Only a handful of states have a state-funded disability benefits program. If you have a medical condition preventing you from working and need to qualify for disability benefits in Illinois, there is no state-funded program. However, you have two federal options available through the Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs managed by the Social Security Administration.
This guide from National Disability Experts explains what conditions qualify for disability in Illinois. Use it to determine whether the physical or mental impairment preventing you from working and earning a living can qualify for disability in Illinois and throughout the United States.
What Medical Conditions Qualify For Disability In Illinois
Before your application for disability benefits through SSI or SSDI goes to the Illinois Bureau of Disability Determination Services for review to determine if the medical condition that you have can qualify for disability benefits in Illinois, Social Security must decide if you meet the non-medical requirements of eligibility. Applicants for SSDI must have worked long enough at a job or through self-employment and paid Social Security taxes on the income they earned.
Applicants for SSI must have limited income and assets to qualify for benefits. For example, your assets or resources cannot exceed $2,000 in value. Couples where both are eligible for benefits may have $3,000 in resources. Applications that meet the non-medical eligibility criteria are forwarded to Disability Determination Services to determine whether the applicant has a qualifying medical condition.
Your medical records and other documentation must establish the presence of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment preventing you from doing substantial gainful activity. The impairment or impairments must be expected to last for at least 12 months or be expected to result in death.
A different definition of “disabled” is used for children applying for SSI. The child must have a medically determinable physical or mental impairment causing marked and severe functional limitations. The impairment or impairments must be expected to cause the child’s death or to last for at least 12 months.
Qualifying For Disability In Illinois Using The Blue Book
The Social Security Administration provides disability claim examiners with a listing of physical and mental conditions that may be eligible for benefits by meeting the requirements of disabled as defined by federal regulations. The listing of impairments, also called the “Blue Book,” contains the following categories of conditions:
- Musculoskeletal disorders
- Special senses and speech
- Respiratory disorders
- Cardiovascular system
- Digestive disorders
- Genitourinary disorders
- Hematological disorders
- Skin disorders
- Endocrine disorders
- Congenital disorders
- Neurological disorders
- Mental disorders
- Cancer (malignant neoplastic diseases)
- Immune system disorders
Each section provides examiners with medical criteria to document when evaluating applications. An impairment that matches the criteria of a listing meets the requirements for a disability using the federal definition.
What happens if you do not meet the criteria in the listings to qualify for disability in Illinois? You may not be denied benefits because there are other ways besides the listings to qualify.
Residual Functional Capacity And Qualifying For Disability Benefits
You may not have a medical condition that matches or equals a listing impairment, but you still may qualify for disability in Illinois. The Disability Determination Services continues its application review process to determine whether the impairment or impairments prevent you from doing work you did in the past or another type of work.
Social Security evaluates the limitations on your ability to do work-related activities imposed by the impairment or combination of impairments caused by your current medical condition. The result of the evaluation is your Residual Functional Capacity or RFC.
If the physical or mental impairments prevent you from doing the type of work you did before, Disability Determination Services continues the review process to see if you qualify for other types of work. DDS will consider your age, education, prior work experience, and transferrable skills to decide if your impairments prevent you from doing other types of work.
Your medical records continue to be essential in proving that you cannot do past or other types of work because of the physical or mental impairments caused by your medical condition. DDS uses vocational experts to research how your RFC matches jobs available in the labor market.
How A Disability Lawyer Makes A Difference
It’s difficult to be approved for benefits during the initial review process. According to the Social Security Administration, only about three out of every 10 disability applications qualify for disability benefits in Illinois.
Do not give up if you receive a denial notice. Instead, contact a disability lawyer at National Disability Experts. You have the right to appeal a denial of benefits through an appeal process to win approval of your request for disability benefits.
Learn how a disability professional at National Disability Experts can make a difference in the outcome of your claim for benefits. Contact us today for a free consultation and claim evaluation.