Veterans and National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2015

President Obama recently reminded the nation about equality and justice for those with disabilities in his proclamation. October is National Disability Employment Month. While many in the nation strive to rebound from the recession, it can be especially difficult for Veterans with disabilities to find work in addition to receiving compensation they are entitled to for injuries and illnesses.

Those with disabilities account for one-fifth of the country’s population yet unemployment rates are double compared to those who are not living with injuries or limitations. It’s especially unfortunate that honorable men and women who served the country in the military should suffer such hardships upon returning to the workforce and civilian life.

Information and compensation is available, yet understanding eligibility and the ways to seek funds can be incredibly confusing!

How to Apply for Benefits

Veterans may apply for disability benefits while still in the military or after discharge. It doesn’t matter if you’re still in the hospital, in rehab, or enrolled in outpatient treatment via a military or civilian program. Vets may apply online, in person, by mail, or by telephone. All that is required is filing the initial claim to begin the process. You can apply online or download the form (21-526EZ) on the VA website (http://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/). This process can be confusing and frustrating along the way and unfortunately often leads to a denial when you first apply. Finding someone to help you appeal the denial and fight for your right to receive the benefits you deserve is important. Remember not to give up if you are denied the first time or receive a lower rating than you deserve.

Special Monthly Compensation

Veterans Affairs pays additional compensation to those who suffered the loss of specific organs, or extremities. Furthermore, veterans with a combination of disabilities are entitled to extended compensation.   In severe cases, veterans are bedridden, housebound, or need assistance from nurses and medical aides. Special payments can be received for aid and attendance, the amount depends upon the level of recognized disability. It’s best to hire the assistance of legal counsel.

Getting Help

Those who have honorably served our country should expect the same level of help in adjusting to short or long-term disability. Veterans need to contact their local VA offices for information regarding SMC (Special Monthly Compensation). The VA will review medical evidence and make a compensation decision.

You are not alone. An experienced and driven legal counselor can help you get the attention and benefits you need and deserve. Allow a lawyer to review your case for free. You fought for your country. Now let someone fight for your disability rights.

About Rob Levine & Associates

As a veteran Rob has decided it is important to give back and help other veterans get the benefits they deserve. In addition to Veterans Disability, Rob Levine & Associates practices Personal Injury throughout Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts, as well as Social Security Disability nationwide . As “The Heavy Hitter” Rob Levine not only works hard on your case, but also believes in making a positive impact in the communities he serves. Through internal resources, education and volunteerism, Rob Levine & Associates strives to help prevent accidents, as well as raise awareness around the needs of our elderly and returning veterans. For more information visit www.roblevine.com, or call 401.529.1222, toll free at 800.529.1222.

Am I Disabled? Social Security’s Definition of Disability…

young man in a wheelchair writing a letter

Part 2 in a 4 Part Series on Social Security Disability

Unlike other programs, Social Security pays only for total disability. No benefits are payable for partial or short-term disability. Social Security only considers you disabled if: you cannot perform the work you did before; you cannot adjust to other work because of your medical condition(s); and your disability has lasted or is expected to last for at least one year or result in death.

The Social Security regulations require that you have a medically determinable impairment in order to be approved for Social Security benefits. If pain is preventing you from working, then you must have an underlying physical impairment which could reasonably be expected to produce the severe pain you allege. Objective testing (such as x-rays, CT scans and MRI’s) can help to identify the severity of pain-producing abnormalities. The type of pain medications prescribed by your doctor and their dosages are also indicative of the severity of your pain.

Psychiatric impairments can be disabling. Social Security recognizes that mental disorders can produce severe symptoms which markedly interfere with the ability to work. But treatment is essential. If you assert that you cannot work due to mental illness, then you are expected to pursue treatment that could help you get back to work. This typically includes psychiatric medications and therapy.

Regular treatment with a physician is needed to substantiate all disabling impairments. This is because Social Security will send your file to a state agency doctor for an assessment of your ability to work. Typically these doctors determine that you are capable of working. You need your own doctor to refute these medical opinions.

