Social Security Disability Benefits And Medicare

   If you are approved for a Social Security disability benefit you will eventually get on Medicare -- if the disability benefit is based upon someone's earnings record. To explain, the biggest type of Social Security benefit is the one based upon your own earnings but there are also Disabled Widows and Widowers and Disabled Adult Child benefits on the account of a parent for those who become disabled before age 22. In all of these types of benefits, you'll be entitled to Medicare after you've been eligible for cash benefits for 24 months. Why 24 months? It saves money. That's it. No good reason. It just saves money. Actually, there are a couple of exceptions to the 24 month rule -- those on dialysis because their kidneys have failed are eligible for some Medicare benefits immediately and those disabled by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are eligible for all Medicare benefits immediately.

    If you're approved for a Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit you're eligible for Medicaid immediately. SSI is a poverty program. You have to be quite poor to receive the benefit and it doesn't pay much and you still have to be just as disabled but it doesn't matter whether you've worked in the past.

    I've talked about Medicare and Medicaid. Aren't they the same thing? No. Besides the 24 month waiting period for Medicare, you'll probably have to pay a premium deducted from your check for the outpatient part of your Medicare benefit. Also, basic Medicare doesn't cover prescription medications -- but you can, at extra expense, add that benefit. Medicaid doesn't have a waiting period, there's no premium for it and it covers prescription medications. Sounds like Medicaid is the better deal, doesn't it? Not necessarily. Medicare pays doctors at a much higher rate than Medicaid. Many doctors refuse to accept Medicaid so you won't have as much choice in the doctors you see. Those who do accept Medicaid aren't supposed to discriminate against you because you have Medicaid rather than Medicare. Not supposed to.

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347

Social Security Disability Benefits Attorney

 

   Most attorneys don't try to represent Social Security disability claimants. That's a good thing. It's a very specialized practice. You have to know the Social Security Act inside and out which is difficult. The Social Security Act is a little like the Internal Revenue Code. Did you realize that there isn't just one type of Social Security disability benefit? There's actually seven types. Beyond that you have to know a lot about medicine. Social Security, by far, requires the most medical knowledge of any type of legal practice. My friends who practice workers compensation and personal injury law know a fair amount about the effects of injuries, such as broken bones, but they know little about diabetes much less about rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis. Diabetes, RA and MS aren't caused by accidents but they certainly disable people.

    If you need help with Social Security disability, hire an attorney who concentrates in the field of Social Security law. Better yet, find a board certified Social Security disability attorney to represent you.

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347

Social Security Disability Benefits And VA Disability

    The word "disability" means different things at Social Security and at VA. The simplest way of describing one important difference is that Social Security is very much focused on whether the claimant can work while the VA is very much focused simply on how impaired the claimant is. A person who is working full time at regular work won't be able to get on Social Security disability benefits or stay on them long but a 100% disabled vet can receive benefits from VA regardless of any employment. The other big difference between the two programs is that you can get partial disability benefits from VA but not from Social Security. You can get 30% or 70% VA disability benefits but at Social Security it's all or nothing.

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347

Social Security Disability Benefits In North Carolina

    Social Security benefits, including disability benefits, are the same in N.C. as elsewhere in the country. Except, that Social Security is staffed with flesh and blood people, not robots. Knowing these flesh and blood people matters. No, it doesn't get you special favors but it does help protect you from the mistakes that the Social Security Administration makes. If you know the people, you are better able to get problems solved and, maybe, to prevent them from happening.

    We also know local treatment sources in N.C. Which network is the hospital in Roanoke Rapids part of? Where's the nearest rheumatologist to Clinton? These facts matter if you're representing people in these areas. If you're located in another state, you probably don't have that local info.

    Hall & Rouse is based right here in North Carolina. We know the local people. We know the local medical sources.

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347

Need A Lawyer For An SSI Case? Yeah, We Do That

Always happy to talk with SSI claimnts

    One type of Social Security disability benefit is Supplemental Security Income or SSI. Generally, SSI benefits are less per month that other types of Social Security disability benefits. Because SSI pays less, attorney fees (which are generally 25% of back benefits) can be less. That makes some attorneys less eager to take on SSI cases. That's them. At Hall & Rouse, we don't turn up our noses at SSI cases. We're happy to take them on. If others have turned you down, give us a call.

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347

Need A Social Security Attorney In Raleigh?

     Representing Social Security disability claimants in Raleigh and throughout North Carolina is what we do. We're not located in Utah or Massachusetts. We're right here in Raleigh in an office on Glenwood Avenue. You can visit us in person. We know the local judges and local hearing offices.

    Pay attention to the location of the attorney you hire. Find out about the experience of the firm you hire. A firm isn't better just because its name pops up first on Google.

    Pay attention to the nature of the firm you hire. Does it just do Social Security, as is the case with Hall & Rouse, or does it divide its attention over several practice areas such as personal injury and workers compensation?

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347

Can You Get Social Security Disability Benefits For PTSD?

 

   Yes, you can get Social Security disability benefits for PTSD -- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder but it's not easy.

    Social Security will look at nature of the original traumatic event but they will look far more at how that event or events has affected your life. Are you in psychiatric care? How long have you been in psychiatric care? Have you been hospitalized for the PTSD? Do you have any other psychiatric problem, such as depression or bipolar disorder? How do you spend your life? How well can you relate to other people? What happened when you tried to work? 

    I've had clients disabled by events that happened while in military service, clients who were the victims of horrific criminal attacks, clients who were the survivors of car crashes where others close to them perished, clients who came far too close to death or horrific injury and clients with many other sorts of trauma.

    It's not easy but we'll listen to you and we'll try to help.

If you're in NC and want help with your Social Security disability claim, call Hall & Rouse, P.C. at 1-866-425-5347