if you are diagnosed with alzheimers disease you can get fast tracked to get social security disability in a few months
it use to be that folks would die from their diseases before they would get their first social security disability check
now thats changed for some diseases with alzheimers disease being one of them
mild cognitive impairment that may be due to alzheimers disease is not one of them
when i was diagnosed to the day i went to court was over 3 years
luckily for me i had a good long term disability policy that covered me no matter whehter the court ruled in my favor or not
many folks dont have that safety net
they suffer in poverty for those months and years it takes to get their first check
now it seems they are making cuts even to this program
warning
dont let them mess with your medicare and social security no matter which party is in power
as i went through this process i thought this is a racket this isnt fair why does the government have to pay disability checks to the insurance companies
im sure its lobbying
now i didnt want to apply for social security disability
but
in the fine print of my disability policy there it said oh yes you will if you want to get your monthly checks
so
i applied as required
they social security rejected it
the insurance hired a lawyer paid them $6000 to handle my case
he came out to the house to interview me
he said at the end of the interview
you dont really want to do this do you
nope i said
it seems like a sham
but
for 6 years of doctor pay i will do it
so
to court i went
the judge was sitting on a big screen in his office in dallas
i was with the insurance companies lawyer like in a real case
there was somebody representing the government across the table
some social worker person was there too
everything seemed predetermined and arranged
they spent a lot of time spitting out codes and diagnoses that i thought thats not even really related to my mci diagnosis
i wonder if the reason i got the disability was because i had recently ruptured a disk in my lower back and was in a lot of discomfort from that
they added thats to my list and all the other diagnoses i have ever had
he the judge voted
i got my disability
was i happy
no
i felt i was scammed as was the american people
folks needing this court slot some waiting for months were out there
so i got a check for 3 years social security
thats 3 years of near max amounts
i had to pay taxes on that increased amount
the insurance company subtracted my social security check each month from my insurance check
i calculated they saved around $180000 over 6 years
i calculated i paid about a third of that to the feds for income tax
remember my insurance checks were tax free since i paid my premiums originally from after tax dollars
remember that when you buy your disability policies
i guess i didnt have much faith in this system
those who needed help the most didnt have some insurance lawyer handling their case
with a reluctant client i might add
this blog below i wrote over 6 years ago 3 years after i was diagnosed
yes
the justice system and court system move slow
this was also a time when i reached a low point as i mentioned in this old blog
i was recovering from a ruptured disk in my back still having some pain at times
i was not sleeping well at night
this dealing with the social security thing drug on for several months
but
i recovered and moved on
XXXX
12-05-2013
THATS OVER WITH
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 checks that come 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
well 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
XXXX
moved on is what i did
the organicgreen doctor
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