Should you ask your doctor before applying for SSDI?

January 25, 2016 1:53 PM

Is there any sort of protocol for alerting your doctor that you intend to file for SSDI (disability insurance)? That is, rather than just submitting the necessary government forms, is it best to mention it to your doctor, and if so, in what form?

My husband has been treated by the same rheumatologist for the past five years (and previously was a patient of a rheumy in the same practice as current doctor but who moved out of state, forcing him to make the change). Husband's arthritis has been affecting his right arm and particularly his right thumb and index finger in the past year. (He also suffers from Ankylosing Spondilitis, arthritis of the lower spine.) Husband's primary job involved typing on the computer - that is, until it became too painful (despite various wrist braces and Hydrocodone prescriptions) to type. Husband is now considering applying for SSDI, which requires a doctor's statement or input or whatever forms the government will send.

I know from experience that the rheumatologist is extremely busy (those times he's called us with test results and other advice have always been after 7PM, and he's still in his office), and we cannot afford to pay for an office visit (we currently have no health insurance) to discuss this situation with Rheumy in person. But I'm thinking it would be a good idea to advise him in advance that Husband is making this application, and in that vein I was thinking of mailing a "personal/confidential" letter to his office that he could read at his convenience, advising him of the application and encouraging him to phone or email us when his schedule allowed to discuss the matter?

Long story made short - would it be appropriate for me to send a letter to my husband's doctor in advance advising him that Husband is applying for disability?

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

In my experience getting my husband on disability, the doctor's vouching for him was everything. I would very much recommend finding the money to make an appointment. You're going to need the doctor's time and you'll be more likely to get it if you pay. It's going to make an already difficult process a lot easier. Also get a lawyer, they take their fee out of the final settlement, if any.
posted by bleep at 4:33 PM on January 25, 2016 [2 favorites]

Don't make an appointment you can't afford just to talk about filling out forms. It is a waste of time and money. Just start filling out the forms. It is not impolite or anything. Give the appropriate pieces to the doctor at a regularly scheduled appointment, or get them to the office.

You need to get the process started now. You do not need to ask for permission. Do not be discouraged if the first application is turned down. You may need a laywer to help. But get started now. It could take a couple of years to get it all sorted out.
posted by monopas at 4:49 PM on January 25, 2016 [1 favorite]

Have you tried just calling his office and asking what the doctor things? Me (and people I know) often call and email the doctor's office. Most of the time, the doctor or an assistant call/email back within a day, either to answer the question directly (in this case, probably: go ahead and fill out the form) or to say what kind of appointment to make.
posted by ethidda at 5:02 PM on January 25, 2016 [2 favorites]

When I applied it looked as though the work the doctor would be obligated to do was mostly compiling and copying medical records, so most of it may actually by done by the same people at the office who spend all their time working with insurance companies or responding to requests from other medical professionals anyways.
posted by Sockpuppet Liberation Front at 3:30 AM on January 26, 2016 [1 favorite]

A rheumatologist will have a staff person who is very familiar with all varieties of disability applications (private insurance, employment insurance, early pension eligibility, SSI, SSDI, etc.) and whose job is in part to support those applications. If you are have a relatively recent work-up on file that staff person should be able to assist you in the application process. If you haven't been recently, you may have to put an office visit on a credit card because the doctor's records. (If you are private pay you can negotiate better rates for treatment -- don't hesitate to do so!)

Don't hire a lawyer until and unless you are denied. Lawyers is in disability space do appeals, not applications, as a general rule.
posted by MattD at 4:46 AM on January 26, 2016 [2 favorites]

As I understand SSDI (from a This American Life podcast a couple of years ago), you kind of want to get denied ASAP. Once denied, the skeezy disability lawyers that advertise on late night TV will take you case, and they get paid by getting a cut (about 1/3 IIRC) of your back benefits if they get you approved, as the approval will be back dated to the first denial. If they don't get you approved, they get nothing.
posted by COD at 6:11 AM on January 26, 2016

An acquaintance's benefits were actually back-dated to a year before the initial application, so if your husband has been unemployed for more than a year definitely get that application going. If there's a comprehensive medical record of his disability and it fits the criteria it's definitely worth filling out the forms carefully and thoroughly to the best of your ability, though, as it is possible to be approved on the first try.
posted by Sockpuppet Liberation Front at 9:01 PM on January 26, 2016