Chronic Disability

[Brenda VanderLugt <BVanHat1@ix.netcom.com>]

For SSDI recipients who want to return to significant work but
whose disability is chronic, the Return-to-Work 60-month time frame
and the $500 GROSS per month SGA ceiling may, in fact, be disincentives
to returning to work.

For example, I once met a 35 year old single mother who had to stop
working because of relapsing/remitting MS (mulitiple sclerosis).
If she earns $500 gross SGA within 60 months in addition to her
SSDI benefits, does she then lose her SSDI elibility?  What if she
has a serious relapse?  Does the 60-month clock start again? What
about health insurance?  Supporting her son?

Isn't there a better way? Computers now give many people with
chronic disabilities the technical ability to contribute to society
as wage-earners and tax-payers. I suspect that many of the 30-55
year old SSDI recepients with MS and other chronic disbilities
would be more than glad to support themselves and their famillies.
But they cannot see how it can be done within 5 years and with the
addition of $6,000 gross for each of those 5 years.

What should be done? Is there a way that the SDA can help disabled
people return to work in reality?


NOTE:  The woman in my story is not me. When I met her, she was
living on a small inheritance and worrying about the future.