Do you suffer from Crohn’s disease? Do you find it affecting your job performance by missing work days or having your illness get in the way of completing your work? If you’ve answered yes to those questions then you’re going to want to keep reading! Did you know that you can potentially be able to apply for Crohn’s disease disability benefits to help ease the stress of being able to keep a job due to your illness?
Figuring out whether or not your diagnosis qualifies for Crohn’s disease disability benefits can be just the relief you need to give you relief from job performance issues. We’ll walk you through all you need to know about disability benefits and finding out with you qualify below.
What Are Disability Benefits?
Disability benefits are available for individuals whose medical conditions prevent them from being able to work. This program is a payroll tax that is through the federal government via the Social Security Department and acts as an income supplement.
The disability benefits are for either a long or short period of time, depending on whether or not the disability you claim is a temporary or permanent one. It is granted once an individual is labeled as legitimately disabled by medical and legal means.
This means that both a doctor and the legislation are able to fully qualify that the person has a disability that impacts their ability to maintain employment.
There are two types of disability benefits available in America but we will not be discussing the differences between them and instead focusing on Crohn’s disease disability qualification in general.
What Qualifies As a Disability?
The government defines a disability as a physical condition that prevents you from doing the work that you did before. It also includes the inability to take another job that requires adjusting to another type of work because of your condition. The disability will also need to at least last a year or in some cases result in death.
There are five questions the government will ask you to determine eligibility for disability benefits. In order to qualify, all five questions qualifications must be met otherwise the application is rejected.
This means that medical conditions that last only a few weeks or a few months would not qualify for disability benefits as the minimum time period is one year.
Your doctor will also have to write medical documentation about your diagnosis process and their expert medical opinion on your condition and its severity. Combined with the government qualifications will determine whether you are able to get Crohn’s disease disability benefits.
Crohn’s Disease Disability Qualification
Sometimes called Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Crohn’s disease has a variety of symptoms that lead to a diagnosis. Most commonly sufferers will experience frequent bouts of diarrhea along with cramping to varying levels of severity.
Generally, those suffering from Crohn’s will find an ebb and flow of symptoms at times experience active flare-ups of symptoms to lower levels of symptom appearance. Sometimes the disease can be somewhat controlled with medication along with a lifestyle and diet change but it is something that the sufferer will deal with for the rest of their life.
The unpredictability of the disease can be extremely stressful for sufferers and prevent them from living a fulfilling life.
Here’s where we get into does Crohn’s disease get disability.
The Social Security Associate which dictates disease qualifications has a list of medical conditions that qualify for disability benefits.
Thankfully, severe digestive disorders, which Crohn’s disease luckily falls under, are a type of medical condition that qualifies for disability benefits. This means if you have Crohn’s disease you are able to apply for disability benefits.
How Do I Apply For Disability Benefits?
Following a diagnosis by a medical doctor, if you find your Crohn’s symptoms are getting in the way of work you are able to apply for benefits. The process varies based on how you’d like to apply.
You can apply online or you can apply over the phone where you can make an appointment for a government representative in the Social Security department to take your call.
The online application will request information regarding your diagnosed disease and when you were diagnosed. You will also need to supply a medical note and your diagnosing doctor’s contact information so that they can follow up and confirm your disease.
Disability benefits can’t be given to you if you’ve never worked, you will have to have worked in order to be able to apply because they are part of payroll functions. This is also important as the benefits kick in when your work is interrupted by the disease.
Once you’ve filled in the online form or applied via the telephone you will wait to hear back whether you’ve been approved or rejected. The Social Security department will provide you with your disability benefit amount along with the payment schedule.
The amount that you are given is dependent on your household income and your salary had you been normally working. You may also qualify for food stamps and other benefits besides a salary replacement payment. This depends on whether you’re applying for disability benefits or supplemental security income.
It’s best to speak to the Social Security department to determine which one is best for you.
Crohn’s Disease Disability Verified
We’ve now determined that you can apply for Crohn’s disease disability benefits with your diagnosis if it is affecting your ability to work. Make sure that you have documentation from your doctor and speak to the Social Security department about questions regarding your application.
They will be able to tell you whether it is in your best interest to apply and if your situation qualifies for the benefit based on how long you have been working, or out of work.
Contact us today to help get you headed in the right direction with managing your Crohn’s disease diagnosis to help you live as close to a normal life as possible.
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