Most people know that Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) only covers certain disorders, but many don't know about an alternative way to have benefits approved. The listing of medical conditions from the Social Security Administration (SSA) is not just the names of illnesses, but are accompanied by other requirements concerning the severity and duration of an ailment. If your condition is not listed, or you don't meet every duration or severity requirement, you may still qualify using what is known as equaling a disability. Read on to learn more.
What is Equaling a Disability?
The SSA may approve you for benefits with your condition if you can show that it is the equivalent of an affliction that is listed. For example, you might not find fibromyalgia on the SSA list of conditions, but that does not mean you cannot qualify for benefits using a combination of fibromyalgia-related conditions that equal the severity of a covered condition.
Three Ways to Equal a Disability
The SSA evaluates your application for benefits for equaling a disability using the three methods below. Any one of the below is enough to have your application approved, as long as you provide sufficient proof.
1. Your medical condition is not listed, but you are afflicted with a similar condition that aligns with the symptoms of a listed condition. For example, there are several types of cancer listed as a covered impairment, but not all cancers are listed. If your type is not listed but is similar to listed cancers in the way it affects you, you might qualify for benefits.
2. Your medical condition is on the list, but you don't meet every requirement. For example, if you have chronic heart failure as listed, but you don't quite meet the considerable requirements, you might still qualify if you can show that you are close enough to the requirements.
3. You are suffering from a combination of disorders and none them qualify individually. The SSA will look at the way your overall state of health is affected by having several disorders and match you to a similar impairment.
Using an Appeal
Equaling a disability can be almost impossible to deal with using your initial application due to the complexity of your illnesses. Once you are turned down, however, you will have the opportunity to further explain your impairments to a hearing officer. This is an extremely complicated situation and going it alone is not recommended. Speak to a Social Security disability attorney for assistance in providing the proof you need to prove that your condition equals a listed condition.
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