Just as the “pink ribbon” is known nationwide as the symbol for breast cancer awareness, the “red dress” is the national symbol for heart disease awareness for women.

 
Introduced in 2002 by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) the “red dress” symbol for The Heart Truth® campaign provides an inspiring reminder to women to take action on how to protect their heart health.

The campaign is a wake-up call for women to understand that heart disease is not a “man’s disease,” but, in fact, the number one killer of women.  According to NHLBI, one in four women die of heart disease versus one in 30 who die of breast cancer.

 
Heart disease is one of the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) qualifying cardiovascular disabling conditions for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).

In 2008, according to SSA data, 10.5 percent of claimants were approved for cardiovascular disorder. Of those, 7.1 percent were male; 3.3 percent were female.

According to our own stats at Freedom Disability, in 2008, 6 percent of our female claimants were approved based on cardiovascular conditions and 10.4 percent were male.

Of our current applications in process for approval, 3.4 percent are for women with heart disease conditions and 6.8 percent are male.

 
February is American Heart Month. If you’re interested in raising awareness about heart disease, find out more about The Heart Truth® campaign, including “red dress” events that will continue into next week, at the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Web site.

 
"National Wear Red Day®" is a registered trademark of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the American Heart Association (AHA).

It’s been all over the media this week about how the term “retarded” was misused by White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, who has met with disability groups to express his apologies.

I think the issue here is that improperly using words as labels is hurtful.

It took me a long time to get over looking at a bag of frozen peas and not remember how I used to feel self-conscious about my height. That may sound comical, but I felt that way because, when I was in 7th grade, the boys sitting in the back of homeroom would call out, “Ho, Ho, Ho, Green Giant!” when I walked in. I had already reached my current height – 5 ft. 8 in. I love being tall, but I didn’t back then, when the boys were all much, much shorter than me. They made me feel bad about myself when, really, I probably intimidated them!  It took a while for me to get that.

It’s a matter of perspective.

Saying the “r” word in a negative context is certainly regrettable. However, years ago, the term was widely accepted. Today, it’s not. The event may lead to policy change that promises to strike the word from federal health, education and labor laws, which may be a good idea. Whether this action will be perceived in the future as an overreaction, the real point, in my view, is that we all deserve respect—no matter our differences –and we deserve forgiveness when we express regret.

That’s food for thought.

We’ve mentioned in a couple of posts how health information technology is dramatically improving the time it takes for SSA to process disability claims. The electronic medical records system is about to get better thanks to the Obama Administration’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

SSA has announced that AARA is providing $17.4 million in contract awards to 15 healthcare providers and networks to require them to use the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN). The IT system is speeding up determination decisions on disability claims from months to days.

Obama is also requesting $12.5 billion for SSA in the Administration’s 2011 budget. The funding is crucial to SSA’s efforts of improving backlogs at the disability hearings level, and in the overall processing of disability claims.

That’s definitely good news when you consider that SSA is expecting an onslaught of 3.3 million disability claims in 2010 – a big jump from the 2.6 million claims filed in each of the past two years.

It’s official. The famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, saw his shadow this morning. That means all hopes for spring coming soon were dashed away when Phil retreated into his den. He will snooze away six more weeks of winter.

 
Punxsutawney Phil is the most famous of groundhogs and is revered all over the United States and Canada as the wisest of winter predictors. His den is located in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

Today we are celebrating a holiday that’s rooted in a blend of ancient European weather-lore traditions. The Ancients could never have predicted how fast news gets around today.

 
When Phil poked his nose out of his den on Gobbler’s Knob this morning, those with social media connections knew what happened instantaneously.  They found out on Punxsutawney Phil’s Facebook page. Some texted “groundhog” on their cell phones to get an instant message. Others checked out the official Groundhog Day Web site. “Did the groundhog see his shadow 2010” was the hottest search phrase on Google this morning!

Where am I going with all of this? I guess it’s just to point out how easy it is to feel connected to information that interests you – or to other people who share your interests.

 
Freedom Disability provides Social Security Disability help and information. If you want to stay informed on disability-related topics, you can connect with us. There’s a number of ways you can do that. You can “friend” us on Facebook, or “follow us” on Twitter. Or post your own disability question to the Freedom Disability Benefits Forum so that you can connect with other people in the disability community. You can even sign up for e-mail alerts when something new is posted to this blog – just to make sure you don’t miss anything important – or just entertainingly different.

Like finding out that a Pennsylvanian groundhog could make headlines!

“Happy Groundhog Day!”

When someone calls in to Freedom Disability to find out how to get SSDI benefits, the first responder to the call is someone like Eric.

Eric gets about 25 in-coming calls a day. He always keeps his voice calm and gentle. He is very patient as he asks the caller to answer a series of difficult questions. He takes special care with every single person he talks to, as if that person is his only call for the day.

“I never know what to expect on the other end of the line,” he says. “I want to be as helpful to the caller as I can because I know they wouldn’t be contacting Freedom Disability unless they needed help. I’m always hopeful we can help.”

Eric’s job is to “screen” the call, which means he must decide if the person he is talking to could qualify for disability benefits. He asks about their medical condition, work history, and how long they‘ve been out of work – all necessary questions to determine if the person is a likely candidate for disability benefits from the Social Security Administration. There are exceptions to the rule. Eric can tell.

