Talk:Social Security Disability Insurance

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[edit] Addition to section....

This is a very good article

I would like to add a sentence to the 7th point under the Differences between SSDI and Long Term Disability Insurance section.

The 7th point reads: Social Security will provide a person opportunities to return to work while still paying them disability benefits.

The point is true, however, I believe it should also be mentioned that if a person receiving SSDI does indeed return to work, and is eventually discontinued from SSDI status, they will not only lose their disability payment, they will also lose their health insurance coverage (Medicare).

Baldster 00:35, 12 September 2007 (UTC)

While it is true that a person who returns to work may be terminated from SSDI it is not automatic. For example a person working sporadically or with few hours per week at a low wage might not meet the requirements of disability cessation on the basis of income. However, SSA sometimes uses that sort of work improperly when evaluating alleged medical improvement. So, if you wanted to add qualifiers to that optimistic statement I would suggest that you research the standards for disability cessation based upon income and also the standards based upon medical improvement and provide links to the applicable regulations. (Be sure to note the income differences for those who are blind and those who are not blind.) As always, we cannot provide our opinions and original works on Wikipedia, we should present facts that are supported by appropriate authorities. David Traver —Preceding signed but undated comment was added at 01:34, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Termination of Medicare

I don't believe you understood exactly what I was proposing for the SSDI page. I'm not interested in when, how, or why people are terminated from the disability roles, and what the thresholds are for such termination. All I wanted to add was the fact that when people are terminated from SSDI, they will lose their health insurance (Medicare).

Baldster 04:21, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

That too is not always correct. It is possible to have Medicare without disability benefits. I suggest that if you are going to provide that kind of information you do so while relying upon and citing a reliable outside resource and not your own opinion. Cheers. David Traver —Preceding signed but undated comment was added at 02:37, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

• This isn't my opinion. I was told this by two disability attorneys. That's the reason I've stayed on SSD for 12 years now, rather than attempt to become employed. I've had several surgeries in the past 6 years, and if I didn't have Medicare, I would have gone broke years ago. I likely will need more surgery in the future, so I can't afford to go to work, and would be a fool to do so! AAARanger5 —Preceding signed but undated comment was added at 05:00, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

I see we are speaking past each other. Your attorneys may be generally correct about your case, given your age and other vocational and medical factors. However, that does not translate into an accurate generalized fact for the rest of the population. (For example, a person who receives regular retirement and Social Security disability at age 62 would not lose Medicare if the disability portion of the award ceased.) Because this is an exquisitely complex area of law, one should follow the Wikipedia standards with great care and be sure to provide a citation to a reliable resource that allows readers to verify the accuracy and scope of the information presented. You cannot provide a link to the advice given to you by your attorneys. On the other hand, perhaps you make an accurate section of the article by relying on Medicare and disability cessation information you find at http://ssa.gov. Failure to give good support for your article section would not only reduce the value of Wikipedia, it might lead some unsuspecting person to make a seriously wrong choice. That is, you can really screw somebody up if you are wrong for their facts. Exploding the scope of one factual situation to a universal context invariably leads to inaccurate legal advice. So, if you put forth some legal facts please be sure you are right for everybody or include a very thoughtful and accurate disclaimer that clearly sets forth the limited scope of the rule you are describing. David Traver —Preceding signed but undated comment was added at 16:07, 26 September 2007 (UTC)