Disability Benefits. Carol Rabideau, LCSW MSA Coalition Patient & Family Conference Nashville, Tennessee October 13 & 14, 2017

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1 Disability Benefits Carol Rabideau, LCSW MSA Coalition Patient & Family Conference Nashville, Tennessee October 13 & 14, 2017

2 What Are Disability Benefits There are two types of Federal disability programs Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Disability benefits include Financial income Health Insurance

3 Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Pays benefits to you and certain members of your family if you are insured You worked long enough You paid Social Security taxes

4 Eligibility for SSDI You worked Long Enough & paid taxes to earn Social Security credits In 2017 you receive 1 credit per $1,300 earned You can earn up to 4 credits per year Your age determines how many credits you need to qualify for SSDI benefits. If you are disabled at age 31 or older, you generally need at least 20 credits in the 10 years immediately before you became disabled.

5 Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Pays benefits to you and certain members of your family if you don t have required work credits to receive SSDI have limited income, and assets less than $2,000 in countable resources ($3,000 for a couple) meet certain living arrangement requirements are otherwise eligible

6 SSDI or SSI When you apply for Disability benefits, you are automatically evaluated for both programs. There is a screening tool on SSA website

7 When Do You Qualify for Disability You can qualify for disability benefits when your condition: Can be considered severe Prevents you from being able to engage in work activity that could be classified as substantially gainful (In 2017, that amount is $1,170 monthly), and Has lasted twelve months or more, or is expected to last twelve months or more, or results in death.

8 Important Notes You do not have to wait twelve months before filing a claim for Social Security Disability or SSI. In order to apply for Disability, your disability must be severe enough for you to be unable to work at any job. You cannot be working when you apply for Disability.

9 How To Apply Complete your SSDI application online. Call our toll-free telephone number If you are deaf or hard of hearing, you can call us at TTY Call or visit your local Social Security office important to make appointment first. Disability Benefit Application Adult Disability Report Authorization to Disclose Information Form

10 What You Need to Have Ready to Apply Name, address and phone number of someone SSA can contact who knows about your medical conditions and can help with your claim. Names, addresses, phone numbers, patient ID numbers, and dates of treatment for all doctors, hospitals, and clinics. Note: Refer to any Medical Records you have. Names of medicines you are taking and who prescribed them. Note: Have the medicine bottles available. Names and dates of medical tests you have had and who sent you for them. Types of jobs and dates you worked for your last 5 jobs. Information about any insurance or workers' compensation claims you filed, such as claim number and name, address and phone number of insurance company.

11 Compassionate Allowance List Can Reduce SSA Wait Time MSA is on the Compassionate Allowances List Still must go through normal application process. (SSA says 3-5 months) Usually longer. How long it takes depends on The nature of your disability How quickly medical evidence is obtained Whether a medical examination is necessary If your claim is randomly selected for quality assurance review of the decision.

12 What if You Are Denied Benefits? You have 60 days to appeal But, you should do it RIGHT away Use the SSI appeal form You can have an attorney or other benefits specialist help you with the appeal or do it yourself

13 SSDI - What Are the Benefits? Monthly Income is calculated on earnings Most SSDI recipients receive $700 - $1,700 The average SSDI payment in 2017 is $1,171 The maximum disability benefit in 2017 is $2,687 You cannot receive more than 80% of average earned when receiving SSDI & other disability benefits combined. Insurance After a 24 month waiting period Medicare Explore insurance options Cobra, Insurance Marketplace Minor children or children who are disabled get benefits

14 SSI What Are the Benefits? Monthly income $735 maximum for an individual $1,103 for an eligible individual with an eligible spouse $368 for an essential person under some circumstances Someone living continuously lived in the home, who is not eligible for public benefits, who has little or no income, is not a spouse.... Medicaid is effective at time eligibility is determined.