As you age, it becomes easier to establish disability. According to the Social Security regulations, people under the age of 50 are “younger” individuals, between age 50 and 55 you are “closely approaching advanced age,” 55 to 60 is “advanced age,” and 60 to retirement is “closely approaching retirement age.” Younger individuals are expected to work in any capacity, even minimum-wage, unskilled work. At age 50, however, the rules start to change. Your prior work and the skills you acquired in the performance of your jobs become critical factors in determining whether you satisfy the requirements for disability.

Social Security defines disability as the total inability to engage in work activity by reason of any medically determinable impairment (physical or mental) which can be expected to result in death, or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous 12 months or more.

SSA uses a 5 step sequential evaluation to determine disability:

1. Does the impairment (or combo of impairments) keep you from being able to perform full-time work? If cmt is working, then he/she will be found not disabled at this step, regardless of the seriousness of the diagnosis.

2. Is the impairment severe? And is it expected to remain severe for at least 12 months, or result in death? This is the step knocks out cmts with short-term diagnoses (i.e., a surgery where the recovery is not expected to take a year).

3. Does the impairment meet or equal one of Social Security’s Listings? (In order to make sure claims are adjudicated similarly around the country, SSA has developed criteria, called Listings, for various diagnoses.) If a claimant made. The Listing requirements are VERY high, and a claimant can still win their case even if they don’t meet Listing-level severity.

4. Does the impairment prevent you from performing any job that you performed in the last 15 years? Here, the burden is on us to show that our client is not able to do any of the jobs he/she did in the last 15 yrs.

5. Does the impairment prevent you from being able to perform any other work? At this step, the burden shifts to SSA to identify other work that is available in significant numbers that the cmt can perform in spite of limitations determined by the ALJ. Disability Determination Services and Administrative Law Judges use vocational experts familiar with job requirements to assess whether jobs exist which can be be performed.

About Rob Levine & Associates

Rob Levine & Associates specializes in Personal Injury throughout Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts, as well as Social Security Disability and Veterans Disability throughout the country. As “The Heavy Hitter” Rob Levine not only works hard on your case, but also believes in making a positive impact in the communities he serves. Through internal resources, education and volunteerism, Rob Levine & Associates strives to help prevent accidents, as well as raise awareness around the needs of our elderly and returning veterans. For more information visit www.roblevine.com , call 401.529.1222 or toll free at 800.529.1222.

Part 1 in a 4 part series on Social Security Disability

If you’re one of the 8.6 million American workers who are unable to work because of a physical or psychological condition, you may be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. However, the application process can be complicated, and one small mistake could ruin your chances of securing the benefits you deserve to care for yourself and your family.

Part One – The Overview:

About Social Security

Many people think that Social Security is only for old people. However, Social Security pays disability benefits to people who cannot work because they have a medical condition that is expected to last at least one year or result in death. The Social Security Administration has two types of programs designed to help disabled people.

To qualify for Social Security disability benefits, you must first have worked in jobs covered by Social Security. Then you must have a medical condition that meets Social Security’s definition of disability. You will receive monthly cash benefits if you are unable to work for a year or more because of a disability, or if your condition is likely to result in death.

Benefits usually continue until you are able to work again on a regular basis. There are also a number of special rules, called “work incentives,” that provide continued benefits and health care coverage to help you make the transition back to work.   If you are receiving Social Security disability benefits when you reach full retirement age, your disability benefits automatically convert to retirement benefits, but the amount remains the same.

Work incentives provide protection and motivation to allow you to try to go back to work without worrying about having to go through the Social Security application process again if you are not successful. People with disabilities receiving Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) can work and still receive monthly payments and Medicare or Medicaid.

SSDI

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is available to people who meet certain earnings requirements by paying enough Social Security taxes. Generally, you must meet two different earnings tests: a “recent work” test based on your age at the time you became disabled; and a “duration of work” test to show that you worked long enough under Social Security.

In addition to meeting Social Security’s definition of disability, you must have worked long enough and recently enough under Social Security to qualify for disability benefits. Social Security work credits are based on your total yearly wages or self-employment income. You can earn up to four credits each year.

