Scan results

"Smokie Darling (Annie)" wrote:

On Thursday, May 17, 2012 12:56:19 AM UTC-6, Bastette wrote:
karen wrote:

2: Having a chronic and/or debilitating condition could make her
eligible for Social Security Disability income and Medicare. I am not
wishing that upon her or anyone else! (Just clarifying before someone
jumps to that conclusion.) Disability income would be helpful and I
addressed the Medicare above. The three medical situations noted in the
post that I was responding to would have been covered by Disability and
I was addressing the "elderly" aspect in that post as well.

but getting on SSDI or SSI is not remotely easy, even if you have all your medical records showing the beginning of the disease/disability, and all treatments. In fact, most people are told to expect a denial the first time through.

A friend of mine just got SSDI, but she had to work hard and wait for quite
a while.

I wasn't being either sarcastic or passive-aggressive.

OK, thanks for explaining that. I had a hard time understanding how
being young, healthy and having a home were difficulties, but I see
what you mean now.

Maybe it was my own background, but I completely understood what Karen was talking about. I used to tell people the same things at the old job, and sometimes I got similar responses to what Karen has.

Lots of people fall through the cracks. If you're lucky enough to be very
wealthy, then you don't need to worry about paying for health care. If
you're extremely poor, there are programs available, even if their benefits
are steadily dwindling. But some people don't have the money to pay for
treatment outright, yet they're considered too "well off" to qualify for
government benefits. That group keeps getting bigger and bigger because
(1) more and more people are losing jobs and homes, and (2) the income level
that's considered "poverty" by the government keeps going down and down.

--
Joyce

Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me,
for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me, either. Just leave me
the hell alone. -- Unknown

On 5/17/2012 9:32 AM, Smokie Darling (Annie) wrote:
On Thursday, May 17, 2012 12:56:19 AM UTC-6, Bastette wrote:
karen wrote:

2: Having a chronic and/or debilitating condition could make her
eligible for Social Security Disability income and Medicare. I am not
wishing that upon her or anyone else! (Just clarifying before someone
jumps to that conclusion.) Disability income would be helpful and I
addressed the Medicare above. The three medical situations noted in the
post that I was responding to would have been covered by Disability and
I was addressing the "elderly" aspect in that post as well.

but getting on SSDI or SSI is not remotely easy, even if you have all your medical records showing the beginning of the disease/disability, and all treatments. In fact, most people are told to expect a denial the first time through.

I was thinking about this while I worked today (work was tedious today
). The three medical situations that had been specified would have to
have reached the point that the individual was totally disabled. It is
my understanding that depression is one of the most difficult to prove.
When my husband was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer (prognosis 6
months) his oncologist told us he would be immediately approved for
benefits. My husband opted to not file. Wasn't it Catnapped who was
approved the first time she applied? Usually, though, it is quite a
long, drawn out process

3: Having financial assets can disqualify a person from being eligible
for state medical assistance (such as Medicaid). (In some situations a
person can qualify but the state, at least where I live, will put a lien
on the property as to be reimbursed for expenses when either the person
dies or the property is sold.)

Really? The way I understood the federal rules (for Medical assistance and Food Benefits) for reimbursement, that's illegal. I used to establish eligibility for Medicaid/Food Benefit. We *had* to disallow the home in which the person lived (if they owned a *rental* property, however, things changed). Then again, in Colorado, it's nearly impossible for a single woman (with no children) to get medical coverage from the state (unless she is pregnant)

Ownership of a personal residence cannot disqualify you from receiving
the assistance. The two situations that I am familiar with involved the
"estate" being held responsible for reimbursement after the person had
died. In both situations that involved only the home that the person
had lived in. I was told by another individual personally involved in a
Medicaid situation that if the person receiving the aid sold their home
they would be responsible for reimbursing the state from the monies
received from that sale and they were concerned that the monies that
were left over from that would disqualify them from continuing in the
program. It isn't something I personally have researched.


..

I wasn't being either sarcastic or passive-aggressive.

OK, thanks for explaining that. I had a hard time understanding how
being young, healthy and having a home were difficulties, but I see
what you mean now.

Maybe it was my own background, but I completely understood what Karen was talking about. I used to tell people the same things at the old job, and sometimes I got similar responses to what Karen has.

I'm sure many people were amazed at all the twists and turns. I can't
imagine what someone trying to explain tax code would face!

Karen