Hello I just recieved wonderful information so I thought I would pass it on.
Senator Barbara Boxer in California, will help with government office's.
she has laywers and caseworkers to help with SSDI. she is trying to pass a new legistration about how long the proscess should take. I have been fighting and waiting for almost 3 years.
anyway her web site is Boxer.senate.gov
you pick which program you need help with and e-mail them. I got an answer the following day. I then had to print a form and send it to them with the information. I figure anything is worth a try. and since it is an election year maybe her office can help us out.
Good luck to all who need help, I know I do

That's awesome. Wouldn't it be great if more politicians actually tried to help !

SSDI, VA, etc. RANT 101

SSDI is a nightmare for most people. I was seen, approved and had my check in 4 months.
I submitted around May 8, 2006. They lost my paperwork and I took copies to a local office in Sept 2006. I saw their doctor around Nov 2006 and had my check around Jan 20, 2007.
I have NO idea why I got such good service. I was 61 and on morphine, etc. I could not have worked as a door stop in my condition.

NOW, that said, I have been fighting with the VA since Valley Forge. AND Senator Boxer is about to help me there. The most frustrating thing about the VA is that they would NOT accept my Flight Physical from Air Force Flight Surgeons. Plus my daughter works for the VA in Calif., so they sent my records to Nevada and they expect me to drive to Reno, NV if I want to see them.

Back to SSDI. One thing to hammer across to our Congressional Reps is that the VA and Social Security might not be years behind IF they would quit handling the paperwork 3 or 4 times. The SSDI people told me it would take 4 months to get my check, if and when I was approved. I filed a congressional complaint on that. It is insane to tell us, in the day of emails, faxes, computer networks, that they cannot pay a person who is hurting physically and emotionally and financially .... to tell us they need 4 months is an insult to our intelligence. Even the IRS can deposit the money into our bank accounts electronically.

Now that I have bad mouthed SSDI, VA, etc. I will say this ... they are subject to the whims of Congress. My daughter told me Iraq Veterans are getting the priority at the moment. WWII vets are dying off daily and their cases are being ..... I want to be polite here, but they are not the priority like they should be. Squeaky wheel syndrome.

HEY, IF YOU HAVE TO SUE THEM, FIND A LAWYER WHO IS ALSO A DOCTOR. My daughter said one of the most effective attorneys she has seen in all her years is this lawyer who is also an MD. Look in your area for such an attorney. I don't know what he costs, but he will represent me against the VA (Veteran's Adversary). I even told the VA in Washington, D.C. to please just refuse me so I can sue them. No response. Time for my B vitamins.
Best wishes in your battles (seems like an odd word when you realize we paid into this program).

yes, I think it would be great, everyone I talk to says it takes at least 2 years, before a check is issued. so if they help and change policy's I think the world might be a little bit better to live in.

I for one have no other income, no place to live, and no one to ask for help. I am currently working and no longer have a car because all my money goes to medical bills and medication.
If I have to go on disability, where will I live, and how will I eat while I wait for my checks?

Yes, I have two daughters, but they are struggling financially themselves. One has a studio apartment for her and her 5 year old daughter. The other is a drug addict whom I can't depend on. Hmmmmm......

I simply pray that I can continue to work. I don't know what I'll do when I get too sick to do that. I'm only 50.

God Bless all of you who are struggling through this process!

My thoughts are with you Seams!!

I think they hope we'll croak before they have to start paying us.

I understand they are trying to avoid paying fraudulent claims, but the process is devastating to people like yourself, Stitches, who have no family that they can impose upon until benefits are approved

Stitches

Since you are working in California, it is likely that you are paying an SDI tax for the California State Disability program that can pay you a bi-weekly benefit for up to twelve months while you are waiting for a decision from SSDI, when it becomes too hard for you to work anymore. The SDI program is run by California's Employment Development Departmen (EDD) that also pays unemployment benefits. The criteria for SDI eligibility are not nearly as stringent as SSDI and are generally based on YOUR doctor's opinion, not an employee of the agency like SSDI uses.

SDI only lasts 12 months, though, then it runs out. There is no health insurance coverage with SDI either.

What is your existing health insurance coverage? Can you use COBRA to purchase the insurance after you stop work? With SSDI, you would have Medicare but the earliest date would be 29 months after you stopped work.

Have you looked into Medi-Cal (California's version of Medicaid)? You state that you have low income, so you might qualify for that. You still may have to pay a portion of the bills, called share of costs.

You need to start the research now, so that if you find that you can't work, you have a few options available.

Well, it is Congress that approves the funding for the staff at SSA and it is Congress who creates all the complicated rules and it is Congress who keeps giving more work to SSA without giving more staff.

SSA has the lowest staffing since the 1970's at a point in time in which the massive Baby Boomer cohort are becoming both old enough for retirement and sick enough to be considered disabled. Staff is what is needed and a new employee takes about three years to be proficient at their job.

Imposing deadlines for decisions without giving tools to do the job is pointless. It would result in sloppy approvals and sloppy denials.

Contact with a Congressperson or Senator or media person may move your case closer to the head of the line. Doesn't shorten the line, however. A solution for an individual, but not a solution for the group.

Like one of the people said,I think that they would rather us die before they would help us. I won't get my hearing until February now. I've been waiting for 1 and 1/2 years. It's like slow torment.

I have no idea what will happen if they reject helping me. No idea,and that scares me because the economy is bad.

Can we sue them if they reject us at the hearing? BF