Disability insurance provided by Social Security breaks down into two programs. First, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). To qualify you must have paid Social Security through payroll deductions. Disability payment is determined by the total of your SS deductions. Second, Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This program is designed for those unable to work or have… Read more

This is a brief article on the importance of doctors purchasing their own disability insurance. It offers some good advice on what to look for in purchasing disability insurance and may be useful if you are in the market. In no way does Disability Happens endorse the insurance agency who prepared this article. Just thought… Read more

Tom Flocco.comreports that CEO Samuel Lipari, who is suing hospital supply company Novation LLC, claims the seven fired U.S. attorneys, two dead assistants, three assistants who resigned or were fired, and two U.S. attorneys forced out were all investigating Medicare and Medicaid fraud. Jeb Bush, the President’s brother, is on the board of directors for… Read more

As people age they tend to contribute a lack of recall on a “senior moment.” In people over 70 are described as cognitive impaired–an umbrella term for significant memory loss to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Kenneth Langa, M.D., PhD, University of Michigan Medical School physician, and associates, based a study of 11,000 people from data provided… Read more

Painful stimuli begins in receptors beneath the skin, in joints, and in many internal organs. Specialized nerve fibers relay these signals through the spinal column to the brain, where pain becomes conscious. In the spinal column the messenger molecule amino butyric acid (GABA) is released to act as a kind of pain filter by activating chloride channels… Read more

LTD Benefit Person, Thank you for sharing your experience from working within an insurance company that sells LTD. It is interesting that you never mentioned ERISA, which is the Federal laws governing LTD. What ERISA allows insurance companies to behave in a capricious manner mainly because when there is malfeasance by the insurance company the… Read more

From the beginning, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags have been controversial. RFID tags are about the size of a grain of rice and about as thick as a toothpick. Most of the products you buy today have a RFID tag in them. Retailers like RFID tags because it helps with inventory control. Not surprisingly, WalMart… Read more

A draft of a report for the Veterans Disability Benefits Commission, prepared by CNA, states that disability payments favor older vets. The report reasons that vets 65 or older benefit from having a post-service career. The report goes so far as to say that older vets disability benefits are set too high. CNA surveyed more… Read more

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients are twice as likely to experience depression as their otherwise healthy peers. Betsy Sleath, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, studied 200 RA patients from 4 rheumatology clinics, seeing one of 8 participating physicians. The patient’s doctor visit was audio taped as well as being interviewed after the visit with a… Read more

A Population Health Metrics article, How Common is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; How Long is A Piece of String?*, discusses the problem with quantifying CFS. The syndrome has no biological markers. There are no definitive tests. Defining it is often a process of eliminating what it is not, rather than what it is. Then there is… Read more

Parkinson’s disease signature symptoms are tremors, rigidity, and impaired movement associated with the progressive loss of motor skills. Currently, L-DOPA is the only relief of the common symptoms experienced by Parkinson’s disease patients, but it can cause prominent side effects that counteract its effectiveness. Paul Greengard, Rockefeller University, and colleagues in Sweden, have found evidence… Read more

Insomnia is the most commonly reported sleep disorder. Approximately, 30% of adults have insomniac symptoms. Traditional thinking suggested that insomnia is the result of depression. Jules Angst, MD, Zurich University Psychiatric Hospital, Switzerland, conducted 6 interviews with 591 young adults over a 20 year period. He was able to distinguish 4 subtypes of insomnia: One-month… Read more