Can You Get Disability If You Have Anemia?
Can You Get Disability Benefits for Anemia?
Several criteria must be met to qualify for Social Security Disability benefits if you have chronic anemia. Some of the conditions to qualify include required blood transfusions, having other health conditions, and performance of meaningful work. Research performed by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that from 2010, the amount of first-listed patients needing care totaled 392,000.
What is Chronic Anemia?
Chronic anemia is described as individuals who suffer from anemia that is specific to (chronic) long-term medical conditions. The red blood cells are lower than normal. Many diseases can be associated with this ailment such as infections, inflammations, and malignancies. The patient could suffer from shortness of breath, tiredness, headaches, and many other symptoms.
What Exactly Are The Qualifications?
Blood Transfusions: At the minimum, blood transfusions are required every other month, and your blood count is determinedly 30 percent or less in your red blood cells.
Have Other Conditions: If the applicant has anemia resulting in other conditions you could qualify. Some of those include:
- Gastritis
- History of previous anemia or blood transfusions
- Chronic Illnesses (ex. Cancer)
- Advanced Kidney Disease
- Iron deficiency or Poor diet
- Liver or renal disease
- Cardiovascular Listing
- Advanced Kidney Disease
- Respiratory Listing
Meaningful Work: You must prove you cannot perform meaningful work because of chronic symptoms. The question is whether you can work a full-time job five days a week with an eight-hour shift. The guidelines determine if you can perform job duties from any type of job you have had within the last fifteen years, you will probably initially be declined for benefits.
Frequent Hospital Stays: You must remain in the hospital for a minimum of 48 hours or more. Each case can be different with specific circumstances. For example, a Florida patient had three hospital stays in a year with a transfusion every three months. It is believed the individual might qualify for the benefit.
Duration: To qualify, you must have suffered from the condition for a minimum of 12 months. If the anemia is deemed chronic/severe, but the patient might be diagnosed as non-severe before one year after the application, it will still be denied for the duration clause.
The Social Security Administration determines each case individually using specific qualifications. If you are applying for benefits, it might be in your best interest to hire an attorney that handles cases for disability on a regular basis. An attorney can help find any circumstances that can qualify you for you much needed benefits. For more information, contact a business such as Horn & Kelley, PC Attorneys at Law.
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