by Dossie M Terrell

Created on: November 13, 2008   Last Updated: May 14, 2012

Having worked for the Social Security Administration (SSA) early on in my career, I must say this question does not depict what actually happens. There really is no definitive "yes" or "no" to this question because the system does not work that way. The agency does not decide whom it will "give" disability benefits to, there is a process where an individual is determined disabled based on prescribed medical definitions and criteria. Individuals applying for disability benefits must first meet the following test before even applying:

Be unable to do any substantial work because of their medical condition(s); or have a medical condition(s) that must have lasted, or be expected to last for at least 1 year or expected to result in death.

There are those who may believe an individual can receive disability benefits simply by going to an office and telling the representative their doctors say they are sick. That is not true. Just because doctors say someone is sick or has a disability does not equate to him or her receiving a disability check. Disability applications are completed in local SSA offices and along with medical reports, etc., are forwarded to the Disability Determination Services (DDS), a State entity, for a disability determination. The process takes from five to six months.

See http://www.socialsecurity.gov/disability/professiona ls/bluebook/index.ht
to see how medical evidence is weighed and how the disability process works. Individuals applying for disability benefits must have a severe impairment(s) and they must show how the severity of the impairment(s) prevents them from engaging in substantial gainful activities.

To start the process,applicants must have names, addresses, and phone numbers of physicians, psychologists or other health care professionals who have treated them; any medical or clinical findings; any laboratory findings and diagnoses; and proscribed treatments with responses and prognosis.

Applicants must also provide personal histories about their limitations in their own words, such as the degree of lifting, standing, walking, speaking and the duration, treatments, etc. Some applicants, for various reasons, will not have adequate medical evidence that's necessary to make a decision on their disability. For those cases, DSS examiners will contact the treating sources if there are any or they will use independent sources for a consultative examination.

Medical determinations are not simply made by looking at the

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