I dislike burdening you with another sad story although I suspect many of you ( and you know who you are) enjoy reading such and secretly murmuring ; ‘glad that is not me’.
Seriously, I am looking for aid in getting my son’s continuation in the Medicare disability program. First some facts. He was diagnosed in 1999 with a brain tumor classified as anaplastic oligodendroglioma grade III.The pathology report said that "astrocytic nuclei in the tumor might encourage classification as an oligoastrocytoma in some centers" The report also said the tumor was malignant rather than infectious and Wikipedia describes malignant as "a medical term used to describe a severe and progressively worsening disease."
He came up for review last week and I became personally aware of the effort to reduce government to a size " which can be drown in a bathtub"
On the first admittance in 1999 the criteria for disability was the inability to perform the job for which one was trained and which he had worked for xx years. He could no longer operate his auto repair shop due to personality change, confusion, seizures and memory loss so he qualified. Now the rules have changed so that disabled means unable to earn $800 per month at any job whatever.
My son's medicine costs about $800 per month and the side effects of the stuff is disabling itself. At different times the interactions and side effects causes confusion, diarrhea, vomiting, blurred vision and other symptoms.
Now all this is not to say he is chopped liver, he is six foot ,200 lbs, and very intelligent. Ninety percent of the time he could hold down a job but the other ten percent he is rolling on the floor with splitting headaches which last for hours or dealing with some of the many other symptoms which are hard to describe and classify.
The problem with Medicare is the symptoms must meet a narrowly defined set to be defined as disabled. Now here come the kickers. An attorney can only charge 25% of the backpay due an applicant and in a reconsideration there is no backpay hence no attorney. The individual must go up against the complicated and confusing system alone. In addition for benefits and medication to continue the appeal must be requested in 10 days and if the appeal is ultimately denied the government can ask for the money back.
The approach we have elected is to try to qualify under the petit mal section which we think is well documented in medical files and for which we have anecdotal evidence. Very likely they have a very strong defense for this.
Well wish us luck and any comments or suggestions will be appreciated. Being new at this I am sure to have violated some Kos rules of conduct for which I apologize.