If you have the misfortune to have been diagnosed with liver disease, you may find that you qualify for Social Security disability benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA). If you do qualify, this program may help you pay for medical treatment and any other costs you are faced with on a daily basis.
These payments are not automatic, and you will have to provide a certain amount of information when you file your application.
Back to topCriteria for Applying for SSDI Benefits
Once you have filed your application, the SSA uses certain criteria to determine your eligibility. These are both medical and non-medical considerations, and a decision is made on whether or not you are qualified to receive Social Security disability (SSDI) payments, which depend on work credits, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments, which are given to those with low-income.
The most important thing is to prove you have a medical disability. Secondly, you need to have earned sufficient work credits to qualify for the SSDI program or alternatively your assets and income need to be low enough to be eligible for SSI.
Back to topMedical Documents Needed in Your Application
If you are unable to work for at least twelve months with your liver condition, you are required to provide specific medical documentation and proof that helps to support your claim based on your liver condition.
The most important thing is to get your doctor to confirm your diagnosis. This paperwork needs to include the treatment you are being given, the symptoms you have to put up with and the medicine you have been prescribed, along with lab results confirming your diagnosis.
You will be required to provide the names, phone numbers and addresses of any doctors or other health professionals, including medical centers, you may have attended for treatment.
Other Information You’ll Need
Apart from providing the medical documents in your application, you will also need to provide work records indicating that at some point you were in full time work but due to your liver condition it is impossible for you to carry out the duties you did while at work.
The SSA will ask you to provide a summary of where you were employed and the type of work you did. This will include providing the SSA with your most recent W-2 form. If you were self-employed, you will be asked to provide the most recent tax return form and your social security number, as well as your birth certificate.
Back to topHow a Social Security Attorney Can Help You with Your Application
It is not easy getting benefits such as SSDI as the SSA tries to make it as difficult as possible. In order to get your entitlements, you should talk to a Social Security attorney who knows how to work on your behalf and fast track your application by getting all the documents you need to prove that you are eligible for either SSDI or SSI.
If your first application is denied, the attorney can appeal on your behalf. Social Security attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, which means they only get paid if you win your appeal.
Back to topAdditional Resources
- Liver Disease and Social Security Disability
- How Disabling is Liver Disease?
- Is Liver Disease a Disability?
- Tips on Qualifying for Disability Benefits with Liver Disease
