My question is can you apply for disability while you are still working if you are considered terminal and wont be able to work much longer? Im getting to the point where Im so tired its hard for me to drive there and the pain is getting worse. I cant afford to just stop because I have no money coming in.

Apply! I would think a terminal diagnosis would make you eligible automatically.

A documented terminal diagnosis should get an SSDI approval very quickly.

It will get approved quickly. My late husband applied he had his disability check within weeks. It was documented by his surgeon I picked it up we took it to SS in our area.

Do it first thing Monday no need for you to go on like this.

Take care,
Connie

Do I get Medicare automatically if Im approved? If not how will I get healthcare?Im sorry for all these dumb questions but their website is so confusing. Ive never had to apply for government assistance before. They sure dont make it easy!

Medicare is available after you have been on disability for 2 years.

So I will have no healthcare? What am I supposed to do?

Many hospitals will give what they call charity care to their patients who have limited incomes. Ive used this myself. You must ask for help thru their financial services dept. Sadly this is something they normally do not proactively offer, you need to ask or they wont tell you about it. Not every center offers it too, so if I were you I would call and ask what programs they offer for uninsured patients.

Good luck!!!

Thank you Christine. Also thanks for your offer on my FB page. Ill be moving back to MA with my family so I will definately check Dana Farbers charity program.

I was told you can get Medi-Cal, but not Medi-Care. They are totally two different entities. You can check with your local hospitals social worker for all the programs.

Different states offer different programs. Check into what MA offers, it could be different.

If I can help you by putting you in touch with my friend, let me know. Im not always on facebook, so it would be best to send me a PM thru here or an email.

turns out I got nothing to worry about. My company is giving me leave of absence for a year. Insurance payments wont be high at all.one crisis avoided!

What does it mean "from date of disability"? Does that mean the date you were diagnosed, the day you stopped working or something else?

I found some information on the ssa.gov site by searching for "date of disability" - something else appears to be the short answer. Are you applying online?

Yes I applied online. I was just wondering when it was that Im deemed disabled according to SS.

I found a reference on the SSA site - I don't know enough to even guess the answer: Social Security - Disability

They used the date of my diagnosis plus 5 months.

Cathi

Social Security just called me. He asked a few questions relating to my cancer and then asked if I had hired attorney. I said no and he said good Id advise against it. He then said he was going to expidite everything so Im assuming I was approved? I sure hope so as I am no longer working and have no money coming in.

Well, that sounds encouraging. Hope it comes throught soon!

I would still look in to getting a lawyer, since you are not approved yet. My brother (has a neurological disease I cannot spell or pronounce )was told he was going to get his expedited by someone and it took him close to 4 months after getting a lawyer to get his SSD.

I disagree with getting a lawyer. Mine took right around 4 months and they sent me the back pay to the date of my diagnosis minus the 5 month waiting period. An attorney takes 25% of your first check.

Cathi

I also do not think its necessary to hire an attorney to get SSD. All that you need to do is send supporting documents with a complete application. If everything is complete and you include medical records then you should easily get an approval the first time you apply. Including a letter from your doctor listing your disease, current side effects and your limitations will go a long way in helping to get approved.

You do not need an attorney. Mine was approved and Ill be getting my 1st check next month. All you have to have is good up to date medical records.
Thanks everyone for all your help with this issue. I dont know where Id be without you all.

Documentation and detail is the key. I have worked in medical insurance for 10 years. Also, you have the right to copies of all your records.

it doesn't automatically, but you do get SSI.... later the disability kicks in when, after several years,, they decide you REALLY DO have Cancer....$#$%@$

right on chris-- almost 60 years old and about to graduate.. medical technology information, billing and coding..qulity assurance.. you name it whatever I can learn!!!! all because i encountered some incidents with biller errors..it cost me being refused by my special teams surgeons ( ENT Cancer specialists).. now I am at the local college dentistry clinic and i want to make sure it doesn't happen again to me or anyone else if i can help it... any way I wanna ..double emphasize what Christine said "DOCUMENTATION" detailed documentation.. which is not just your papers... its making sure your providers are recording and documenting your situation accurately and in a timely dated matter....following correct procedural policies etc.. be proactive in your own healthcare and the maintaining your health records.... sorry i am still touchy about it....i din't mean to get off on a rant...

I worked about a month after my first surgery and then when I had a re-occurrence I had to have surgery again and then go through chemo/rads. I tried to continue to work but the chemo was making it pretty rough so I stopped working and applied for SS. One of the questions asked was relating to "how has your illness affected your ability to make a living" and when I answered that I had lost all this "work time" and could only work part-time for most of the last year the SS dept. awarded me the money I missed out on in one lump payment. Since your diagnosis is more sever, Im thinking that SS will compensate you for your lost time as well as put you on monthly benefits. They also told me that my medicare wait period of 2 years would only be one year due to my first diagnosis a year earlier.
Hope that helps.

This is an old post, but to add to Medicare qualifications, it's 29 months from your SSDI disability date, not from date of receiving payments, to be eligible, so check that out on your welcome package, and can make a difference when you are eligible for Medicare. That's the same amount of time allowed for Cobra payments, if disabled, and SSDI is applied for, to get a Cobra extension from 18 months to 29 months. I believe SSDI only goes back 5 months for back pay, but they went back to my disability date for Medicare purposes. Anyway, It all worked out between my short, and long term disability, and applying for SS, and not having any lost income or wait for Medicare other than the waiting period of 29 months.