

    The difficulty is if the rads doesn't do the trick and I go on to chemo, time is going to be up on my Short term disab. pay and I didn't sign up for long term, so I'll have to pay the Cobra rates at 450.00 per month. Yes I'd rather be working but the shortness of breath remains an issue. Just not sure what I can do. Of course I'm glad I don't have mets but its just seems like "local recurrence" is a gray area with regard to qualifying.

    Pat

  • Watson
    Watson Member Posts: 70
    edited September 2008

    Pat,

    Stage 4 is an automatic acceptance.  As you''ve read you will have to be unemployed for six months to start collecting.  A local recurrence is usually referred to when it comes back to the breast.

    I hope this helps.  

     Watson

  • wayover20
    wayover20 Member Posts: 191
    edited September 2008

    Thank you Watson. I guess the terminology has me confused so when I research SSDI it doesn't look like it would be an option. My onc called it local recurrence saying I'm now stage IV.  I see her again in 2 days so I'll ask again.

    Pat

  • wayover20
    wayover20 Member Posts: 191
    edited September 2008

    Oh and I have been out of work since this started in August.

  • Brenda_R
    Brenda_R Member Posts: 52
    edited October 2008

    bump

  • AusAla
    AusAla Member Posts: 24
    edited October 2008

    Bump

  • kgrimm
    kgrimm Member Posts: 20
    edited October 2008

    I heard we are getting a 5% raise in our Social Security benefit.  Did anyone else hear this?  I guess that would apply to us SSDI people?

  • Brenda_R
    Brenda_R Member Posts: 52
    edited October 2008

    I see that too. I think it's 5.8%. It helps. Much better than last years 2. something.

    The cost of everything has gone up so fast that we are barely keeping up with our daily expenses. 

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