when i switched or redirected this blog some almost
three years ago when i was diagnosed with
mild cognitive impairment amnestic type ie short term
memory loss
i wanted to write about everything that happens to me in
relationship to this diagnosis
part of the journey is the business or money side of this
story
when i was working i had a long term disability policy that
lucky for me was paid for with after tax dollars so that
when the insurance claim was paid out the monies paid would
not be taxable
what this means for me is that im paid equal to what i was
making until im 66 years old
many people dont have these policies so they have to depend
on social security disability for their income replacement
which can be good but it will not usually replace the income
that was lost
you have to be disabled for 2 years before you get paid
sometimes the system for some people takes longer to work
so that they may go 2-3 years without any money
for them this can be a financial disaster
especially if their initial filing is denied and they have to
go through a hearing to get an administrative judge to make
a decision on their claim
some diseases are treated on a fast track plan so that if the
diagnosis is firm and advanced some they only wait 2-3 months
before they get on social security disability and also medicare
one of these diseases is alzheimers disease
thanks to the alzheimers associations lobbying efforts
so what does this have to do with me
im not officially diagnosed with alzheimers disease although i
probably am in the early early early stages of the disease
when i had to retire i pulled out my long term disability policy
and read it
you know the small print stuff
there it was
you must apply for social security disability in order to continue
to receive your private disability insurance checks
why
i dont need my social security checks until i reach 66 when this
policy coverage ends
too bad
you have to file
so i did
it was denied
but
sorry we hire a lawyer for you and you appeal it
so i did
so after 3 years since i quit work
yesterday i had to go before an administrative law judge
with a lawyer
a nice guy by the way as was the judge
both spouted out numbers like code 789.10 exemption
what the heck that meant i didnt know and actually didnt care
since i have little or nothing to gain from all of this
the insurance company if the case is won on appeal gets my
social security check each month until i reach the age of 66
of course i get multiple times that each month from them until
that time
then at age 66 my insurance disability check goes away and i
then start getting my social security checks monthly
i really feel sorry for those people who dont have private disability
insurance and would have waited
for those 3 years to get their first checks
you yes you reading this blog should check out your disability
insurance status
never thought i would ever have needed it
but am glad i had it in place when i did need it
the only good thing that comes of this is that when the decision
is made i will be on medicare
and sad to say wont be able to get the obamacare policy that
i had spent time researching
i will just add a supplemental policy to the medicare for better
coverage
the attorney said after the hearing that he thought from knowing
the judge and the process that my social security disability claim
will probably be approved
during the last 3 years there are times not many when i get this
melancholic feeling that people must feel when they get depressed
yesterday during the hearing when i was being questioned
and had to talk about how i was diagnosed and how ive done
since then
this melancholic feeling almost like a flush you women would
call it a hot flash hit me
but like a flush or hot flash it passed and i went on
its this feeling i dont want to have during this period of my life
staying busy talking freely about it volunteering reading writing
makes i think a big difference in keeping
that melancholic fog at bay
now that this hearing is over
as i had to put a lot of time into it although i wouldnt gain much
from it
welll i guess i would have lost my disability checks each month
if i hadnt gone along with all this
its over
im ready to move on
the organicgreen doctor
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