Denied SSI for Workers Compensation, What now?

[disabled313]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

I received 19k in November as a lump sum from workers comp

SSI told me I do not qualify anymore and that they will deny/close my case and my Medi-cal.

They said the only option is to spend the money. Im grateful to receive it but mind you I lost all my savings when my back was out and my company was fighting against me for 7 years!

My question is that I want this money to stay in the family, I dont want to give it away to Anthem blue cross.

My son was paying my rent when I was ill, he did it as a favor but now I want to pay him back, can I somehow prove that I am indebted to him, would a statement from him saying he paid it with bank statements be enough? our home eventually foreclosed because he could no longer afford the payments nor I!

Would this money be viewed as a debt paid and not just a transfer of resources?

What other options do I have? any advice is helpful. I am looking for SSI legal help but I have only found workers comp lawyers so far.

Thank you

 

[commentator]

SSI is supplemental security income. It is for people who do not have the Social security Disability wage credits to qualify for SSDI, which is NOT income based, and are disabled. The max you can receive in SSI is a bit less than $700 a month, it is a federally controlled disability program strictly based on your income.

You say you do not want to spend your settlement money on "Anthem Blue Cross."

Oh, yes, remember them, the people who provided you with medical care during your injury before your settlement, that you weren't paying for, the taxpayers were paying for?

You'd prefer it "stay in the family." Oh yes, let's give it to your kids, spend it on gifts and fun things, or hide it away for a rainy day, while the taxpayers continue to pay for your living expenses. Don't you think everybody who's ever received a settlement of this type has felt this way? Let you keep it, and continue to receive SSI? Uh, I think not.

You're not going to find any attorneys who do SSI appeals in this situation for several reasons. For one thing, you either are or you are not qualified, based on your current income and assets. There are very strict guidelines. They can see exactly what you have and do not have. They can check what you spend, what you owe, everything.

There is no way you can hide the money, conceal that you got it, or argue that you should get to use it not to live on or to pay your medical bills or to pay your rent, but to keep, to leave to your grandchildren, to pay your son back for all the money he's loaned you. If you have money to pay your bills, there's no way you are going to be determined to be low income. That's just the way it is. That you owe it to your son who gave you money? That's not going to count, I'm afraid.

You will have to use the money to pay debts, to cover your medical bills, to take care of your living expenses, to buy your food, and whatever else you decide to use it for as long as it lasts. When it is gone and you are again qualified as very low income, you'll be able to sign up again for SSI. It's a very marginal existence, very true, but unfortunately, it's only available to those who are really in need. If you've just had a huge positive hit to your bank account, you're not qualified, end of story. Do your best to use the money wisely and make the best possible financial decisions while you have it, but really, when you receive settlement money from an injury, you are going to have to pay your medical bills. That's just a fact of life.

 

[Onderzoek]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

I received 19k in November as a lump sum from workers comp

SSI told me I do not qualify anymore and that they will deny/close my case and my Medi-cal.

They said the only option is to spend the money. Im grateful to receive it but mind you I lost all my savings when my back was out and my company was fighting against me for 7 years!

My question is that I want this money to stay in the family, I dont want to give it away to Anthem blue cross.

My son was paying my rent when I was ill, he did it as a favor but now I want to pay him back, can I somehow prove that I am indebted to him, would a statement from him saying he paid it with bank statements be enough? our home eventually foreclosed because he could no longer afford the payments nor I!

Would this money be viewed as a debt paid and not just a transfer of resources?

What other options do I have? any advice is helpful. I am looking for SSI legal help but I have only found workers comp lawyers so far.

Thank you

You can't make the money your son paid 'as a favor' into a legal debt. If it was a legal debt, you would have owed it to him no matter what happened with W/C and you would have discussed the terms of the debt when the money was spent on you. You can't go back and rewrite history in order to 'keep it in the family'. That would be fraud. You would have to lie. Your son would have to lie. And SSI probably won't believe your lies anyway.

Why don't you qualify for SSDI? The W/C settlement would also offset any future SSDI benefits whether or not you spend it all.

Did SSA make a finding of disability or did your case just get denied from the beginning without a decision about whether or not you are disabled? If you did spend it all and were under the resource limit, you may have a long wait without any income while SSA decides if you are disabled.

 

[willlyjo]

SSI is supplemental security income. It is for people who do not have the Social security Disability wage credits to qualify for SSDI, which is NOT income based, and are disabled. The max you can receive in SSI is a bit less than $700 a month, it is a federally controlled disability program strictly based on your income.

You say you do not want to spend your settlement money on "Anthem Blue Cross."

Oh, yes, remember them, the people who provided you with medical care during your injury before your settlement, that you weren't paying for, the taxpayers were paying for?

You'd prefer it "stay in the family." Oh yes, let's give it to your kids, spend it on gifts and fun things, or hide it away for a rainy day, while the taxpayers continue to pay for your living expenses. Don't you think everybody who's ever received a settlement of this type has felt this way? Let you keep it, and continue to receive SSI? Uh, I think not.

You're not going to find any attorneys who do SSI appeals in this situation for several reasons. For one thing, you either are or you are not qualified, based on your current income and assets. There are very strict guidelines. They can see exactly what you have and do not have. They can check what you spend, what you owe, everything.

There is no way you can hide the money, conceal that you got it, or argue that you should get to use it not to live on or to pay your medical bills or to pay your rent, but to keep, to leave to your grandchildren, to pay your son back for all the money he's loaned you. If you have money to pay your bills, there's no way you are going to be determined to be low income. That's just the way it is. That you owe it to your son who gave you money? That's not going to count, I'm afraid.

You will have to use the money to pay debts, to cover your medical bills, to take care of your living expenses, to buy your food, and whatever else you decide to use it for as long as it lasts. When it is gone and you are again qualified as very low income, you'll be able to sign up again for SSI. It's a very marginal existence, very true, but unfortunately, it's only available to those who are really in need. If you've just had a huge positive hit to your bank account, you're not qualified, end of story. Do your best to use the money wisely and make the best possible financial decisions while you have it, but really, when you receive settlement money from an injury, you are going to have to pay your medical bills. That's just a fact of life.

Sorry Commentator, but you are inaccurate here. When the Op received a 19k settlement, no medical bills were paid out of it! The employer's IC paid the medical bills as part of the settlement. In this case, there was NO taxpayer money paid on the OP's behalf! It is not true in this case that the OP has to pay her medical bills out of her settlement check (19k) due to her injury--the IC will pay it.