I am diagnoised as Bipolar, Depression Severe, Anxiety Disorder. Since 2005. I last worked in 2004 (quit because we moved). I worked from for 11 month in 2007. Quit becasue the stress was killing me. Had bad Manic episodes while working.
I only recently filed for Medicaid. I go to a clinic that pays for two of my expensive meds (totalling $650 per month) I pay for three meds (totalling $27). My husband and I have 7 kids--I share joint custody of my 3 so they aren't here EVERY day but we average 4 days per week. My husband has his 4, 4 days every 1st, 3rd and 5th weekend and every Thursday they spend the night. They eat us out of house and home LOL.
I will talk with my doctor about filing for Disability in May (my next appointment). My husband brings home $300 every week (the rest goes to child support). We BARELY (who am I kidding, we rob Peter to pay Paul every month) to make our bills.
I am unsure of the procedure or time frame for filing for Disability. I filed for medicaid a few weeks ago and just got a letter in the mail to have a phone interview next Tuesday. I have no idea what that means regarding me GETTING Medicaid or how they determine amounts or what they will pay for. DO I get eyeglass $? Dentist care? Is it anything like the medicaid my step kids are on?
I really am clueless--and hoping you can answers my questions or give me advice. Thank you in advance!!
For SSDI and SSI you should go to www.ssa.gov to see information on both.
You would be applying for SSI if you have no recent and/or no substantial work history. SSI is needs based only, not based on your work history. If you have not worked in the recent past and have minimal resources (they look at your individual and joint resources) then you should apply as soon as possible.
You would be applying for SSDI if you have worked for years and recently stopped due to disability. For SSDI you must be out of work for 5 continuous months OR have substantially reduced income in the the 5 months prior due to the disability.
Every year about 3 months before your birthday you should receive a statement from SS that lays out what your potential retirement benefits will be at retirement age and if you qualify for Disability how much you could receive.
You can go to www.ssa.gov/mystatement to request a statement if you don't have one.
You will find more discussions about SS benefits on the Disabilities board of HealthBoards.
If you get Social Security Disability, you will also qualify for Medicare, which is different than Medicaid.
All persons on Disability get some form of Medicare. I have a relative who is on disability with bi-polar and gets Medicare.
You can't qualify for it until your disability status is approved. My relative receives Part A (hospital insurance only), and has private out-patient clinic insurance.
From my understanding, Medicare asks you to pay a monthly premium for clinic insurance, which is hard to afford for someone on disability but there is no monthly premium for hospital insurance.
Please note that Medicare is only provided to those on SSDI after 24 months of SSDI benefits (renal failure patients are eligible sooner). So for someone about to cease work, if COBRA begins immediately and ends at 18 months there can be a 6 month gap. And, if it takes 3 years to get SSDI approved then Medicare does not begin until SSDI is awarded.
