How Many Stage 4 Girls are getting SS disability..
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Hi Marybe,
I believe you aren't limited to a dollar amount you can make, but you do need to let them know that you want to work, and they give you a "trial" period of 9 months (I think). Not sure what happens then. In this respect, work is handled a little differently than under regular SS. I want to check into it, because I'd love to lead a couple of European tours this fall as a tour manager. I guess, though, depending on your salary, you might still collect less than if you are working full time. It might be worth it, though. I think the info should be available on the SSDI website, under "returning to work."
I received back pay for the 5 months waiting period. One large check - well, not THAT large! Then 2 months later started receiving a monthly check. I just received my Medicare card in the mail, to be effective 8-1, which was the date they backdated my first check to, plus 2 years. This was not my "approval" date, but the date I told them I was unable to work any longer.
It's quite a shock to receive a MEDICARE card, even when you expect it. How did all this happen? But, it will be a relief to have Medicare plus my retirement medical coverage as a secondary. I'm very fortunate for that.
Liane, it sounds like you made the right decision. Our time is so precious. I agree that when you can't sleep, it's nice not to have to get up early in the morning. I do want to try to work part time if I can. It's just working out a balance, I guess. And, I don't want to risk losing the SSDI or Medicare. My case will be up for review in a year and a half.
Lots of things to think about, and difficult decisions to make, that's for sure.
Lane
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I just got approved for SSDI. It took only 1 week to get the approval and back pay money. In fact I got the money before I got the approval letter. Very fast.
It was a hard decision. My SE's are too much to handle working and two young kids. So I have been on disability through my work. Once I hit the 12 month mark on disability they make you apply for SSDI. Glad to have time with my kids and not be panicking about money.
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If you routinely make more than $980 (current limit) then your SSDI would be stopped because you are considered to be "substantially employed". In the first 5 year period you can work and earn any amount for 9 months, those 9 months do not have to be consecutive and they will then review whether you are capable of returning to work. At some point after approval, you can also return to work and they will suspend your SSDI payments while you are working. If I read it correctly on the website your SSDI can be restarted if the disability once again prevents you from working. Apparently once approved and in the system, you remain in the system. There is an income reporting responsibility that goes with that.
If you work and remain under the $980 per month there is no penalty and your SSDI payments will continue.
That can be useful to us if we have to stop work for treatment and SE's and then perhaps be able to go back to earning more than SSDI when we are stable and healthy enough to tackle the workday.
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Thanks, Liane!
I was going to go back to the website - had forgotten the details. You've saved me a trip!
Lane
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I was also gonna post there is a limit- i get SSI (didnt have enough work credits in the right time frame to get SSDI) and because my husband made a $60 raise a MO they stopped the $241 i was getting a month in SSI- doesnt compute in my head LOL what sucks is i pay almost $400 a month in order to have insurance and i only applied for ssi for the medicade, take home my DH only gets $1200 a mo with 4 ppl in the household... right now i dont have the energy to appeal....
They're not denying my disablity- only that we "make too much" LOL go figure!
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Kelly-
it seems like a hard decision but time with the kids is more important! Glad you got approved and so quickly!
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texasrose, gawd you are so young. My heart goes out to you and yours. You didn't even have time enough in the work world to contribute much to SS for disability benefits.
I'm so sorry you have to wrangle with SSI and Medicaid. They are miserably different animals and the restrictions and limits are very tough.
It's not much but sending ((((HUGS)))))) your way.
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Texasrose,
I am so sorry about SSI. I don't know all the limitations.
It is terrible that you have to deal with this and
money issues too.
Kelly0 -
I'm posting here because there is always probably someone who is looking for the information in this thread.
I finally got my approval letter. YEA! It took 6 weeks from the online application coupled with a call to the Disability Determination office to nudge it along and make sure they had all my documentation and that the app. had the classification of Compasionate Allowance. I provided them will all the written summaries MD Anderson gave me at my most recent scans in April. They didn't ask for any additional information.
