Ssdi And Ssi-Turning 62 In September-How Should I File To Be Protected...

[mrs rockman (widow of vet)]

I will be turning 62 the last part of September. I know i can go on and fill out all of the paperwork online for this.

My question is, I will not be working after 08/05/11, due to my service connected disabilities and one other disability ( not recognized by VA yet).

The VA is sending me a letter that I will no longer be able to work after the 5th. (for the pulmonary disease).

By the way, our outside cardiologist put it in writing that the pulmonary affected my AO IHD. We are sending this in as new evidence.

The VA pulmonologist is the one writing the unable to work anymore.

We asked the VA pulmonologist if this disease affected my heart and he said yes. We asked if he would include this in our progress notes, he said yes, & and we did see him typing this. We have not gotten our records printed on this. I do hope that VA did not take this out of our records to protect themselves, but it would not surprise me at all. If it is in there, we will send both for new evidence.

Should I go on and file for SSI and then on 08/05/11, file for SSDI? I know that they will recognize the SSI first and then I would be assured of some money at least while I "wait the waiting game!!

Any ideas on this, for I need to start filing this weekend for SSI.

Help, I could really use some of your wise imput!!

Rockman

[mrs rockman (widow of vet)]

How is he doing now? Have you heard anything more from the VA or SSA?

We are on our way to his private cardiologist today. The nurse said to write down what we need for him to put in records to show that his pulmonary fibrosis is aggravated by his sd heart disease. He now has pulmonary hypertension, so we will have him to include this. Doc said whatever we need for him to write to VA, he will.

His last day of work was on 08/05/11. As soon as we get his notes, we will be filing for SSDI and also SSI ( he turns 62 on 09/28/11). They did approve him for service-disabled veterans insurance with us stating his lung condition that was not service connected.

We also need somehow to be assigned to our local clinic. We are a 2 hour drive to the VA. The walk into and thru va is too hard on Rockman. I know it can be done. The nurse at the cardiology clinic has her father-in-law that goes to the entire clinic for everything but foot problems( and foot problems are at VA) and it all goes thru VA. He will be out of insurance in 3 months. HELP!!

Thank you for checking in on us.

Mrs. R

[Chuck75]

You should file with SSA for both an early (62) pension, and SSDI. As others have said, and I experienced, getting SSDI approved may take some time. The SS early pension had a delay as well, but it was fairly short as things go.

As to an earlier effective date, It can only be backed up to the last time you worked, since that is or will be fairly recent. If your cardiologist chooses to do so, pulmonary hypertension, etc. may be connectible to IHD and it's related conditions, such as coronary arterial disease and blockages.

For SSA purposes, as well as VA claims, It's obviously better to have SSA say that you are totally disabled by conditions that are either service connected already, or have a good chance of being service connected, based upon the cardiologist's opinion and medical records.

My SSDI EDD was backed up because I filed when I was 62, but the actual disability based upon last day of work and medical records, fell within a period that the VA can, according to their rules, back up to. They did not do it automatically. If I hadn't gotten exact advice on how to do things from the senior SSA clerk, the junior clerks would have screwed things up, and likely caused serious problems with obtaining an earlier date for SSDI. There are two ways of doing what I was able to do.

One uses an SSA appeal form, the other a simple letter. The junior clerks only understood the form, which basically asks for a lot of information that is already contained in the original application, and is kind of like filing an NOD with the VA.

The letter basically states that you are asking for an earlier effective date, based upon (appropriate information) which in my case was dated medical records showing disabling conditions existed. When preparing such a letter, it's best to have a copy of your SSA file, and the determination records in the file to refer to, and then reference in the letter. As I see it, this invokes a review process, rather than immediately starting the formal SSA adjudication process.

My medical records (copies in the SSA determination file, yet!) showed that the SSA doctor's review setting an EDD date was much later than that justified/shown by the medical records. The doctor chose to use the latest records, rather than earlier records, which the latest records totally agreed with. A key piece of the records had to do with such things as "IHD" "LVEF", and the LVEF %, which can be used directly to determine the VA "schedular" %, as well as the SSA's "totally disabled, unable to work" requirement for SSDI.

What was also interesting was that a Nehmer review board earlier this year used the SSA disability date when it reversed earlier IHD related denials. This was, I suppose, because the SSDI award records were in the VA's possession when they originally got around to denying the IHD claim. VA treatment records went back even further, and had I been "smart enough" would have been the basis for a much earlier (several years) VA claim date if I had just filed one.