SSDI Confusion

My husband applied for SSDI in person at the local Social Security office.When he left his appointment he was disappointed and confused because the worker there didn't ask him why he was applying,what his disability is,she told him they would be checking into all his medical records and notify him if they needed further info.About 5 weeks later he received a letter stating he was approved and when his first payment would be.

The confusion is what his actual disability is.Or whether it's just all his physical and mental health problems combined.It doesn't state on his award letter and he's not sure how to find out and doesn't want to seem stupid by asking the SS office.

Anyone know where to obtain that info?He just wants to know how to answer people when they ask what he's on disability for(friends,family,etc).

He may have gotten approved by the county for aid. Sometimes that is the first step.

He was approved for SSDI,it wasn't the first step.It's all final already and he is already receiving checks.

He didn't have to see any doctors or anything,he was just approved right away and my husband just wants to find out exactly what his "disability" is but I don't know where to find the info for him.I have been on the SS website and looked at his account and it doesn't say on there.It doesn't say on his award letter either or on any other forms that he has.

Who exactly is the award letter from? What is the name of the agency? Cuz to me, based on his approval in five weeks, it sounds like it is from the county, not the federal government. How often does he get checks, once or twice a month? Does he get Medicaid or Medicare?

The award/verification letter is from the Social Security administration.It's not from the county,it's from the Govt.I'm not here to debate whether he has been approved or not cause trust me,I know what I am talking about.I know it's unusual for someone to get approved so quickly but obviously it does happen sometimes,and it happened for him.He isn't getting the SSDI checks yet,the letter stated a date they will begin but until then he is receiving SSi,which isn't very much,until the SSDI payments start.

I have asked a specific question that isn't being answered so I guess I will seek info elsewhere.

((((Betty_Banana)))) If you just can't find it you may want to ask the SS office.

Im sorry i wasnt more help. Its hard for me to figure out what is going on without seeing the actual documents involved. Good luck.

Yeah,my husband may have to do that even though he doesn't want to

Thanks for trying and replying.My question wasn't about trying to figure out what's going on though,it was where is it documented what the actual reason for the disability approval is.Most people know,for instance if they apply because they're bipolar and get approved then they know their disability is considered the bipolar.My husband has so many different issues going on,both mental and physical,he's not sure which was the deciding factor.

I am assuming it was everything combined and that's why he was approved so quickly,and I think one of his conditions is an automatic approval.He just seems to be obsessed about knowing and why I asked here.

I'm in a similar boat. I put down a number of problems both physical and psychiatric. The told me in 3 months that I was approved. They don't give any idea about whether it was one diagnosis, or several combined, that persuaded them.

Keep the following in mind. They don't grant disability based on a diagnosis. (Unless you're blind, on dialysis or have Lou Gehrig's disease.) They grant disability on because they are convinced that you cannot maintain employment . . . that you cannot function adequately on the job. They are more interested in symptoms than in diseases.

So try to recollect what it is about your husband that makes him unemployable. What did he tell them? To get approved so quickly, he must have some issues that are easily picked up on, even by a non-physician.

Ah.Thank you for that because I now get it.Although he didn't tell them anything and they instead collected all of his medical records on their own it's fairly obvious that he is disabled.

I don't think I will tell him that though.I think I will just tell him it was a combination of everything to save his self esteem.One of his physical illnesses has affected his cognitive abilities and he doesn"t really realize it.

his award letter doesnt have his disabilities listed on it because SSA is not a mental or physical health doctor. your first post stated....

"My husband applied for SSDI in person at the local Social Security office.When he left his appointment he was disappointed and confused because the worker there didn't ask him why he was applying,what his disability is,she told him they would be checking into all his medical records and notify him if they needed further info.About 5 weeks later he received a letter stating he was approved and when his first payment would be."

that means your husband already supplied them with a release of information form that he listed all his treatment providers names, addresses and phone numbers so that SSA could contact his doctors for all his medical records.

my point the answer to your question of what his disabilities are is that your husband will need to contact his doctors who will look in their records and tell him what he has been diagnosed with. SSA cant tell him because thats not their job. they just approve or deny SSI/ SSDI and send the money every month. its your husbands doctors that can say what your husbands problems are.

my suggestion is talk with your husband. and if he is still confused as to what he is diagnosed with have him call his doctors to set up an appointment to discuss with the doctor what his diagnosis's are and what treatment plans he is on.

SSA does not usually approve a person for benefits, based on a diagnosis. There are people diagnosed with bipolar disorder who are able to work and earn enough money to live on. Other bipolars can't support themselves. Your husband was not granted benefits because he had such-and-such diagnosis. He was granted benefits because the thing he is diagnosed with is causing signs and symptoms that interfere with him performing adequately on the job.

You mentioned concern for your husband's self-esteem. Getting into the nitty-gritty of how and why your husband was performing poorly in work venues might not be pleasant for him to contemplate. As far as what to tell people - it's not most people's business to know. Your husband "retired early due to health issues." I wouldn't get any more specific than that.

This sentence from amandalouise was the most simple but helpful one.

Since reading this post he went to see his doctor and now knows the answer to his question.Being new to the whole disability thing we were both clueless about how it all worked.But now we know.

Ask the doctor who submitted the forms to disability.