I won't receive my first payment until July due to the 5 months period from last day of work, but at least it is now in process.
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Hi Ladies..... Donna, I agree. Thank God I have a job and it surely keeps me busy and my mind off the diagnosis!!
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YEAH, LIANE!
What a huge relief for you. I'm so glad you pursued it!
Lane
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Texasrose, you can go to a legal aid office near you and they will help you free of charge to get any benefits youre entitled to.
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So this is some bullshit! So the SSI now wants me to provide ALL my husbands paystubs from August 2010 (date i applied) to today because apparently they were only paying me on an "estimate" It would have been nice for them to have told me this BEFORE at some point uz i would have saved them...
Has this happened to anyone else????
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I haven't dealt with the SSI folks but I would think a W2 for 2010 should suffice and perhaps your husbands employer can print out copies of 2011 pay.
I went through the SSDI process for my son and the number of stupid mistakes they make doesn't surprise me anymore. On top of everything else we're dealing with, we have to know their process better than they do or they'll dump you into a headache that they created.
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Well said, Liane!
I hate that you're having to deal with this, TexasRose, on top of everything else. I agree that your husband's employer should be able to help with this. I hope it all works out. What a frustrating situation.
Lane
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My husband is gonna see if they can print out his pay... i think its just BS cuz in Jan he got a pay raise of only $60 a MO and they dropped my payments $160 bucks- which makes no sense... i dont think these people are the sharpest tools in the shed, in jan they had asked for pay stubs and i called and left 2 msg with my "case worker" and she NEVER called back.... NOW she sends me a letter asking ofr this.... Whatever, i'll be their circus moneky and jump through hoops, but if they give me shit i will def apply for my kid's benny cuz it not about hte amount of $ i am getting i did it for the medical benifits, but she said i may have to pay back $$ if they over paid me.... (what if they under paid do they give that to me?) doubt it!
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I was so happy to find this subject! I have been working full time now for almost 2 yrs after first and only Stage IV diagnosis and really hadn't considered anything else until recently. I had no idea that we "stage IV's" were automatically accepted. I'm going to check into this right away. Does anyone know though if I can use an intermittant FMLA to keep my hours down at work when I'm not feeling well and to also keep my hours and pay down below the $8XX minimum?
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I posted a while back that I was hoping to get approved even though I am a stay at home mom. I stopped working 7 years ago when I had my son, so my SS benefits expired Dec 2009. I was diagnosed with Stage IIIC BC Mar 2010, and Stage IV in Jan 2011. I was denied because I was diagnosed after Dec 2010. We all know I had cancer long before that though. In November 2009, I saw a psychologist because I thought I was losing my mind (seriously). I was scattered, anxious, forgetting multiple appointments a week. I was even forgetting to pick my kids up at school. It was bad. I now believe it was my body trying to tell me something. I never would have guessed cancer. Luckily the psychologist kept notes on our 2 sessions and she wrote a letter to SS about it. It was still denied. I decided to persue it with an attorney, and an appeal was filed about a month ago. The attorney told me that only 13% of appeals were approved last year, so it was not likely that mine would be. She said a second appeal would be filed after the first was denied and then we would get a court date and hope for a judge with a heart. She called my case a hail mary. Amazingly my appeal was approved on the first try! I got my backpayment check this week and will get my regular payment in July. I was shocked, but so happy. This money was so needed. Now I can breath a little easier and enjoy life a bit more while I am fighting this awful disease. I also will be getting benefits for my kids.
So, if you get denied, it is worth filing an appeal. I also think it helped that I had an attorney file it. Her fee was 25% of my backpayment check, or $100 if we lost all appeals and the judge denied. It was a no brainer.
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Deenah,
I am so glad to hear you've been approved. I'm happy that you persevered and now have this additional support. I wish the same for you, Timothea, and all others who are trying to jump through the hoops.
Lane
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Deenah, glad your appeal went through the first time. What a relief that that is behind you.
