Quote from riskaddict:
I don't know if this is a state by state thing but in delaware alcoholism is considered a disability. So we are essentially enabling addicts. My sister in law gets medicaid and disability. She recently got the shit beat out of her and was in the hospitalfor 3 weeks and had surgery on her skull. I would imagine this would cost somewhere in the six figures. Would we all be better off if she was just left for dead?
You can not qualify, legally, for SSA disability because of either alcoholism or drug addiction. However some adicts, possibly many, can eventually get a mental disease diagnosis which qualifies them, usually after a long delay and much paper work. Medical documentation is required, but incentives for physicians are probably not well aligned with SSA interests.
There are lawyers all over the country specializing in getting their clients on disability for a cut of their disability checks (yes, this is apparently legal). The lawyers know the rules backwards and forwards and counsel their clients on what to say and what not to say at their disability hearing.
Another serious problem is that in some states, maybe all, i'm not certain, a single person with no dependents can not qualify for medicaid no matter how little income they have, unless they qualify for disability. Some of these have dire need for medical care beyond the emergency room stop gap visit and typical public clinics for the poor (if any are accessible). Thus these people have an incentive to try and qualify for disability so that they can access special medical and dental care. This is something that should be fixed soon with the ACA kicking in.
The SSA puts up hurdles that must be got over to qualify for disability. It isn't as easy as some have implied, and for those truly in need the rules can leave them in a desperate situation while they are waiting to qualify. At the same time there are undoubtedly a lot of fraudulent claims being made and assisted by unscrupulous attorneys. The incentives are misplaced.
These problems are, in the main, fixable. But then most problems are fixable,as the solutions are well known. Of course, that does not mean they will be fixed, as fixing them often is thwarted by special interests. The problems encountered by SSA in regard to disability qualification stand as a nice example of the "Enlightenment Fallacy" -- ideas and logic won't necessarily triumph over special interests, even in the long run.
