When people talk about needing disability because their knee/back/hip hurts when they stand do they not know there are jobs that don't require much standing besides going to the bathroom?
When some say they need it for anxiety yet are able to go party on the weekends? (Don't get me wrong I have anxiety myself but I have also worked since I was 16).
Do some people feel entitled? Not think? Think they don't need to help themselves and lose weight to ease the stress on their joints?
Again kind of a rant but also a little curious if there's a side I'm not seeing.
And I grew up poor with food stamps and hand me downs from friends of the family and Medicaid. I know what it means to need help.
Every time a thread which involves a personal comes up people are all too quick to throw in their own personal anecdotes. This thread is about questioning your own disability it is just stating that there are folks out here who game the system. That's it.
If you don't think it happens then you obviously have never worked in government.
This really makes me sad! There are several people on AN whose opinion I pay attention to. Ruby, yours is one of them. So when you tell me I'm wrong about something it causes me to stop and think. My husband often tells me that I am an eternal optimist and that I see the world through rose colored glasses. He's right. I tend to be overly trusting of people and believe the majority of people have the best intentions--even though life has shown me several times that isn't the case. I'm generally straight forward and honest (although I will tell a little white lie to spare someone's feelings) and I just expect the same of others. I'm not so completely naive that I don't know that there are bad apples out there or that I think some people don't scam the system, but a goodly amount? Really? Sad! So sad!
Work in a low socioeconomic, high drug use and crime ridden area for a few years and you will see what we mean. I have seen the worst of the worst and am not just pulling a few anecdotes from my behind. It is appalling how lazy and entitled people are.
When people talk about needing disability because their knee/back/hip hurts when they stand do they not know there are jobs that don't require much standing besides going to the bathroom?
When some say they need it for anxiety yet are able to go party on the weekends? (Don't get me wrong I have anxiety myself but I have also worked since I was 16).
Do some people feel entitled? Not think? Think they don't need to help themselves and lose weight to ease the stress on their joints?
Again kind of a rant but also a little curious if there's a side I'm not seeing.
And I grew up poor with food stamps and hand me downs from friends of the family and Medicaid. I know what it means to need help.
I think the issue for many people with back/hip/knee/wrist problems is not that they are inherently lazy or entitled when they file for disability; it's that sometimes they really don't have any other skills besides the ones that they used previously to earn a living, which may or may not have contributed to said disability in the first place. Learning a new skill takes time and money, and depending on the age of the person and their other commitments, it may not be a realistic endeavour. Most people who are overweight are aware of it, and would like things to be different, but again, it can be difficult to break an old routine or to stay motivated when there is a lot of weight to lose and progress seems too slow to make apparent the difference that would propel them to continue. Also if the person is depressed because of their pain, it is hard to be resourceful or think strategically, and the person may not have the sort of family / community support that would help to jump-start a new trajectory.
Specializes in Cardiac, Home Health, Primary Care.
I think the issue for many people with back/hip/knee/wrist problems is not that they are inherently lazy or entitled when they file for disability; it's that sometimes they really don't have any other skills besides the ones that they used previously to earn a living, which may or may not have contributed to said disability in the first place. Learning a new skill takes time and money, and depending on the age of the person and their other commitments, it may not be a realistic endeavour. Most people who are overweight are aware of it, and would like things to be different, but again, it can be difficult to break an old routine or to stay motivated when there is a lot of weight to lose and progress seems too slow to make apparent the difference that would propel them to continue. Also if the person is depressed because of their pain, it is hard to be resourceful or think strategically, and the person may not have the sort of family / community support that would help to jump-start a new trajectory.
This is similar to the article that was posted early in the thread. I do see where you are coming from. I'm trying to lose a few pounds myself and it sucks. If it were causing me pain I might be more motivated but right now it's just that I don't like the way some of my clothes fit and the number on the scale.
It's interesting to see some of these posts and read the process some go through. But those bad apples who won't do much to help themselves are still aggravating because I can't help you until you help yourself (similar to smoking COPD-ers).
Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
This an issue near and dear to my heart as I am on SSDI for severe and persistent mental illness as well as physical limitations. These are the so-called "invisible illnesses". I don't limp, nor do I use a wheelchair or other visible means of getting around. My bipolar is currently under control and I'm stable. But I'm only in decent shape because I'm not throwing myself against a metaphorical wall and my medications are working well. Anything that upsets that delicate balance throws me headlong into chaos...hence my psychiatrist recommended trying for disability.
I got it on my first try, in the minimum amount of time. Between my mental and physical limitations and my age, I was deemed eligible for the benefits of a program I'd paid into since the age of 18. I am not ashamed. I wish I COULD work---it's not easy living on a fourth of my nurse's wages and I have to live with my son in order to make ends meet. Who would choose that?
I know there are people who do game the system. But we don't all deserve to be tarred with the same brush. Perhaps a little less judgmentalism would be a good thing; it's really not our place as nurses to decide who deserves what. JMHO.
I had an experience with short term disability I found interesting. I had surgery a few years ago and was on crutches temporarily. My workplace would not let me come back to work while I was on crutches, (instead they opted to pay me short term disability until I was fully off of crutches) even though there was plenty of desk work I could do for them. I guess they were afraid of the liability of me falling or someone else falling on my crutches?
Similar experience here. Had to file FMLA and stay home until I could walk without crutches. Used all my PTO and then went without pay after that.
Can you PM me some of their names- I really am in need of qualifying for disability before a patient is depending on me, but I'm too sleepy from the pain keeping be up, or too medicated to have clear judgment, or in too much pain to do compressions, push the patient to ICU, or grab the STAT cart when my patient needs me. Unfortunately I don't have a choice, I just have to try to skirt the edge for as long as I can work because everyone applying for disability now-a-days is assumed to be scamming the system unless they are on a vent or in a wheelchair.
There is a way around this. A lot of employers offer disability insurance. Yes, it's something else coming out of your paycheck (if your employer doesn't cover it), but it would probably be enough to live off of for most people. My short term disability insurance kicks in after I've been out of work for 30 days and covers me for 90 days, then my long term disability insurance kicks in after 90 days and goes on forever, pretty much. Both would give me 60% of my salary, and with both, I only have to go without income for 30 days.
And that's because I chose that option. There is a short term disability option that kicks in after 15 days, but I think I would be okay for 30 days so I chose the lower cost option.
I don't know what the burden of proof is, but either way, it's a heck of a lot faster to get than going through the government to try to qualify for disability.
I personally would not go to work without disability insurance since I have a mortgage and a car payment and I know what a high risk field I work in, but to each his own.
The same lawyers that help with SSDI also handle these supplemental employer offered STD programs. Often the requirements to get paid from these plans are as restrictive as federal SSDI. On top of that, if you do end up qualifying for SSDI, the 3rd party insurance you have been paying premiums for wants their money back out of your SSDI award-you know the one that the lawyer gets a chunk of for getting what you have been paying the government to provide all your life. Only pay 50-60% of your gross- guess what, they want it ALL that back even if you need your SSDI award to pay bills the 3rd party insurance wasn't enough to cover. Don't get me wrong- I still sign up for it, but it is designed to be only slightly better than nothing.
Specializes in Healthcare risk management and liability.
The same lawyers that help with SSDI also handle these supplemental employer offered STD programs. Often the requirements to get paid from these plans are as restrictive as federal SSDI. On top of that, if you do end up qualifying for SSDI, the 3rd party insurance you have been paying premiums for wants their money back out of your SSDI award-you know the one that the lawyer gets a chunk of for getting what you have been paying the government to provide all your life. Only pay 50-60% of your gross- guess what, they want it ALL that back even if you need your SSDI award to pay bills the 3rd party insurance wasn't enough to cover. Don't get me wrong- I still sign up for it, but it is designed to be only slightly better than nothing.
