HOW ADDICTION AFFECTS YOUR DISABILITY BENEFITS

The Old Rule

If you had a drug or alcohol addiction before 1996, then you might have qualified for Social Security Disability benefits based on that fact alone.

How’s that?

Back then, addiction was viewed as a disability in itself. Simple.

More recently, however, the rules changed and things became less simple.

How’s that now?

Well, the very same lot today is unlikely to do all that much when it comes to advancing your case.

The New Guard

The controlling approach nowadays can be traced to the "Senior Citizen's Right to Work Act of 1996," which took a hard line that slanted toward fiat: no more claiming disability just because of drug or alcohol addiction.

Effectively, the Act laid it out that addicts would no longer be pronounced disabled if their addiction could be rationally identified as a “contributing factor” to the nature of their disability.

However, if a person’s disability would persist in the absence of substance abuse, they would, even now, hold a legitimate claim to long-term benefits, independent of their addiction.

The Reality

As of this writing, if your file includes evidence of drug or alcohol abuse, the SSA is required to make a determination early on of whether your disability would exist without these influences, or if substance abuse is itself a defining element of your condition.

Note: This form of evaluation becomes particularly complex when dealing with conditions that involve both physical and psychological impairments.

The SSA will then review periods of abstinence and compare your physical and mental health during those times to when you were using intoxicating substances.

Note: If there are no clear periods of abstinence on your record, you will likely need to provide a detailed statement from your physician explaining how your addiction does not contribute to your disability.

The Bottom Line

When it comes to addiction, the SSA has a one-track mind: Is it a disability or a bad habit that’s driving the condition?

For the sake of your case and your future, you have to show that your disability would exist even if substance abuse were no longer a factor.

And so, to feed the beast and meet the demands, take stock of everything that’s on the menu—medical records, expert opinions, hospital charts and lab reports—before letting your disability take the stand.