I apparently have been approved since I got a bunch of money in my bank account the other day from SocSec for me and for my son.
Does one normally get a letter saying you'll get this much and this is what time period it covers? I guess I'll be calling the local office on Monday.
Then I'll have to get with my LTD company, as I"m sure I'll somehow have to reimburse them, right? More financial work ahead! Getting my insurance/hospital payments straight is taxing enough for my math-challenged brain!
Paula
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FYI: I got both the lump sum "back benefits" check and the "award letter" stating my monthly benefit amount together.
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Yes, Paula you should have recieved a written notice of your approval and a letter stating when and how much you would receive. Very surprised you didn't get any notice but then they do make stupid mistakes. I've received two notification letters so far but my check won't arrive until August.
CONGRATS Deenah for your perseverance and success!
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Ladies,
I've been reading many of your posts here and learning quite a bit. I would welcome your feedback on my situation. I was initially diagnosed with Stage III BC on June 2003, and after a holistic treatment with no chemo, I remained cancer free for 5 years. Interestingly enough, right at around the 5-yr anniversary, the cancer came back with a vengeance. Long story short, I was a death's door when I was admitted to Columbian Presbyterian and after a few operations and weeks in the hospital (on blood thinner because I had blood clots all over my superior veins, I was sent home on Lovenox and Femara. I never looked the same. I've put on like 30 pounds after that. I hate the way I look now.
Anyway.. long story short, it took me almost two years to regain my strenght and regain some sense of normalcy. I'm on daily Femara and Lovenox, as well as Herceptin every three weeks. I'm now stage IV NED. I went back to work last year for a Fortune 50 company, in sales, but the job, though initially was delightful with a great manager, has slowly become such an awfully stressful, sleep-deprivation causing, scary daily exercise. The great manager got promoted and a new one came in. He's a micromanager to the hilt, and interestingly enough, since he came onboard, I've began to get sick, my body is getting weaker, I'm losing sleep, I'm experiencing leg cramps, chest pains, nausea... a total nightmare. Though initially I thought I could have a great career there, right now I'm just concerned about my health and just remaining alive.
After consulting with some people and praying for an answer, looks like disability is the way to go. My company has 60% STD and LTD. In order to qualify for STD you have to be out sick for 8 consecutive days and file the paperwork from your doctor. Being sick unfortunately is no problem because of all my recent symptoms. I have reported it to my onco, who wants to see me early next week after a key scan on Monday. I will be taking the STD paperwork to her to fill out. There are a few questions there, that I'm sure, if answered incorrectly, would get me denied. Does anyone have experience filling out STD forms with MetLife?
I did some thinking about whatever time I have left with this disease and I don't want to spend it working 60+ hours, including evenings and weekends at a job that is only getting me sick, which now I've grown to dread on a daily basis. I want to spend more time with my family and make sure my things are in order, and focus on things that count. This job is leaving me exhausted and weak. I'm a bit scared about taking this disability road, but given the other option, which would be to remain in this awful job, it is the road I need to take, or I feel I'll end up in my grave sooner.
Any advice, guidance, help, I would welcome here. Many thanks ladies!
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First I filed FLMA (job protection), immediately filed STD and LTD (yes, all the same week). I filled the paperwork out for the onc and took it in with blank cities for him to fill out also. (his choice). He choose to sign the ones I filed out. I also filled ou the on line SSDI forms, and took in his section to sign.
SSDI was approved within 10 days, still had the waiting period. FMLA immediately. STD took about 4-6 weeks for final approval. And the LTD sailed through before the STD was done.
It is IMPORTANT to file the paperwork BEFORE the employment ends! Do not wait. If your employment ends, then you will no longer be eligible for LTD! This is why I filed all the same week, so the filing date was well within the beginning of the FMLA. I had to keep on HR, because they ere to send the completed forms on to the insurance, and the HR person wanted to "hold" the LTD forms until after I had exhausted the STD. (this maneuver on her parts would have made me ineligible for LTD!). I really stingily told her to send them all in now! (I also sent copies myself so I had receipt/record of sending.)
