Yes I am sure. It is SSDI that you can't get in Florida if you have anything to your name. Anything over$ 2,000 is more than what you are allowed. I had a family trust, to pay ONLY for my taxes and Insurances. I was not allowed to keep that trust for my home. Now I am losing my home because I can't pay the taxes. I had a lawyer assistant for my case. All monies I had were used on my health, which the trust expressly forbid me to do. My children could have sued me knowing that I used the money for health, as they were to be beneficiaries.
My taxes cost more than what I am allowed to possess!. Just what do they expect me to do? Right,...leave a paid for home. In Florida, SSDI is supplemental income. I was not allowed to use the trust for anything else but the taxes and insurance. I had to obey the trust but my Government didn't?. I could get no help with SSDI until that was depleted. It's spilt milk at this point, and I resent what was done to me.
If SSDI Denied me, when I should have been allowed to keep my tax and insurance money, it is news to me. I currently get Social security and SSDI. Nobody who has my care will take Medicaid.
The lawyer who wrote the dang thing, didn't know anything about Medicare/Medicaid law. He also knew ahead of time I was sick. My parents tried to protect me from the state taking my home away if I got disabled. I can lose my home now, and my grown son has to pay for my taxes. I don't want to do that to him all of his life. So the only other option is to move.

That's what I meant ginnie, your case was very different & complicated from most, and maybe Florida is different from most states.
I would think it was federally regulated, no matter what state your are located in though......


soccertese is in the NW.

I wanted the differences regarding assets between SSDI & SSI to be clear for most readers, as LIT LOVE posted & explained.

I don't know if Florida is different from other states or not. You would think that the two lawyers involved would have known better. If that situation was bad from the beginning, my parents should have given everything to my son, and leave me out of the picture at all, for all the good it did me. Both lawyers knew how badly my parents tried to help me. I am glad they are gone and cannot see what happened to their good intentions. Sorry I beat on a dead horse, but this was horrible to do to a person. I hope nobody has to go through that issue in this state. ginnie

ssdi is a federal program and has the same rules in all 50 states except for pilot programs such as eliminating the reconsideration stage of the determination process in some states. states administer the determination of eligibility in the initial stage but work under federal rules for the program. there is no way that ssdi is needs based only in florida. this is bad information. you might have both ssdi and ssi if your ssdi was a low enough amount. in that case if your assets were above the level to qualify you for ssi you would lose that portion of what you get a month. you would not lose the whole thing. i know you have said for a few years now that ssdi is needs based but that is incorrect.

I'm sorry Ginnie, but I'm afraid you are mistaken on that issue. I understand it can be confusing because your case involved issues with both SSDI and SSI. The names are the same for both programs in all states. SSDI involves having recent enough work quarters in and total disability. SSI is for low income people with total disability. SSI is the one with a $2000 asset cap for a single person.

I wouldn't want Soccertese, who may end up with SSI as his only option, or other readers to get mixed up on this issue.

Why would I get SSI instead of SSDI? What are the qualifications for the later? How did that process work? How is that determination assessed? What is SSDI exactly, and who made this decision for me? Define SSDI for me and the differences between the two programs. I really would like to understand what happened to me. thank you. ginnie

you might have both ssi and ssdi. it should be in your paperwork from ss

Ginnie,

As ELA mentioned, I believe your earlier posts discussed your potential eligibility for both programs. I'm going off memory of posts you made regarding this; I don't presume to know your whole work or financial history. I believe that you have commented that there were some issues with your work history......either not having enough recent quarters or having enough income due to the sporadic nature of your work as an artist. I thought that I heard you did qualify for some SSDI, but because the amount was low, based on your income you would also be eligible for some SSI. You said that there were issues with qualifying for the SSI because of your family trust that was set up to help you pay the taxes on your house. I thought you said you had trouble getting, or couldn't get Medicaid (which would go with SSI ) because of the family trust.

We've all been trying to define and explain the basic differences between the programs again in this thread. My explanation was this:

"SSDI involves having recent enough work quarters in and total disability. SSI is for low income people with total disability. SSI is the one with a $2000 asset cap for a single person."

If you have a specific question, we'll all try to answer it. I think you just have to trust us a little, that you simply reversed the acronyms. Another poster here and I were just discussing in pm's how frustrating it is to confuse something that we know that we know.....or used to know because of our pain and disability interfering with our memories.

If you are really confused about which program(s) you are on, as ELA recommended, check your paperwork. You can always call your local SSA office to ask them to explain based on your specifics. When you applied for either program, the SSA office would look up your work quarters, discuss if you were eligible for SSDI, start the application for you to prove total disability (necessary for either program), and discuss your financials to see if you would qualify for SSI.

Yes I did have quarters with work history disjointed. That is why I became an artist in my younger years, so I could work my chemo in and around my show schedule. I continued to do this all my life. The last ten years prior to my disability, was extremely disjointed as I had 9 surgeries, and did not work in between during my recovery. So I do have SSI. I called the Attorney to find out. I also have Medicaid, though it is worthless down here. No one will accept it. My doctors can charge the 20% but they do not, in stead offer me grace for that 20%.
Yes I have a cap of 2,000. The system isn't set up for success, or to better your circumstances. Ginnie

The system is set up to give the people in the most desperate situations some help until they can better their circumstances.

People with over $2000 in assets may feel desperate, but they are not as desperate as the folks with nothing. The system is only designed to help those who are the most desperate, those with (almost) nothing. It is to help one find basic medical care, some form of shelter, and food........not to live in the style that one desires to become accustomed to. It's not the governments job to help one better their circumstances. That's up to the individual.

Money doesn't grow on trees. The money for SSI and Medicaid has to come from somewhere......it comes from other people's taxes. I'd prefer not to have to pay $100/month for Medicare, $100/month for a supplement plan, approx. $100/month for doctor copays, $200/month for pain meds, $100/month for other meds. That's $600/month in medical expenses that I'd love to have in my pocket. If I got to keep that, I'd be able to afford massages that help so much with my neck......or some help around the house. If I had Medicaid, I could save all that money. The problem is those things just wouldn't be "free".......everyone in this country who pays more taxes would have to pay even more, they'd be paying that $600 for me. It's not unreasonable for them to not want to pay that for me if I already have over $2000 in the bank.

It's up to each individual to find success in life. Some are lucky enough to get some help along the way possibly from their parents or maybe federal financial aid to get through college. I think it's wrong to EXPECT someone else to pay your way to financial success. Personal accountability is important.

Because totally disabled people don't have the same opportunities to work better/harder/more to improve their financial situation, I hope that no one here takes my words as a critique that we should get off the couch/out of the bed to work more. We can't, but more able bodied people on Medicaid may be able to. The system was designed with the expectation that those people WILL work more to become more successful and get OFF Medicaid. Those of us who are totally disabled will normally not be able to improve our situation in that manner. That stinks, but is due to our disabilities......and not the government's fault.