15 SSDI & SSI You could be eligible for both if Your SSDI check is less than $735 per month You have less than $2000 in certain other assets, resources and property There are excluded resources: Life insurance with a face value of up to $1,500 Burial plots (including for immediate family) Burial funds up to $1,500 (or irrevocable pre-paid funeral) Furniture or household goods of reasonable value

16 Who To Call For Help For help with applying: Caring Voices Coalition For help with appeals: a trustworthy professional who is experienced. For recommendations of trustworthy professionals: call social worker

17 Advance Care Planning & Business Planning Lisa Hale, LMSW Vanderbilt Medical Center Department of Neurology MSA Annual Patient and Family Conference Nashville, Tennessee October 13 & 14, 2017

18 What is Advance Care Planning? A process: Goals setting & plans for medical care & treatment A conversation: individual, family, health care providers A dynamic document: can start at any time, be revisited periodically, and can become more specific with health status changes

19 Advance Care Documents Health Care Advance Directive defined A document expressing health care wishes Can appoint a health care decision maker your co-pilot

20 Types of Health Care Directives Cont d Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Can be effective immediately along with patient, or become effective when a person is no longer able to make or voice decisions. Provider Orders for Scope of Treatment medical orders that address key critical care decisions

21 Living Will Provides a road map to the Health Care Power of Attorney Ways to think about a living will: If any of these conditions occur, this is what I want or don t want Without one in place, there is a risk of a court battle going on for years once someone is placed on life support,

22 Do Not Resuscitate Order If a person wants to be allowed to die naturally, given only comfort, at the time of an incident, like a heart attack, a DNRO must be in place. A DNRO is a physician s order.

23 Do Not Resuscitate Order Cont d A living will might say do not resuscitate but a statement is not an order. So if the living will is produced at a critical incident, medical providers would do everything they can to sustain the person s life. A DNRO is drafted with a physician, not an attorney. A health care surrogate can get a NDRO in place.

24 Health Care Surrogate or Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care If one of these documents is not in place and something happens that someone becomes incapacitated, then it becomes necessary to go to court to prove the person does not have the capacity to make their own decisions. The person has to be evaluated by the court, and if found incapacitated, an applicant can be granted conservatorship. This could take months Check your local/state laws about whether appointing a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care or a Health Care Surrogate is needed.

25 Managing Finances and Assets Durable Power of Attorney (DPoA) Gives co-pilot the legal power to manage financial affairs The person giving the DPoA does not lose power themselves Distinguished from plain Power of Attorney in which case the agent can only act as long as the person/patient has legal capacity

26 Managing Finances and Assets Durable Power of Attorney (DPoA) Cont d A Durable Power of Attorney document says the authority granted survives by subsequent incapacity. Different than just putting someone s name on a checking account Agent s power ends when the person dies. Executor of the estate, as designated in a will, assumes responsibility.

27 Durable Power of Attorney Additional Powers Options Requiring To create a trust Special Clauses To manage IRAs, 401K, 403B, or other savings plans that are taxed at time of use To convey, sell, manage the homestead That allows self-dealing/self-giving. I.e., putting assets in their name. Without a special clause agent would not be allowed to enrich themselves. A back-up designee.

28 Why Make these Plans Gives you choice and a voice in your own health care and business affairs. Helps insure your wishes are carried out. Identifies a Co-Pilot who you trust and who can travel with you Provides peace of mind Eliminates stress for family members

29 Tips for Planning For names of trustworthy knowledgeable attorneys ask a social worker. Some forms can be downloaded from state sites and can be signed with a notary. This may be sufficient for a Medical Power of Attorney

30 Tips for Planning Cont d A consultation with an attorney will help insure important specifics will be considered for wills, Durable Powers of Attorney, and trusts. These documents are important for everyone, not just people with diagnoses of illness.

31 References Top Ten Myths and Facts About Health Care Advance Directives by Charles P. Sabatino, Bifocal September October 2015 Vol. 37, No. 1, p. 6-9 Planning for Incapacity by Sean W. Scott, JD, Elder Law Attorney, Largo, Florida, Former speaker at HDSA conference.