The one's paperwork must be mailed from the office. I took a self-addressed, stamped envelope for them to send the paperwork.
Hope this helps!0 -
scuttlers gave you the good benefit of her experience. You really sound like it's time to move quickly into the paperwork.
One quibble, there wasn't anywhere in my SSDI app that required any information from my employer, only the medical information confirming the Stage IV BC. There was a question about whether I wanted my employer notified and I chose "no". It took 5 weeks for my approval. I think some states are less backed up than other when it comes to the disability determination.
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Yes, the SSDI only needs your forms and they will get the forms they need from the onc. (I did take in the medical records, mainly the ones showing STAGE IV, IBC, and the pathology reports, when I went for my interview.)
The STD and LTD have forms for the onc. You should be able to download them and print them from the insurance website.
I felt it was a big help in getting the STD and LTD approved as I had the approval for the SSDI in hand and sent a copy of it with each set.0 -
I also had copies of all my latest path reports to submit with my SSDI app. I think that can expedite the decision if your medical center is slow to respond to paperwork requests from SSA. When I called the Disability Determination center about 30 days into waiting I made sure he had everything he needed to avoid any further delays.
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Oh just a tip for anyone getting SSI if you report a change make sure the apply it- for some reason the change i reported in JAN wasnt correctly applied and now i have to pay them back over $2000 and they dropped my payments to $40 a month so it will take me over 2 years to pay them back (they withhold the check as repayment)
I could appeal but i think its just a bunch of hoops that i dont have the time or energy to jump through!
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Dear All,
My wife asked me to wrote this post as she thought I might be useful.
Background on my wife. 36, wife, mother of a 4 yo boy and turning 2 in August girl, and as of June 3 stage iv bc with mets to the liver.
As for me, bad news I am an attorney. Good news, I am an attorney who devotes 100% of his practice to representing individuals who have been denied disability by the SSA.
So I may be able to help with this topic.
First off, this is not an advertisement. Just trying to be helpful.
Second, I will try to answer any questions in a general manner. My answers are not meant to be legal advice and should not be taken that way. So when I read a post with a specific question or problem I will try and answer it in a broad general way.
Again this is not a troll for clients. While we are in California SS is a federal program so the laws and rules are the same across the country. So I think I can be helpful.
I have not read every post but two issues I did see are this.
1. If you have/get an attorney, under federal law they cannot charge you any money up front for the attorney service. Period. It is actually a federal crime for an attorney to receive payment for attorney services from a SS client from anything except their back benefit.
The law says that any attorney fee cannot exceed 25% of the back benefit. If you have an attorney and they help when the case at or before a first hearing with an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) the fee is 25% or $6,000 whichever is smaller.
So if an attorney tells you that it is 25% if you win or some less amount of money if you lose that is not correct. If you don't win your case or even if you win but get no back money, your attorney gets zero.
Now the one thing is that your attorney can charge you, win or lose, any costs that he pays to get medical records to help prove your case. So if your attorney gathers medical records from your doctors who charge him $25, $50, etc.. And you lose your case, an attorney can send you a for that cost. Because it is not an attorney fee but a cost.
2. Some of you may have what is called an overpayment issue. Where SSA pays you some money and then at some point says they paid you too much and they want their money back. If that happens to you, or if it happened to me, I would call/visit SSA and request forms/file a waiver of overpayment form. It is pretty simple and SSA should help you. It is not hard to do and it may reduce or eliminate what SSA says you owe.
Anyway, feel free post some general questions and I will try and answer them. If there seems to be a need for this kind of info and/or y'all find me useful, then maybe I will start a separate topic.
Take care
Steven0 -
Steven, thanks for offering your advice. It could be real helpful.
I have a question.........it's about working. If I can take temp work for 30 days here or there when my symptoms are at bay during my first 5 years and it pays substantially more than $1000 am I raising red flags at SSA and creating headaches for me.
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