Disability and SSD

[prittigyrl]

I've had MS for a year now and had my first relapse or attack about a two weeks ago. I have been off work as a result, but am not currently on disability. However, I have made the decision to apply for long-term disability which will result in anywhere from six to 24 months off, but I have so many questions and cannot seem to find any answers. Does anyone have any experience with this? I work for the State of Michigan. I'm trying to figure out if I should try to go back to work or just remain off work now. I don't know, based on all the qualifying criteria, which is the best decision for my health and my job.

[Temagami]

I would say that before making a big decision like this, that you can improve significantly over time. My initial relapse that led to dx put me in the category of failing the independent walking test. A few months later I bike a 40 mile MS ride. I did miss the last term of school that year, but went back in the fall. Maybe STD would be enough time for you to recuperate. At my job, you are automatically on STD after 8 days out of work. What is your employer´s policy on STD?

[pennstater]

Agree that you should give SSDI some time if you have LTD thru your employer. For STD and LTD, you really need to understand your employer's policy, eligibility requirements, and definition of disability. You may also need to understand how FMLA time is used in conjunction with sick time, vacation policies you employer uses ( to understand how/if job protected once FMLA expires). Your employer should be able to supply this, without you disclosing you have MS.

You are fairly new to your diagnosis. It takes time to adjust emotionally. Discuss with your neuro. If symptoms prevent your return to work, you need your doctor's support for both LTD and SSDI. Additionally, your neuro may think physical or occupational therapy could help your return to work. Accommodations could be requested that allow you to work longer.

There is a social security forum that has good info. There are stickies up top, one if which covers SSDI requirements from a medical stand point. You would have to review with your neuro to see if you meet the listing. If you do, you should get approved. You may have to appeal, as approval rate for initial application can be in 30-40% range for all applucations, but don't get discouraged.

For SSDI, you have to have enough work credits to qualify and any award is based on your salary history/taxes contributed. Two years from your date of disability onset (determined by Social Security) you are then medicare eligible. If not enough work credits, there is SSI, which is need based and looks at total household income (if you are married).

Another thing with SSDI, the older the age > 50, the greater chance of approval. Additionally, generally, the longer you work from diagnosis, the more favorable it is viewed. They look at what accommodations you tried to keep working or if history of not being able to sustain employment due to health issues.

I don't want to discourage you from applying if you need it now, but have the conversation with your neuro first. Check out the social security thread as well for more info.

I almost gave up employment a few times early on, but my neuro encouraged me to hang in. I worked 8 years after diagnosis, the last 1.5 years with accommodations. This helped increase my benefit amount, as each salary increase raised the basis. It also allowed me to save money since I had to appeal initial denial from both SSDI and LTD, which meant no income. I had health insurance thru my husband, otherwise, while I waited on appeal, I would have had to pay own insurance thru Cobra.

It is a lot to think about. An MS diagnosis alone doesn't qualify you. I can't stress the importance of discussing with your neuro. The NMSS website also has an employment section with good articles, webinars, and even people you can discuss with

Good luck. Look forward to more posts from you.

[jreagan70]

Hi prittigyrl:

You situation is a bit different than for most people because Michigan is one of the few states that doesn't require employers (even itself) to provide short-term disability (STD) insurance. With STD, a person can take just a few weeks or a few months off with little more than a doctor's statement of inability to work for a short time. But since you don't have that option, you have to look at LTD, which makes things more complicated.

Under STD, employers often hold a person's job open because they expect them to return to work in a short time, and most people on STD do that. Under LTD, employers don't know if or when a employee will be returning to work, and there's no requirement for them to hold a job open or even to maintain employment for that person.

That's the basis behind the Family and Medical Leave Act. The act requires qualified employers to hold the jobs of eligible employees open for up to 12 workweeks in a 12-month period. The leave is unpaid, but the return to a similar job is guaranteed. It's worthwhile looking into FMLA because it might save your job, which is important if you don't know how long you'll be away from work.

One of the requirements for SSDI is that a person's disability must prevent all types of gainful employment for a period of time that lasts at least 5 months and is expected to last a minimum of 12 months in a row or to end in death within a roughly defined amount of time. For example, a diagnosis of ALS is enough to qualify most people for disability immediately because progression to disability so so rapid and the life expectancy is 5 years or less.

MS isn't like that, and the reality for SSDI can be harsh. For a person who has been diagnosed with MS for only 1 year and is only 2 weeks out from a relapse, it's impossible to predict or expect total disability for the next 12 months. Your doctor can't predict it, and the Social Security disability reviewers, who have reviewed many claims for MS, know that early relapses in a newly diagnosed person are not usually expected to result in total disability for a minimum of 12 continuous months. With that as a guideline, you would not qualify for SSDI now based on expected duration of disability alone, no matter what your status is right now.

Even with a somewhat indeterminate duration, STD is expected to last less than about 6 months, which makes it handy and low-fuss for MS relapses that frequently do in that time frame resolve enough for a person to return to work -- at least early on when the remitting part of relapsing-remitting behaves as the name implies.

You might be out of work for 6 months, but you also might be recovered enough to return to work in only 2 months. Especially when you're new to relapses and don't have a feel for what the recovery phase might be like, it might be tempting to say, "I think I'll take a couple more weeks off so I can enjoy the time when I'm feeling better and make sure I'm really recuperated." That's a nice idea until you find out later that you need those two weeks off for another relapse and you don't have any sick, vacation or FMLA time left because you used them up too early. So there are advantages to returning to work as soon as you can do it without being a danger to yourself or others.

Since you don't have STD, it becomes even more important to coordinate your sick time and vacation time with FMLA and possibly LTD. It's also a great idea to see about physical and occupational therapy to get you back to work as soon as possible, so hopefully LTD won't be necessary.

[pennstater]

Hi prittigyrl,

I was just wondering how you are making out, both health wise and employment. Any updates you are comfortable sharing?