The amount needed for a credit changes from year to year. In 2012, for example, you earn one credit for each $1,130 of wages or self-employment income. When you’ve earned $4,520, you’ve earned your four credits for the year.

The number of work credits you need to qualify for disability benefits depends on your age when you become disabled. Generally, you need 40 credits, 20 of which were earned in the last 10 years ending with the year you become disabled. This translates to needing to have worked for 5 out of the previous 10 years. However, younger workers may qualify with fewer credits.

If you are approved for SSDI, certain members of your family may qualify for benefits based on your work. They include: your spouse, if he or she is 62 or older; your spouse, at any age if he or she is caring for a child of yours who is younger than age 16 or disabled; your unmarried child, including an adopted child, or, in some cases, a stepchild or grandchild. The child must be younger than age 18 or younger than 19 if in elementary or secondary school full time; and your unmarried child, age 18 or older, if he or she has a disability that started before age 22 (the child’s disability also must meet the definition of disability for adults).

Medicare

After you receive disability benefits for 24 months, you will automatically be eligible for Medicare. However if you have permanent kidney failure requiring regular dialysis or a transplant, or you have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), you may qualify for Medicare almost immediately. Medicare is financed by a portion of the payroll taxes paid by workers and their employers. It also is financed in part by monthly premiums deducted from Social Security checks.

Medicare has four parts:

1. Hospital Insurance – helps pay for inpatient care in a hospital or skilled nursing facility (following a hospital stay), some home health care and hospice care.
2. Medical Insurance – helps pay for doctors’ services and many other medical services and supplies that are not covered by hospital insurance.
3. Medicare Advantage – plans are available in many areas. People with Medicare Parts A and B can choose to receive all of their health care services through one of these provider organizations under Part C.
4. Prescription Drug Coverage – helps pay for medications doctors prescribe for treatment.

SSI

The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program pays benefits to disabled adults and children who have limited income and resources. Income is money you receive such as wages, Social Security benefits, and pensions. Income also includes such things as food and shelter. The amount of income you can receive each month and still get SSI depends partly on where you live.

Resources are things you own, including real estate, bank accounts, cash, stocks, and bonds. You may be able to get SSI if your resources are worth no more than $2,000. A couple may be able to get SSI if they have resources worth no more than $3,000. When calculating resources, Social Security does not count: the home you live in and the land it is on; life insurance policies with a face values of $1,500 or less; your car (usually); burial plots for you and members of your immediate family; and up to $1,500 in burial funds for you and up to $1,500 in burial funds for your spouse.

If you are married, Social Security also includes part of your spouse’s income and resources when deciding whether you qualify for SSI. If you are younger than age 18, your parents’ incomes and resources are considered.

Medicaid

Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia provide Medicaid eligibility to people approved for SSI benefits. In the states, the SSI application is also the Medicaid application. Medicaid eligibility starts the same months as SSI eligibility.

Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah use the same rules to decide eligibility for Medicaid as SSA uses for SSI, but require the filing of a separate application.

The following states use their own eligibility rules for Medicaid, which are different from SSA’s SSI rules: Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Virginia. In these states, a separate application for Medicaid must be filed.

Rob Levine & Associates specializes in Personal Injury throughout Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts, as well as Social Security Disability and Veterans Disability throughout the country. As “The Heavy Hitter” Rob Levine not only works hard on your case, but also believes in making a positive impact in the communities he serves. Through internal resources, education and volunteerism, Rob Levine & Associates strives to help prevent accidents, as well as raise awareness around the needs of our elderly and returning veterans. For more information visit www.roblevine.com, or call 401.529.1222 or toll free 800-529-1222.

Free Ride program helps community…

Rob Levine visits The Rhode Show

http://wpri.com/2015/08/26/free-ride-program-helps-community/

Have you ever wished there was a ‘free ride’ option when you’re at one end of town and you need to get to the other end fast?

Rob Levine-Rob Levine and Associates joined us Wednesday on The Rhode Show, to discuss his new ‘Free Ride’ program and some of his other community initiatives.