Do I Need a Specific Type of Medical Condition to Qualify for Disability Benefits?
Determining eligibility for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits can be complex, and it is often confusing for a person who has recently been diagnosed with a serious illness or a debilitating injury to understand if they are eligible. The question of eligibility is often complicated further when a person with a disability realizes there is a full listing of impairments in the Social Security Administration (SSA) Blue Book, and that there is a separate listing of specific impairments identified in the SSA’s Compassionate Allowances (CAL) program. Do you need to have one of these listed impairments to qualify for SSDI benefits? Or do you need a specific type of medical condition to qualify?
In short, the answer to both questions is no, but you do need to meet requirements identified by the SSA to qualify for Social Security Disability. Our national SSD eligibility attorneys can explain in more detail.
Requirements to Be Eligible for SSDI Benefits
To be eligible for SSDI benefits, you must meet the 1) work history requirement and the 2) medical requirement. The work history requirement concerns whether you have worked long enough and recently enough to have sufficient work credits. The medical eligibility requirement says that you must have medical evidence that shows the following of your medical condition:
It is expected to last at least 12 months or to result in your death, and it is serious enough that it prevents you from engaging in a degree of work known as substantial gainful activity (SGA). The medical eligibility language does not mandate or require that you have a specific disease or diagnosed condition, but rather that your condition is disabling in the manner described above.
How Are the Blue Book and CAL Program Relevant?
If you do not need a specific condition, what is the list of impairments for in the Blue Book? The list of impairments can help you to understand whether you meet the medical requirement described above — the Blue Book identifies specific impairments that can qualify a person based on that above definition of a disability.
The CAL program does not determine general SSDI eligibility, but rather whether you have an impairment that qualifies you for an expedited approval process. If you have one of the listed impairments here, you may be able to obtain SSDI benefits without the five-month waiting period.
Contact Our National SSD Eligibility Attorney Today for Assistance with Your Application for Benefits
Were you recently diagnosed with a debilitating medical condition, or did you recently experience a life-altering injury in an accident? If so, for all of the reasons we discussed above, you could be eligible to receive SSDI benefits if you can meet the specific requirements. To be clear, while certain types of medical conditions can qualify a person for SSDI benefits, and some particularly serious conditions can qualify a person for an expedited approval through the Compassionate Allowances program, you do not need to have a specifically listed condition to be eligible for Social Security Disability. One of the experienced national SSD eligibility lawyers at the Law Offices of Stephen Barszcz can discuss the details of your disability with you today and can begin working with you on your eligibility and application for benefits.
Sources:
ssa.gov/disability/eligibility
ssa.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/AdultListings.htm
