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Is Diabetes a Disability Under Social Security Rules?

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    How to Get Benefits with Diabetes in Baltimore, DC & Virginia

    You know you’re not alone when you have diabetes. If you have it, chances are you have family members with it. You probably have friends with diabetes, too.

    (38 million adults in the United States have diabetes according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)

    What if your side effects from diabetes are severe enough that you can’t work?

    Social Security Disability benefits provide financial backup when health problems derail your livelihood. But is diabetes a disability under Social Security rules?

    Officially, no. Not anymore.

    The Social Security Administration (SSA) used to include diabetes in its listing of impairments. Then it said diabetes no longer qualifies for disability benefits on its own.

    This means getting Social Security Disability for diabetes comes with special challenges. But it doesn’t mean you can’t do it. You need the right, well-informed approach to your disability application.

    In Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Alexandria and Northern Virginia— or anywhere in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Delaware or Pennsylvania—you can get the guidance you need from Mathis & Mathis Disability Advocates.

    We’ve helped thousands of people win benefits, including many with diabetes. If your health has truly disrupted your life, we can help you get support that protects your independence.

    Social Security Disability Is All We Do.

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    How Does Social Security Disability View Diabetes?

    After medical advances made diabetes easier to manage for many people, Social Security removed its listing for the condition in 2011. (To qualify for disability benefits, you must have health problems so unmanageable that they prohibit you from working.)

    Social Security still recognizes diabetes as potentially debilitating, though, especially for people who have a hard time controlling it.

    Social Security discusses diabetes in its listing for endocrine disorders.

    In 2014, it issued a series of steps to follow if you’re trying to claim disability benefits for diabetes:

    • First, you must not be working more than a minimal amount, as with all disability claims.
    • Then you must show that symptoms of your diabetes, alone or along with other conditions, amount to a severe health impairment.
    • Next you must confirm that you experience some of the most debilitating effects that diabetes is known for.
    • Finally you need to demonstrate how your diabetes, and overall condition of your health, limits your everyday physical and mental functioning.

    You have to document every point above with medical records, work history information and more. You need the cooperation of your doctors.

    Social Security Disability benefits are so hard to get approved so people can’t cheat and get money. But it just makes it harder for people who truly need the help, too.

    A skilled disability advocate can make it easier on you. Your advocate is your guide through a tough process.

    Start by talking with the team at Mathis & Mathis in a free conversation about how you could reach a more secure future.

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    Complications that Can Qualify for Social Security Disability for Diabetes

    Your best approach to winning Social Security Disability benefits for diabetes may be showing how it interacts with other diseases that are specifically covered by the program, unlike diabetes.

    Social Security lists severe effects and complications related to diabetes that can be part of a successful claim for disability benefits. These conditions all can qualify for disability benefits even on their own:

    • Cardiovascular diseases, such as hypertension, arrhythmias and heart failure
    • Digestive issues like gastroparesis and ischemic bowel disease
    • Kidney disease
    • Mental health disorders, including anxiety, cognitive impairment, depression and eating disorders
    • Numbness, weakness and pain in hands and feet, (neuropathy)
    • Slow healing from bacterial or fungal infections (skin disorder)
    • Vision loss (retinopathy)
    • Amputation of an extremity

    For each of these illnesses, you can follow guidelines from Social Security on the types of medical evidence you need to prove your case.

    The disability advocates at Mathis & Mathis work with this process every day and help people with diabetes all the time. We know which medical records Social Security needs to see to approve a claim for disability benefits involving diabetes.

    We help with all the steps and hurdles to getting benefits, and we do it with kindness and caring for you in a difficult time in your life. Let us help you move forward in peace and dignity.

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    Applying or Appealing, We Can Help

    Whether you’re in the initial stages of applying, appealing a denial of benefits, or wondering if you qualify, Mathis & Mathis can help.

    Social Security Disability FAQs

    Because applying for Social Security Disability benefits can be complicated, you likely have many questions about the process. Here are some answers to frequently asked questions.

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    Disability FAQs »

    Hear from a Mathis & Mathis Client

    “Very professional! They answered my questions in a way that I could understand and they did all the footwork for me. Thank you all so very much! I will highly recommend Mathis & Mathis for your disability claims/needs.”

    —  Megan Stott, Facebook Reviews