^^This is correct. Many of the third-party disability insurance programs actively push or require their clients to get on the SSDI programs to reduce or eliminate the benefits paid out by the third-party insurance company.
The same lawyers that help with SSDI also handle these supplemental employer offered STD programs. Often the requirements to get paid from these plans are as restrictive as federal SSDI. On top of that, if you do end up qualifying for SSDI, the 3rd party insurance you have been paying premiums for wants their money back out of your SSDI award-you know the one that the lawyer gets a chunk of for getting what you have been paying the government to provide all your life. Only pay 50-60% of your gross- guess what, they want it ALL that back even if you need your SSDI award to pay bills the 3rd party insurance wasn't enough to cover. Don't get me wrong- I still sign up for it, but it is designed to be only slightly better than nothing.
I know if you have a private disability policy and also one from work they want you to give them your money from the private one, but I wouldn't hand over the money voluntarily. They would have to take me to court and try to get a judgement or garnish my wages, oh well, not working no wages to garnish! lol If you take out a disability policy you can pay after tax premiums so the benefits if you need them are tax free, while your employer pays pretax premiums so your skimpy 60% base pay is now taxable at precisely the time you need every penny you can get. This system is rigged against workers!
This an issue near and dear to my heart as I am on SSDI for severe and persistent mental illness as well as physical limitations. These are the so-called "invisible illnesses". I don't limp, nor do I use a wheelchair or other visible means of getting around. My bipolar is currently under control and I'm stable. But I'm only in decent shape because I'm not throwing myself against a metaphorical wall and my medications are working well. Anything that upsets that delicate balance throws me headlong into chaos...hence my psychiatrist recommended trying for disability.
I got it on my first try, in the minimum amount of time. Between my mental and physical limitations and my age, I was deemed eligible for the benefits of a program I'd paid into since the age of 18. I am not ashamed. I wish I COULD work---it's not easy living on a fourth of my nurse's wages and I have to live with my son in order to make ends meet. Who would choose that?
I know there are people who do game the system. But we don't all deserve to be tarred with the same brush. Perhaps a little less judgmentalism would be a good thing; it's really not our place as nurses to decide who deserves what. JMHO.
Viva, I am so glad you got it on the first try. I am so glad you did not have to wait and go through all of the paperwork and waiting on the hearings. I have read your story several times and I know that you most certainly do need it. You are absolutely correct that sometimes when you are not so stressed out in the job, you can take the time you need to get yourself physically and mentally better as the two go hand-in-hand. You get sick and tired of being sick and tired all of the time.
Like I stated in earlier posts, I know some people do scam the system. I'm not naive to think that people don't. I just believe it is a small number because of how difficult it is to get. I just feel that sometimes people see everyone the same. It is the same with pain medicine threads. If a patient asks for a pain med then they are a drug seeker. And God forbid they ask for it when the 4 or 6 hours is up. I just know from my numerous hospitalizations, if I required a pain medication, I did ask for it because I learned how to stay ahead of the pain. I also know my nurses were busy with other patients and might forget. I realized that I was not my nurse's only patient, and if I waited too long the pain would come back and I would be miserable. After several concussions I would get terrible headaches after I would seize and hit my head. So if I ended up hospitalized for post concussive disorder, I was prescribed pain medication. That was just my thought process on it.
We just need to see each person as an individual. I appreciate the OP stating that she had learned something from the different people that posted. I just wanted to educate people about the process. After all, isn't that what nurses do, educate?
Specializes in Cardiac, Home Health, Primary Care.
And thanks everybody for a civil discussion as well. I know plenty truly need disability and deserve it. Yet there are some who work harder at not working. Being in a primary care office now makes me see both types.
Dranger
1,871 Posts
Every time a thread which involves a personal comes up people are all too quick to throw in their own personal anecdotes. This thread is about questioning your own disability it is just stating that there are folks out here who game the system. That's it.
If you don't think it happens then you obviously have never worked in government.