Medical Requirements for Disability

Social Security offers two types of disability coverage, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Both provide monthly income for people who cannot work because of a medical condition or disability. You must have worked and paid into Social Security in the past in order to qualify for SSDI. If you have not worked or paid into Social Security enough to qualify for SSDI, you might qualify for SSI if you have limited income and resources. You must meet specific medical requirements in order to qualify for either type of disability.

Severity

• To qualify for Social Security disability, your symptoms must be severe enough that you cannot do any substantial work. If your condition prevents you from doing the work you used to do but you can do some other kind of work, you will not qualify for disability. For instance, if you used to work as a school crossing guard and had to stand on your feet all day and now you cannot stand, you would not qualify for disability unless there were some reason you could not get another job that you could do while sitting down.

Prognosis

• To qualify for Social Security disability, doctors must expect your condition to last for at least one year or to result in death. Social Security does not provide any short-term disability benefits.

Condition-Specific Guidelines

• The Social Security Administration has specific guidelines they use to determine whether you are disabled by a particular condition. For instance, if you have kidney disease, the Social Security Administration looks for a serum creatinine level of 4 mg per deciliter or greater. For chronic anemia, the SSA looks for a hematocrit of 30 percent or less and the need for blood transfusions at least once every two months. (See Resources for a link to the criteria the SSA uses to determine whether a person is disabled by a particular condition.)