Women Face When Applying for Disability Compensation
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By PAGE Editor
There are around 36 million women in the U.S. living with a disability. This includes 44% of women aged over 65 years or older. Musculoskeletal disorders are the top cause of disability overall in the country. Meanwhile, the most common cause of disability for women is rheumatism or arthritis.
Women living with disabilities require the same health care as women living without them and more. Unfortunately, when it comes to preventing further health conditions, women with disabilities often do not receive health screenings.
Moreover, when it comes to social security disability insurance (SSDI), women with disabilities often face several barriers preventing them from getting much-needed compensation.
The SSDI program was established to provide financial support to individuals who can no longer work due to medical impairment. To qualify for SSDI benefits, individuals must have a condition that will last for more than a year or result in death.
The path to securing these benefits is challenging and presents unique challenges for women.
Gender Bias When Defining Disability
The qualifying process includes determining disability, which can be inherently biased against women. The Social Security Administration (SSA) relies on a list of impairments to determine disability. The list outlines medical conditions considered severe enough to limit work capacity.
Unfortunately, these types of listings focus mainly on male-dominated physical occupations. The focus may overlook limitations experienced by women who suffer functional limitations due to chronic health issues like autoimmune disease.
Additionally, mental health can result in disability. More women are diagnosed with anxiety and depression than men. However, the system may dismiss these conditions as emotional instead of acknowledging them as functional limitations. This will further hinder SSDI claims.
At the same time, it must be noted that the SSA is aware of the remaining bias and is making an ongoing effort to correct it.
The Burden of Caregiving
Many women who live with disabilities are also mothers. Mothers are often disproportionately burdened with caregiving responsibilities, particularly because they are unpaid. Mothers with disabilities are worse off because they often have to choose between prioritizing their health to qualify for benefits and neglecting their health to care for their dependents.
The system rarely considers the physical and emotional toll of caregiving. It further complicates matters when women try to demonstrate their limitations.
Poverty and Disability
Women with disabilities also face a higher poverty rate compared to men. Furthermore, their poverty rate is higher than that of non-disabled women. This makes disabled women economically vulnerable, which could impact their SSDI application process.
For instance, a woman may be unable to access healthcare services to get a diagnosis. Thus, she will not get the medical records to support her claim.
In some cases, applicants must get legal representation to improve their chances of a successful application. However, women who live in poverty cannot afford an attorney.
A Drawn-out Process
The application process for SSDI benefits is slow. The initial denial rate is very high. Appeals can take months or even years to be resolved. The prolonged waiting period worsens financial hardship for women living with disabilities. It becomes an even worse situation when women have limited resources to begin with.
How the System Can Become More Equitable
The SSA needs to continue reviewing impairment listings to include a wider range of health conditions. This should include conditions prevalent among women with disabilities. Staff training could also help mitigate ongoing gender bias in the assessment process.
In addition, investing in technology could help reduce the application backlog and speed up appeal resolutions. This will help provide faster access to disability benefits.
Progress Made So Far
Not surprisingly, the first three decades of SSDI saw an overwhelming number of male beneficiaries. The inequality continued until the late 1980s. Fortunately, some progress has been made in this area, and the number of men and women collecting SSDI is almost equal.
This is mainly due to women gaining increasing recognition and importance in the workplace. Their disability benefits are nearly on par with that of men.
There is still somewhat of a gap regarding women being equally insured for SSDI. Fortunately, women are 90% likely to meet the criteria for SSDI benefits. Still, women living with disabilities have some barriers to overcome, as explained above.
And, even if women almost match men in SSDI enrolment, they still do not get the same benefits. Whereas a few years ago, almost 14% of men received more than $2,000 per month in SSDI benefits, only 5% of women received the same.
Applying for SSDI
More than 14 million people get disability benefits in the U.S. every month. If you want to apply for SSDI, remember that these benefits have a five-month waiting period. You will not get payments before the sixth calendar month of disability. But, if your disability is the result of ALS, there is no waiting period.
You can apply online or over the phone if you meet the criteria. Your medical condition must keep you from working or earning a living to qualify. It must prevent you from returning to your old job and getting a new one.
You should download the SSA’s Adult Disability Starter Kit, which contains the information you must provide when filling out your application.
You will need to provide details about where you were born, your date of birth, and your social security number. Moreover, you must provide the same information regarding your spouse and former spouse. The application also asks for the names and contact information of people who know about your medical condition.
Moreover, if you made a previous compensation claim, you must provide details about the claim (like worker’s compensation). You also need to provide a bank account number.
Furthermore, you must provide all the information and documentation about your medical condition. These include names, addresses, and phone numbers of your doctors, as well as the medicines you take. If you have medical tests done, you need to provide the names and dates of these tests.
Getting SSDI Benefits
It will take around an hour to complete your application. A Social Security representative can help you through the process. It is important to apply for SSDI benefits as soon as possible after you become disabled. Thus, you do not have to wait longer than the maximum six-month waiting period to receive your first payment.
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