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The future of SSDI and COVID-19 victims left unable to work

by | Jun 21, 2021 | SSDI

Slowly, the country is emerging from a worldwide pandemic that featured mask mandates and stay-at-home orders combined with business shut-downs and children receiving education via Zoom technology. Yet, there is still more what we don’t know about the virus than what we have already learned, particularly when it comes to those who contracted the virus and the long-term effects they may face in the future.

More questions than answers

Doctors and researchers continue their studies into the respiratory and psychological issues following coronavirus diagnoses combined with potentially chronic after-events that may arise. Uncertainty still exists when it comes to COVID and potential variants that can spread. The pandemic-driven reductions in health care access have also played a role in making bad and perhaps permanent health conditions that much worse.

Those unable to work due to COVID-19 will likely turn to the option of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). An illness that is not even two years old could become a prominent SSDI category for people once stricken with coronavirus and now suffer from severe and long-term respiratory after-effects.

Never has attention to every detail been more critical in the SSDI application process. Relaying thorough and up-to-date information to medical professionals will help document every aspect of the affliction, preventing those stricken with COVID from working full time. While some may choose the telehealth route for appointments, in-person consultations will likely be more effective in securing the evidence necessary to qualify for SSDI.

Challenges still exist for potential SSDI applicants dealing with the lingering effects of a deadly virus. Obstacles go beyond doctor visits and treatments. Many Social Security Administration offices are slow to resume normal operations, remaining closed or, at best, offering limited appointments. The sum total of those setbacks could lead to even longer wait times in an already lengthy application and appeals process.

The international health crisis created a “new normal” that could determine how a powerful virus that killed hundreds of thousands while shutting down economies worldwide fits into a new category in Social Security Disability.