Applying for Social Security Benefits, by the Disability Benefits Center

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How A Caregiver Can Help A Loved One Apply For Social Security Disability Benefits

If you are a caregiver to someone that has a medical condition that prevents them from working you can help them file a claim for Social Security disability benefits. Social Security disability benefits can help them pay the bills and make sure that they have what they need. Some medical conditions make it difficult for someone to fill out the paperwork necessary to file a claim for disability benefits. You are legally allowed to help a friend, family member, or loved one fill out and file a claim for disability benefits.

Gathering Medical Documentation

One of the most important parts of a claim for disability benefits is medical documentation. Before the SSA will award disability benefits your loved one must prove that they have a medical condition that is listed in the SSA’s Blue Book and that they meet the special requirements for that condition that are listed in the Blue Book. It’s very important to provide as much medical evidence as possible to support the disability claim.

You can help your loved one gather the medical evidence that they will need to prove their disability. Your loved one may need to sign a waiver to allow you to request their medical records and forms from doctors and hospitals. Sorting through medical records can be time consuming but your loved one stands a much better chance of getting an approval if you can organize their medical records to show the progression of their condition and that they meet any special requirements that the SSA has set.

For example, if you were applying for disability benefits on behalf of a loved one with early onset Alzheimer’s you would have show that your loved one meets the criteria listed in the Blue Book and has a severe impairment in at least one of these areas:

• learning and remembering (note that short-term memory affects the ability to learn)
• planning and judgment
• using language (ability to recall words, use words properly)
• paying attention to tasks or listening to others
• social judgment (ability to know proper social behavior in differing circumstances), or
• physical coordination.

The SSA also wants to see that your loved one has a significant impairment in at least two of these areas:

• understanding, remembering, or using information (ability to understand instructions, learn new things, apply new knowledge to tasks)
• concentrating on tasks and being able to complete tasks (at a reasonable pace)
• adapting or managing oneself (being aware of normal hazards and taking appropriate precautions, adapting to changes, having practical personal skills), and
• interacting with others.

In order to document that your loved one meets these requirements you could get their medical records, statements from psychologists, and MRI results showing that your loved one has the impairments listed. If your loved one does not meet the medical medial requirements, you can fill out a medical vocational allowance for your loved one, which shows you are unable to perform any type of job with your medical condition. One of the forms that you will have to fill out for as part of the medical vocational allowance is the residual functional capacity (RFC)

Applying For Disability Benefits

Once you have gathered all the medical evidence needed to prove that your loved one meets those conditions you can create an account for them on the SSA’s website and submit the claim forms and the medical evidence to the SSA on behalf of your loved one.

Resources Found Via:

• https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/disability/
• https://www.disabilitybenefitscenter.org/faq/forms-doctor-fills-out
• https://www.disabilitybenefitscenter.org/blog/residual-functional-capacity-what-is-rfc
• https://www.ssa.gov/applyfordisability/

This article was written by the Outreach Team at Disability Benefits Center. They provide information about disability benefits and the application process. To learn more, please visit their website at https://www.disabilitybenefitscenter.org/ or by emailing them at [email protected].