Does Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease Qualify for Disability Benefits?

Does Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease Qualify for Disability Benefits?

Medical records review help establish Alzheimer’s disease. This condition may qualify for benefits.

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Social security disability benefits are paid for people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, which is one of the medical conditions that qualify for the benefits . A chart review is performed to identify the disability and the extent of its severity. The condition can affect younger people also, which can be quite devastating . Younger onset or early onset Alzheimer’s is estimated to affect nearly five percent of the 5 million Americans suffering from Alzheimer’s.

Diagnosing early onset Alzheimer’s can be difficult because physicians usually do not look for this dementia condition in younger people. In them, the symptoms are usually associated with a stress disorder. People who have early onset Alzheimer’s may be in any stage of dementia – early, middle or late stage. Since the disease affects people differently, the symptoms may also be different .

Memory problems can be very intense in some patients. Regular medical check-ups are necessary. Patients must be taken to a doctor specializing in Alzheimer’s disease . Medical exams may include neurological exam or brain imaging and cognitive tests. Symptoms of memory loss and other difficulties must be communicated to the doctor . Only a comprehensive medical review can help establish this complex medical condition.

There is no clear answer as to the causes of early onset Alzheimer’s. Certain rare genes are said to have a role to play in developing this condition. Those who inherit these genes may develop symptoms in their thirties, forties, and fifties.

Those who are diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease may qualify for disability benefits if the symptoms are severe enough. The SSA uses the listing for neurocognitive disorders to evaluate the severity of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia . A disability claim may be granted if the applicant can prove that their abilities have significantly deteriorated in one or more of the following areas. 

Inability to remember words or misuse of words

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Short term memory

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Listening to others or focusing on tasks

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Social cognition

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Planning and judgment

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Physical coordination

Once it is proved that the patient has a significant deterioration, the SSA will examine how severely it has affected the claimant’s functioning. What the SSA is looking for is the claimant must either have an extreme limitation in one of the following areas or a severe limitation in 2 of the following areas.

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Remembering, comprehending, or using information

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Focusing on tasks and completing the same at a reasonable speed

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Managing or adapting oneself

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Interacting with people

Early onset Alzheimer’s disease is added to its listing of Compassionate Allowance Condition. This means that the agency will speed up the disability application process so that patients need not be troubled too much with denials and appeals. Most applications that fall in the Compassionate Allowance listing are approved within a month.

Medical records review is the most important step in the claim review process. The SSA will ask for medical records including clinical notes that show the patient’s progressive dementia as well as activities of daily living report filled out by a caregiver or relative . It should be made clear in the application that the claimant qualifies for Compassionate Allowance treatment and that the exact diagnosis is Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

www.mosmedicalrecordreview.com

918-221-7791