Disability Benefits Available to Those Disabled by Heart Disease
People unable to work or perform normal daily activities because of health conditions relating to heart disease may be eligible for monetary relief under the federal Social Security Insurance program.

September 23, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Beating out smoking, diabetes and cancer, heart disease remains the leading cause of death among Americans today. Approximately one million people, of all ages, die from heart disease every year, and those who survive with the condition often suffer permanent disabilities as a result. Luckily, individuals unable to work or perform normal daily activities because of health conditions relating to heart disease may be eligible for monetary relief under the federal Social Security Insurance program.

Social Security Disability Benefits: An Overview

In general, Social Security is a monetary benefit provided under the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program managed by the Social Security Administration (SSA). Implemented in 1935, the program provides benefits, including retirement, unemployment and disability benefits, to individuals through various SSA programs. Disability benefits, in particular, are given to individuals unable to work because of their particular disabilities.

Two different types of benefits are available to people with disabilities: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). The former is a program designed to assist low-income Americans; the latter is a program for individuals who paid into Social Security through payroll taxes on their wages or salaries but now cannot work because of a disability.

Individuals suffering from heart disease (also known as cardiovascular disease) who are unable to work comprise a significant portion of those applying for SSDI benefits -- and the number is ever increasing.

The SSDI Process

Individuals applying for benefits through the SSDI program must first meet certain requirements before they are eligible for benefits. This includes individuals applying for disability benefits because of debilitating heart-disease-related illnesses.

All applicants must prove that:
- They "suffer from a physical or mental condition that prevents them from engaging in any 'substantial gainful activity' (SGA)." Under the law, individuals are engaged in substantial gainful activity for Social Security purposes if they earn more than a monthly income amount set by the SSA. Presently, the monthly income for determining SGA is $1000.
- They will die from their condition or the condition will last at least 12 months.
- They are under age 65.
- They have collected 20 Social Security credits in the last 10 years prior to the start of their disability. Typically, individuals accumulate four credits per year worked. However, if applicants can prove their disability occurred at or before age 22, they may be able to collect under their parents' work benefits.

Specific documentation is also required, including:
- Medical records including dates of all treatments, medications, tests and doctor visits
- Military discharge paperwork
- Tax returns
- Bank statements
- A list of jobs held within the last 5 years

Once individuals have supplied the requisite information and their application is approved, they will receive a monetary payment every month to pay for living expenses such as food, clothing, rent or mortgage payments. Applicants can expect to receive roughly 30-59 percent of their former income.

However, applicants may not see any money in their hands immediately after their application is approved. Currently, there is a six-month waiting period before applicants receive a single disability check in the mail. However, the SSA has determined that certain illnesses or diseases warrant expedited processing simply because of the nature of the disease or the life expectancy of the applicant. People with these illnesses automatically receive SSDI benefits as "compassionate allowances."

Compassionate Allowances

Conditions on the Compassionate Allowances List (CAL) are automatically considered qualifying disabilities, which saves applicants' time and energy in having to prove their disabilities to the SSA. People with conditions on the CAL also get benefits much sooner -- sometimes within in weeks of applying.

Due to the debilitating nature of heart disease, many people have pressured the SSA to include illnesses related to heart disease on the CAL, and fortunately, their efforts appear to be working. The SSA recently conducted public hearings to gather input from the community on whether to include cardiovascular conditions on the CAL. The SSA also has sought input from medical and scientific professionals as well as the Disability Determination Service and the National Institutes of Health.

After reviewing the data gathered from various sources, the SSA announced in July 2011 that 12 additional conditions relating to heart disease would be added to the CAL:
- Aortic atresia
- Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) recipient
- Eisenmenger Syndrome
- Mitral valve atresia
- Endomyocardial fibrosis
- Primary cardiac amyloidosis
- Heart transplant graft failure
- Pulmonary atresia
- Heart transplant wait list 1A/1B patient
- Single ventricle
- Hypoplastic left heart syndrome
- Tricuspid atresia

It remains to be seen whether additional heart-disease-related conditions will be added to the list in the near future. However, given the aggressive nature of heart disease and the number of individuals if affects each and every year, many Social Security Disability lawyers are hopeful that the list will continue to grow.

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