Diagnosed with Cancer? Social Security and Triage Cancer Can Help
When people hear the dreaded words, “You have cancer,” many thoughts often overwhelm them. They think about their health, family, and mortality. They think about treatment options, oncologists, and cancer centers. What they typically don’t think about are the legal issues resulting from their diagnosis. However, questions around understanding their health insurance options, employment rights, and taking time off from work often come up.
The good news is that there are organizations and programs that can help. If you can’t work due to a cancer diagnosis, you may be eligible for financial support from two Social Security programs. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) provide financial support to people with disabilities unable to work. These benefits can help you focus your time and energy on what’s important to you.
These disabilities include certain types of cancer. Some cancers qualify for expedited processing by Social Security under its Compassionate Allowances program. These are cases where individuals have medical conditions so severe that they obviously meet Social Security’s disability standards. This allows Social Security to process the cases quickly with minimal medical information.
Not sure if you qualify?
The first step is to apply for SSDI or SSI benefits. Then, you can check your application status with a personal my Social Security account. You can create your own personal my Social Security account today.
Still have questions?
Triage Cancer provides straightforward and accurate information, including resources to help you understand health and disability insurance options, Medicaid and Medicare, manage your finances, estate planning, and more. Though we tailor our materials to people diagnosed with cancer, our free resources are available to everyone.
We encourage you to sign up today for our free events that provide key information to help you address practical issues and minimize the financial burden of cancer. You can also check out our Educational Guides and Resources page – along with CancerFinances.org – for more information about your personal situation.
For more information or to register for any of our free events, visit TriageCancer.org. Please share this information with your friends and family – and post it on social media.
Social Security’s posting of this blog does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation of any non-Social Security organization, author, or webpages.