Social Security Disability Conditions – Digestive System
Bowel Disease (IBD)
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI or SSD)
is a payroll-funded program to supplement the income of those unable to work due to disability.
General Qualifications for SSD Eligibility
For you to be eligible for SSD, your disability must last for at least a year or be terminal. You must also be under age 65 to be eligible, as 65 is normally the age of Medicare eligibility.
To be eligible for SSD, you must have accumulated a prescribed number of Social Security credits (normally accumulated through work experience and payment into Social Security) during the 10 years immediately preceding disability. Requirements vary according to age, and if you suffer disability before age 23 you may be able to draw on your parents’ Social Security credits without affecting your parents’ eligibility for SSD.
Digestive System Disorders and SSD
Disorders of the digestive system include gastrointestinal hemorrhage, malnutrition, liver dysfunction, short bowel syndrome, and inflammatory bowel disease. Digestive system disorders may lead to obstructions or other complications, and may be accompanied by symptoms in other systems of the body.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
Refers to chronic inflammation of all or part of the digestive tract. IBD can be painful and even life-threatening in some cases. The most common types of inflammatory bowel disease are ulcerative colitis, which usually affects only the inner lining of the colon and rectum, and Crohn’s disease, which can cause inflammation anywhere along the lining of the digestive tract and often leads to abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, and malnutrition. Other symptoms and conditions associated with IBD include rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, fatigue, fever, nausea, vomiting, malnutrition, weight loss, and anemia.
Because inflammatory bowel disease can affect your ability to work, the Social Security Administration lists IBD as a qualifying condition for Social Security Disability Insurance.
If you meet the general qualifications for SSD eligibility and IBD makes it impossible for you to engage in substantial gainful activity, you may qualify for SSD benefits based on your disability.
To be evaluated for disability, you will need to submit your medical history, a physical examination report, and endoscopy, biopsy, or imaging evidence to support your claim that you have been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease and that your condition meets requirements for disability benefits. Further history or reports may also be required.
Your history of treatments and response to treatments will be evaluated. If your inflammatory bowel disease does not meet the SSA criteria for disability based on IBD alone, you may still qualify for SSD if you have another impairment which, in combination with your IBD, medically equals the severity of a digestive order listed here.
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Social Security Disability Conditions