Harold Cameron: A lot of people have been messaging me about applying for Social Security disability benefits, either SSI or SSDI, and I’ve had some questions, so I’m going use another message here, if you will, another video to try to help maybe keep it real simple for you as to the process in what the requirements are for you to be eligible for Social Security, that’s SSI or Social Security Disability Income benefits.

SSI is a needs-based disability payments program. In other words, you haven’t paid in enough money because of work, you have no assets and limited means, you would then apply to what’s called SSI. If you have an extensive work history and you have paid into Social Security, then your application will be for SSDI, Social Security Disability Income, that’s based on work history and earnings and Social Security benefits paid in.

So what do you do? The first thing you do is, of course, you get a diagnosis that you’re disabled from a medical doctor or medical practitioner. Youget a very clear medical diagnosis and opinion that you’re disabled. Once you get that opinion that you’re disabled, you can do a couple of things. One, you can go online to www.ssa.gov and you can apply online for your benefits and they’re going to ask you questions about your work history, your education. They’re going to ask you questions about your disability and how it affects you, your diagnosis. They’re going to ask you like what hospitals and clinics and doctors you’ve seen, so they’re going to ask you a lot of different types of questions that relate to your disability and how your disability affects your ability to work, but they’re also going to be asking you about your past history; medical records, clinical records, tests, and all that type of stuff.

So you’re going to want to get together and make a list of the doctor’s you’ve seen, the medications you’re on, the hospitals, the tests, and all that type of information. If you don’t do the application online, you can call your local Social Security Administration Office. You call your local Social Security Administration Office or their 800 number and you schedule an appointment and they can do an intake over the phone if you can’t get into the office, so they’ll schedule a phone appointment with you and then they’ll ask you some basic questions you’ll be able to answer and they’ll need like your birth certificate and they’ll need some other documentation as well based on work history and those types of things. They’ll need your medical records.

So you will want to, if you can, get together copies of all your medical records and reports. Get it all together yourself and make sure you have that available for the Social Security Office. So once you go through the phone process, you might be asked to fill a form out that looks something like this, it’s a green form.

Okay? It’s an adult disability report, adult form, and it’s SSA-3368-BK. They’re going to ask you to fill that up. That will be one type of form that they might require you to fill out and you fill it out very carefully. In other words, you didn’t do it online, so you’re doing it as a result of your phone call and they’re going to ask for information about your condition, your work history, and they’re going to want to know… here is like some things they’re going to need to know; on your jobs, how much did you watch, stand, sit, climb. How heavy things lifted. Okay? And they want to know again about the clinics and hospitals you’re visiting and the medications you’re on and the tests you had done, educational background. So they’re going to want to know that.

Once you filled that out, your information is sent to a State Office of Disability Determination. It’s a state office where a claims adjustor gets your case and reviews your case, then they’re going to send you another lengthy form to fill out and in that form, they’re going to ask you how your disability affects you on a day-to-day basis. You know, do you have pets? Do you care for pets? Do you cook your own meals? Do you bathe yourself? Do you take walks? You know, can you take care of yourself? What about medications? Do you pay your bills? Can you pay your bills? Do you live with somebody else? They’re going to ask you a lot of questions about your day-to-day routines.

Be as honest and as thorough as you possibly can and then you’re going to fax and mail that back to the State Department of Determination Services Office. They’re going to continue to review your claim. Now, if you have got them all of you medical records and reports, if you have all of that information for them, that is going to help you with your claim because you’re not going to have to wait 2, 4, or 6 weeks for doctors and hospitals to respond. So if you can get all that information together, that will be helpful to your claim. It’s very important. They might call you. They might want to talk to you about your claim, your claims adjuster that is from the State Office. They might even send you for one their own medical evaluations and that’s not a bad thing. That’s a good thing.

They want one of their doctors or professionals to evaluate you and evaluate your disability and the nature of your claim and then eventually, they’ll make a final decision. They’ll make a decision, yes or no. Then you have 60 days to appeal. Okay, you have 60 days to ask for a reconsideration. If you wait past your 60 days, then I’ll address this in another issue and another video on what you have to do at that point.

But to reiterate, you can start first, get your proof of disability, a doctor or a medical professional who says you’re disabled. Two, go to www.ssa.gov and fill out both applications online and send it or call their toll-free phone number, which is on the website, and set up an appointment and you can either have a appointment by phone or you can go visit them at your local Social Security Administration office where they’re going to take a general overview and history. Make sure you have your birth certificate with you and, you know, like your proof of address and photo ID and all of that, then after that, and again, get your medical records. Have your medical records with you at that time. Take them with you. Get copies made of those. Have them make copies. Send them along with all the other information to the State Determinations Office and then you’ll start getting the forms back to fill out and as you get them back, fill them out completely and honestly and thoroughly, document everything and send it back and then at some point, they’ll make a decision, yes or no. You have 60 days to appeal and if you’re denied, then we can go from there as far as the next step.

However, I want you to know, not all claims are denied automatically. It’s not an automatic thing. It’s based on your doctor’s reports, your doctor’s statements and based on the nature of your disability and whether it meets their standards of disability.

I hope that this video has helped clarify some issues for you more clearly. If you need help with your claim, you need help and your claim is out there and you’re not sure what’s going on, you have questions about your claim, e-mail me, message me, let me know and I’ll be glad to help you in whatever state you’re in. I’ll be glad to help you with the process. I don’t charge and I don’t ask for any personal information. I just do this to volunteer to help you, so I hope this video has helped you. Again, if you have any thoughts or questions, message me and I’ll be glad to respond. Thank you for watching and I do hope that you have a wonderful, wonderful day. Thanks and bye for now.

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Thanks Harold for the great advice!

Heather Boushey: “Why do we need paid family and medical leave?

We need paid family and medical leave because our world has changed. One of the biggest transformations over the past half century has been the movement of women out of the home and into the labor market. So now it’s the case that most families no longer have someone at home to provide care for a sick kid or an ailing grandparent. And since everyone is at work, everyone needs paid time off when they have these family emergencies.

What would a paid family and medical leave program look like?

Well, the best kind of paid family medical leave program would be one that covers everyone, every single worker here in the country, and make sure that workers at all stages of their career, both new workers, and not only young workers entering the work forces, but also older workers can access the program and it provides a decent amount of income support while the person is on leave.

An easy way to do this would be to add paid family medical leave to our Social Security system. The Social Security System already provides not only the retirement benefits that we hear so much about, but also benefits for the disabled and survivors benefits. We could use those programs to expand the overall Social Security system to cover family and medical leaves as well.

And that way we would be addressing the most significant changes that we’ve seen in our labor market over the past half century, which is the fact that families no longer have someone at home.

Can we afford a paid family and medical leave program?

A paid family and medical leave program simply isn’t that expensive. Research done for the state of Massachutas when just that state implemented that kind of program, found it would only cost a $120 per worker per year. If we would add this amount into our Social Security system, that would mean adding about 1 to 3/10th of a percent to the payroll taxes that we already pay. It’s simply not that expensive. But it is very important to workers and their families.

So while it’s a small outlay in cost, the benefits the families get, especially during these stressful times when someone is sick or they have a new child, can be very significant. So the benefits far outweigh the costs.”