Copyright 2003 Copley News Service
Copley News Service
October 20, 2003 Monday
SECTION: FAMILY; YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY
LENGTH: 624 words
BYLINE: Tom Margenau, director of Social Security's Public Affairs Bureau
Q: I have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. At our last support group meeting, a fellow group member said that Social Security changed its rules and now automatically and immediately pays disability benefits to people with ALS. When I called your toll-free number, they didn't know anything about this.
Can you please shed some light on this?
A: Yes I can. There has been a change in our rules, but it would be going too far to say we now "automatically" pay disability benefits to people with ALS.
The new rules greatly simplify our procedures for processing disability claims filed by people with Lou Gehrig's disease. Under the new rules, if you have a medically established diagnosis of ALS, you will be considered "disabled" for Social Security purposes. (Under the old rules, your ALS must have been more advanced in order to qualify.)
But this change does not override another feature of the law: a rule that says no Social Security benefits can be paid for the first five full months of a disability.
So, for example, if you were diagnosed with ALS on Oct. 1 and immediately filed for Social Security disability benefits, we would probably approve your claim rather quickly. However, the law would still prohibit us from paying your monthly disability benefits until March.
There is another new rule change that may help some people with ALS get benefits faster. If you have Lou Gehrig's disease and apply for Supplemental Security Income disability benefits, those payments can begin almost immediately. That is because ALS has been added to a small list of impairments that are so severe that we presume you are disabled. In these so-called "presumptive disability" cases, we can start paying your SSI checks right away (if you meet all the other eligibility criteria) on the assumption that our medical examiners will approve your disability claim. In other words, you wouldn't have to wait the two to three months it takes to process a disability claim. Also, the five-month "waiting period" does not apply to SSI disability claims, only to Social Security disability claims.
Questions may be sent to Tom Margenau, director of Social Security's Public Affairs Bureau, Social Security Office, 1333 Front St., San Diego, CA 92101, or to thomas.margenau(at)ssa.gov.