What do you think constitutes "disability"?

[orangeRcode]

I know what disability should not be:

One of my neighbors is on disability for a back injury. He is able to mow his yard, ride a big heavy cruiser motorcycle, and work on his car, etc. Not sure how he is diabled but he gets a check every month and has a placard for his car.

 

[tRidiot]

Sounds pretty well like one of the examples I "made up."

So... can any of you common folks help us with workable ideas on how to improve or fix the system?

 

[orangeRcode]

Sounds pretty well like one of the examples I "made up."

So... can any of you common folks help us with workable ideas on how to improve or fix the system?

Is there any kind of followup system to ensure that someone's condition has not gotten better to the point they can return to work or is it once disabled always disabled?

 

[tRidiot]

Is there any kind of followup system to ensure that someone's condition has not gotten better to the point they can return to work or is it once disabled always disabled?

Nope. Not to my knowledge.

 

[UnSafe]

tRidiot- I see the "Gray Zone" of disabling conditions that you illustrate. Where one person with whatever level of disabling medical/ psychological condition(s) would seek government compensation, but another with a similar or comparable situation would continue to work, live and function without govt. support. It's easy to decide disabled vs. non-disabled with clear cut cases- Blindness, missing limbs, horrific injuries/ results from illnesses, schizophrenia, etc.. But not so easy with the kind of/ mostly functional stuff.

Does the "Nobility of cause" make a difference? A Fireman with survivable but career ending burns and lung damage incurred while saving children from a burning house vs. meth lab fire injuries to a serial sex offender with multiple drug sale convictions? Assuming the same level of disability, should one receive compensation and the other not? Sit on your ass, chain smoke, eat a crappy diet and don't take your diabetic and hypertension meds, then end up losing a foot, surviving the first stroke and visiting the dialysis center 3 times weekly? Should the SSI rating system be blind to the cause and only rate the resultant disabling effects? Not always an easy call.

Personal integrity and work ethic? An old goat that continues to work, feed family and pay bills with daily back and joint pain vs. a 23 yr old claiming that he "Can't work" because of his painful scoliosis and back spasms? How do we cut through the BS and say to one- "Let's give you a hand and help you continue your life", and to the other- "Get off your neck and find a job within the limits of your condition"? It might seem easy, but there's so many gray zone issues that it's almost impossible to be consistantly fair for the millions that have/ seek SSI ratings.

In the Military, nobility of cause is a factor in disability rating- Get drunk, wreck your scooter without a helmet on and end up with a ruined knee and TBI= "Line of duty NO". (The VA system is seperate and may issue a rating). Should the SSI system include causes in the determination? And if they did, how would they do it? It'd be tough to classify or even define what is an acceptable cause for an injury/ illness, let alone prove or disprove years or decades of causal factors. Then, if the govt. decided to refuse welfare/ SSI ratings for people that exaggerated their conditions or were proven to cause the disabling conditions by personal or criminal negligence, what happens- Would they get off their necks and start taking care of themselves or would we have a society of "Untouchables" that lived off of others/ begged or stole to live?

Not an easy fix. But if we found a way to vet out the BS'ers, I know exactly where they'd go for their "Free" healthcare....

 

[tRidiot]

tRidiot- I see the "Gray Zone" of disabling conditions that you illustrate.
<snip>
Not an easy fix. But if we found a way to vet out the BS'ers, I know exactly where they'd go for their "Free" healthcare....

Somebody gets it...

 

[TedKennedy]

True story:
Buddy of mine worked 30 years in a glass plant. Hot, dangerous, back-breaking work. Finally couldn't do it anymore. Company doc looked him over and said time to retire. (no work related injury, he had spine defect from birth)
He, no longer able to work, recieve only a small union retirement. (we had only been union for a few years when he had to quit)
SSA denied his disability for 3 years, during that time, my buddy depleted his 401k, using it to make his house payments, etc..
When the govmint lawyer was presented with the 1967 rejection paper where buddy tried to volunteer into the army, but was turned down because of the spine defect, only then did they concede that his condition was valid.

Keep in mind HE PAID IN TO SOCIAL SECURITY for OVER THIRTY YEARS!

The folks that need it, don't learn how to work the system. (they're too busy working)
It'd sure be nice to keep what you earn, I'm pretty sure my buddy could have managed his income better than our illustrious govmint can.

 

[SoonerP226]

I know what disability should not be:

One of my neighbors is on disability for a back injury. He is able to mow his yard, ride a big heavy cruiser motorcycle, and work on his car, etc. Not sure how he is diabled but he gets a check every month and has a placard for his car.

I don't know... My uncle is on disability due to back problems (I think he's even had surgery for it) from a career spent working on the railroad, though you wouldn't know it to look at him--he's 6'4" and in better condition than most men half his age (he certainly doesn't look the 64 that he is). He rides a motorcycle and mows the lawn and does what he can because he can't stand sitting around, but he can't do much of it before it starts causing him pain. I do know that he doesn't have a placard in his car, though.

I'm not saying that your neighbor isn't a no-good layabout mooch, but not everything you see is as it appears.

 

[EhlerDave]

Is there any kind of followup system to ensure that someone's condition has not gotten better to the point they can return to work or is it once disabled always disabled?

I go in every 3 years for re-evaluation, for SSD. Watch the folks who cheat the system, that is when they limp around, can't walk without a cane or crutches or even go all out and use a wheelchair. This will start the day the letter shows up with a date for the exam.

The same type things happens at the workmans comp court. When I was working I had to testify at court, but during the 7 hour wait I sat watching people in the hallway, they could not walk without help. Then after seeing the workmans comp folks I witnessed several go to their cars take off back braces, neck braces and toss canes in the trunk the hop in and drive away, at that point knowing they just got a butt load of cash on the way the excitement must have masked the pain.

 

[EhlerDave]

I have to go out tonight, I will get my daughter to take a picture of what I look like when I plan on being in the car for more than 30min at a time, some will get a kick out of it. I look more like a circus side show freak than anything. Oh if you think I look freakish please feel free to drop a dollar in my cup. LOL