Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Important Facts About Mental Health Disability

By Ethel Harris


According to a national survey, there is an important number of individuals that are examined with mental disorder in Port Charlotte mental health clinics. The survey also shows that there is lower employment for persons suffering from conditions of the mind of up to 30 percent compared to those with no disabilities. Hence, the government has provided financial assistance to these individuals just like the help to individuals with physical disabilities.

An applicant should first be diagnosed with an intellectual illness to be qualified for the program. One basis used for qualification is when the indicants of the illness is preventing a person from functioning normally. This can be seen when a person has trouble in performing a job in the workplace where they are employed in or when they are no longer able to attend a regular school.

The mental illness that is associated with the disability includes a major case of depression, bipolar disorder, paranoia, schizophrenia, and other forms of personality disorder. If the patient suffers from signs of depression and anxiety, they are unable to cope with the stress of their job. These makes them unable to perform properly the responsibilities associated with their job.

A person diagnosed with intellectual illness is eligible to get financial aid if they complied with all the requirements and passed the screening process. The two government agencies assigned to administer the aid to claimants are the Social Supplemental Insurance (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSD). The SSI is assigned to cater to beneficiaries who are not paying any income tax because of insufficient income, while the SSDI is assigned to distribute the financial aid to applicants who are employed and are paying income taxes.

Their low income makes the SSI recipients eligible for coverage in physical healthcare through Medicaid. SSDI recipients need to wait for at least 24 months before they are eligible for Medicaid coverage. Proofs of intellectual health disorder that have long term effect and how it had affected their employment has to be presented by the applicant for them to qualify for the program.

All the applications for benefit coverage has to be evaluated by the Social Security Board. An assessment is made after all the required documents are presented. The evaluation will also determine the extent of the effect of the disorder on the life of the individual.

Usually, it takes almost three years before a decision can be made for one application. The process is lengthened because there are many criteria that need consideration. First, the capacity for the person to function well socially is evaluated. There is also an assessment on how they are currently going through with their daily lives, their concentration on a job, and the will to recover and function normally again.

If the applicant is unable to meet the normal standards of at least two of the criteria, their mental health is considered for disability determination. The symptoms are checked and compared with established symptoms of known disorders of the mind. At this point, documents and recommendations from mental health professionals are reviewed and establish if there is presence of disorder or not.

If the patient has a legal counsel, it will increase the chance of their application being approved. The fees of the lawyers are normally deducted from the claim benefits after the case is won. This arrangement is advantageous for the client since the application and appeals cases for Port Charlotte mental health benefits claim usually last for more than two years.




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