Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits help people who cannot work. Both illnesses and serious injuries may make people eligible for SSDI benefits.
Cancer is perhaps one of the most devastating diagnoses a patient could receive when seeking medical care. While survival rates have increased and treatment options have expanded, treatment can be lengthy and debilitating. Sometimes, cancer is still fatal despite advances in medicine.
Can working professionals diagnosed with cancer qualify for SSDI benefits?
Many kinds of cancer can help people to qualify
The severity of the cancer at issue is going to be of primary concern to those evaluating an application for benefits. For those with terminal or Stage IV cancer, as well as particularly aggressive cancers, Fast-Track approval might be available.
For those with earlier-stage cancers that may respond to treatment, the duration of their treatment plan may influence their eligibility. Generally speaking, people must be completely unable to work for 12 months or longer to be eligible for SSDI benefits. If the proposed treatment plan may leave the patient unable to work for a year or longer, then they may qualify for SSDI benefits until they achieve remission and can return to work.
Patients may need in-depth medical records, including diagnostic reports and treatment plans, to prove to the SSA that their cancer meets the necessary standard for SSDI benefits. If an initial application isn’t successful, then they have the option of appealing.
Having support from an SSDI attorney while applying can increase people’s chances of success. Those recently diagnosed with cancer may need guidance as they gather medical documentation and fill out paperwork, and that’s okay.