Often it’s hard to hear their stories. But Eric works at controlling his emotions. If he can’t, he says, he isn’t helpful to anybody. So, he prays silently for them. It’s his way of getting through the day. 

Another call comes through. He takes a moment, then  picks up the receiver.

The next caller is a 50-year-old woman who tells one of those particularly difficult stories. He is confident a Freedom Disability Advocate can help the woman get the disability benefits she needs and schedules an appointment for her. He knows the Advocate will help the woman prepare a winning application.

However, Eric never really knows what the outcome will be for any of the people he passes on to Advocates. 

As he takes the next call, he stays positive about the good work he is doing for people with disabilities. He believes that things will work out for them all. He has faith.

Social networking Web sites have made it so easy to connect to friends and family – or to people we don’t know at all.

According to a recent article in the Star News, Wilmington, N.C., social media can be a social lifeline for people with disabilities, and a tremendous connection to important information. A word of caution: use discretion when it comes to posting personal information.

There was a lot of media buzz a few months back about a woman in Montreal, Canada who lost her disability insurance because of photos she posted on her Facebook page. She was on leave from her job for severe depression. Her insurance company was doing a routine evaluation of her two-year disability case and discovered the photos. She appeared happy and well. The insurance company thought so, too. She lost her benefits.

Finding discriminating information on anyone on the Web is easy, if it’s there.

What information are you sharing about yourself with your Internet “friends”? You may want to “Google” yourself to find out.

Social networking is great, if used right. That’s why Freedom Disability is on Facebook and Twitter – to make connections with people with disabilities who could really use the educational resources and tools we provide.

Pass us on to your social network. You never know who may need the connection.

Our Jan. 14 post explained how SSA is streamlining efficiencies in processing disability insurance claims by using Health IT, an electronic system that collects medical information. Now there’s convincing proof that it works.

A year ago, SSA partnered with MedVirginia, a health information exchange (HIE), to test the use of the National Health Information Network (NHIN) to expedite disability insurance claims. SSA’s case study results are in and, not only reveal that the use of electronic exchanges dramatically decreases disability claims processing time, but also demonstrates how this efficiency provides the strong financial impetus needed for health care providers to participate in these networks.

The report reveals that the time for processing disability claims was cut from 84 days to 46 days. For SSA, this is a huge improvement in service to disability claimants.

It also states that health care providers can gain significant revenue from implementing a health information exchange (HIE).  The SSA case study reports a $2 million return to health care partners for using HIE.

The SSA disability claims process can only continue to improve as more and more health care providers catch on to buying into the health IT and HIE systems.

Yes, you can work and keep your disability benefits –for a while.

 
You may be thinking that it would be great to make some money on your own again. But, if getting disability benefits was a hard-won ordeal, you may feel hesitant to try working again for the fear of losing the cash you count on every month.  You may not even feel sure that you can handle a job.

 
The Social Security Administration (SSA) understands this, which is why they provide a program to help people with disabilities get back to work without losing benefits, including Medicare coverage.

It’s called the “Ticket to Work” program.  It provides employment resources and training opportunities so that, if you want to work but don’t know how to look for work that suits your situation, you’ve got resources to help you.

 
What can you expect if you want to try the program? 

•  SSA gives you a “ticket”
•  Your ticket gives you access to free training and job referrals to help you get a job.
•  The period of time you try working is called a Trial Work Period, or TWP.
•  If you earn $720 or more in one month, (the 2010 earnings amount) it’s called a TWP month. 
•  You need to earn nine TWP months within a 60-month rolling period. These months do not have to be consecutive.
•  The trial work period is a test period for you. And, all the while, you keep your benefits.

You don’t have to participate in the Ticket to Work program, but it does provide a great opportunity to help you if you want to try working again. 

 
There’s more to know. Click here to find out what happens to your benefits after your test time is over and you’re gainfully earning again.

Mental Health America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting mental wellness, has organized a petition to support reversing an unwritten policy of not sending Presidential letters of condolence to families of military members who have died by suicide.

Though these service members are honored with a full military burial by the Department of Defense, Mental Health America believes that, for the families that have lost their loved ones in this way, while in service to their country, the acknowledgment of a letter of condolence from the president would be profoundly impactful.

According to Mental Health America, in 2009, “more military service members committed suicide than were killed by enemy fire in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.”

President Obama has ordered a review of this policy and is expected to make a decision soon.

If you think this policy should change, you can sign the petition here.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced today that President Obama’s initiative for more transparency and open government will make it possible for the public to have access to data about SSA’s disability and hearings processes.

SSA will provide online information on disability hearings and the decisions Administrative Law Judges are making on disability cases. They will also provide information on how much time it may take to schedule a hearing and how long it will take for a decision to be made.  The new openness initiative will in no way compromise personal information. 

“I applaud President Obama’s commitment to creating an unprecedented level of openness in government,” said Michael J. Astrue, the commissioner of Social Security in today’s press release. “I hope the new data we are making available will lead to a better understanding of our operations and the important role we play in people’s lives."

The concept behind the President’s transparency policy is to encourage Executive departments and agencies to use technologies to provide online information that will engage public participation in the Government’s policymaking work.

 SSA’s new “Open Government” Web page will launch at www.ssa.gov  in February.