(no subject)

[nilchance]

My thoughts on disability rights, let me show you them.



Recent Denial Rates for Disability Applications, provided by Disability Blogger

California - In California, 55.5 percent are denied.
Texas - In Texas, 61.5 percent are denied.
Pennsylvania - In pennsylvania 55.1 percent are denied.
Wisconsin - 62.6 percent denied.
Washington - 58.9 percent denied.
Virginia - 61.6 percent denied.
Massachusetts - 54.7 percent denied.
Maryland - 66 percent denied.
Michigan- 64.1 percent denied.
Minnesota - 57.6 percent denied.
Mississippi - 72.8 percent denied.
Missouri - 66.8 percent denied.
Nevada - 50.4 percent denied.
New Jersey - 50 percent denied.
New Mexico - 59.6 percent denied.
New York - 61.9 percent denied.
North Carolina - 67.2 percent denied.
Ohio - 71.1 percent denied.
Oklahoma - 66.1 percent denied.
Oregon - 66.3 percent denied.
Arizona - 53.4 percent denied.
Arkansas - 63.2 percent denied.
Colorado - 73.7 percent denied.
Florida - In Florida, 64.9 percent are denied.
Georgia - 71.8 percent denied.
Illinois - 61.2 percent denied.
Indiana - 67.8 percent denied.
Kansas - 67.3 percent denied.
Kentucky - 67.7 percent denied.
Louisiana - 68.8 percent denied.
Tennessee - 74.3 percent denied.
Alabama - 70.6 percent denied.
Connecticut - 62.2 percent denied.
Utah - 69.8 percent denied.

These are the people who could afford to apply for disability. Who went months without income to qualify, yet scrounged up the cash to pay a lawyer. These are the people who scraped through for groceries, pills, doctors visits, wheelchairs, chemotherapy, child care.

These are the people who filled out humiliating forms that required them to state over and over again that they had nothing to contribute to society. That they couldn't work. That they were broken and needed help. These are the people who went in front of county boards to say to them, "I can't."

These are the people who went through that and were refused.

The media pushes the idea that everyone is trying to cheat the system. That people file for disability for acne and broken fingernails. And there is that minority; I work in disability services, and I've seen people try to claim services on false grounds. But in trying to get rid of the dishonest minority (which is estimated at the MOST as 5% of all cases), the government is screwing more than half of the people who apply.

I look at that and think, that could be me. That might still be me. I'm textbook fibro in my mid-20s, when most patients are diagnosed in their 40s-50s. I have chronic daily headache. I suspect that I have CFS/ME. There are times when I miss 2-3 days of work a week. I work in disability services, I'm lucky that way, but still I've had my boss request medical records and second-guess my doctors. I've had a supervisor suggest in an official context that I need therapy.

I'm one of the lucky ones. I don't have cancer. I can work. I'm not in a wheelchair yet. I have an invisible condition that was verified by a doctor. I'm not bipolar or schizophrenic. I don't pay rent. I have insurance. I don't have kids. I'm so goddamn lucky in this economy. And I could still slip. Anyone could. Being able-bodied is a temporary condition.

Confession: my mom is on disability. She has advanced MS and bipolar disorder. She was granted full service-connected status as a veteran, and disability benefits as well. She's one of the minority from Illinois who won her case. And she is goddamn miserable to be retired. She's a brilliant woman trapped in a failing body. She's running out of books to read and movies to watch. She's 54 and she feels like she's already considered dead. And the government still has watchdogs overlooking her case and those like hers, making sure that the person is still disabled, making sure that they're not cheating.

Only one presidential candidate has a public policy on disability. (Obama, for the record.) McCain's policy is 'don't get disabled.' Returning wounded veterans are being asked to return their signing bonus. The people above went to the government to ask for the disability benefits that they funded with their paychecks through years of service, through working, and the government said simply, 'fuck you, you're faking it.'

I'm afraid for our country. I'm afraid for myself.

Comments

[monica-catch22.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately I can't add more than saying I understand and sympathize. I don't have a huge disability but I have friends that have had to suffer through other people's bullshit and path-blocking for them to be able to collect the money they deserve. Shout-out to you, hon.