I know. I'm aware of the 5-month waiting period for SSDI benefits. Following the 5-month waiting period for SSDI benefits, there is an additional 24-months waiting period for Medicare benefits.

Some people have to wait more than 2-3 years for the their SSDI application to be approved. But, they should receive back-pay for the remainder of those months. No matter how quickly or slowly approval takes, however, there will be no payment for the 5-month waiting period.

I suspect that the 29 months that you are referring to is regarding Medicare benefits, not SSDI benefits.

~ Faith

Yes, for medicare. Once you are approved for medicare, under the age of 65, some people have to wait up to 24 months to be approved for SSDI. It's already been established that they are disabled but they have to go through the ridiculous process of waiting this 24 month period to establish they are really disabled. It's an antiquated process of investigating fraudulent claims. Once the claim is investigated, processed, then you wait another 5 months to receive your first check.

There is a bill in the house and senate to phase out this 24 month waiting period. We have been working with other disability organizations to get this bill passed.

We (NMSS Advocacy Group) will be going to Capitol Hill again in March 2009 to meet with our Legislators to work on this.

The same thing happened to me:

I "became disabled" on April 27, 2008. Five months later is October, and checks are delayed one month, and come out at the end of the month, so I received my first check on Nov. 26, which is actually 7 months after my disability began. And, no, I did not receive 2 monhts benefits at the time.

I was grateful that 2-1/2 of those months were during the summer, and, I worked for the school district, so I was not expecting income during those months anyways. That, and a big tax refund, and our stimulus package helped us get through the months with only one income.

~ Faith

Hi Faith, thanks for the input, that is a bummer about not getting 2 months of pay, if it IS 2 months why don't they pay us that way.........

Thanks again, at least that is a LITTLE issue compared to what we COULD be facing right?


Joe

my advice: GET AN ATTORNEY!!! They only charge a small amount and they actually collect that from your first check, you pay nothing up front.

I hired a local attorney and he got me approved on the first try, in 2 months. I have heard MANy people with MS get denied because "people with MS get better"

My reason for getting an attorney is two fold, 1) they know how to do it right the first time, my attorney's have paralegals who used to work for SS and know how to get it right. and 2) if you get denied, the appeal process is very lengthy and can take years to get approved if denied. I also heard rumors that the SS admin is only reviewing new cases until 2010, then they will work on appeals. .

Earl -- You were only charged a small amount because you were approved on the first try. Disability attorneys generally charge 25% of your first check, including back pay. For those who have been denied twice, and waited for a court date, the amount collected will be considerably higher, because this process can take two years or longer.

The maximum a disability attorney is allowed to charge, by federal law, is $5300. Social Security will take this directly out of your check before issuing it to you.

An attorney cannot charge you if they do not win the claim.
~ Faith

I thought that most attorneys will tell you to file your claim first and if you are denied, then come to them. That most SSDI attorneys only take you if you've been denied.

Is this not true?

According to the information I have recently received, having an attorney from the beginning won't hurt.

I think, from what I've read on various MS boards, that attorneys vary in how they handle things. Some attorneys will take you from the beginning, and do a good job of helping you through the process. Others prefer to wait, possibly because they can recoup a higher fee by then.

My personal experience was that I had a consultation appointment with a para-legal at a law firm that handles only disability cases. I was not impressed with that particular firm, because it appeared that, although they would take from the beginning, that they did not appear to plan be very pro-active in doing much to help, other than calling to remind me about deadlines. Well, humph. I can read mail from SSA just as well as they can, and I can complete forms at the appropriate times.

I ended up choosing to file without an attorney (he was the only disability attorney in our yellow pages), and was approved the first time with no denials. I would have had to pay the attorney almost $200 if their firm had been involved, which isn't a lot, but I'd rather keep the money if I can do it myself.

On the other hand, if you are able to find an attorney that truly wants to help you to succeed in your claim quickly, it could be worth not having to push through denials and appeals.

~ Faith

Sorry if you disagree with me Faith...I was just offering information passed on by someone who does this for a living...