How to Get SSI With Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is a disease of the liver. It causes inflammation and damage to the liver, leading to symptoms like jaundice, excessive bleeding, fatigue, nausea, diarrhea, weight loss and fever. Doctors can prescribe medications to treat hepatitis C, but in cases of severe liver damage people with the condition may require a liver transplant. People with severe liver damage may have difficulty working due to their symptoms and may wish to apply for supplemental security income (SSI).

Instructions

• 1

  Talk to your doctor about your condition and how hepatitis C prevents you from working. Ask your doctor how long you should expect your symptoms to keep you from working. In order to get SSI for hepatitis C, your symptoms must be expected to keep you from working for at least 12 months.

• 2

  Visit any Social Security Administration office (see Resources) or phone the Social Security Administration at 800-772-1213 to begin an application for SSI. While you can apply for some kinds of Social Security benefits online, you cannot apply online for SSI.

• 3

  Fill out all forms completely and return them to the Social Security Administration as quickly as possible. When answering questions about your disability, explain in detail how hepatitis C prevents you from working. Give specific examples. If you need more room to write, you can attach additional pages to the forms they give you.

• 4

  Provide the Social Security Administration with names, addresses and telephone numbers of all doctors, hospitals and other health care providers that have treated you for hepatitis C. If you have copies of any of your medical records, give copies to the Social Security Administration. They will ask you to sign a release form giving them permission to request copies of any records you do not already have.

• 5

  Attend an appointment with a physician for further evaluation of your condition if asked to do so by the Social Security Administration. Sometimes they make a decision based on information from your own health care providers, but other times they need more information. If they ask you to see another doctor, you will not have to pay for the visit. The doctor will not be employed by the Social Security Administration and will provide an independent evaluation of your condition.