A Message from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation:
The purpose of this message is to ask members of congress to sign on to a letter to the Social Security Administration being circulated by Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) and Congressman Tom Marino (R-PA) that expresses concern with the proposed rule, "Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Respiratory System Disorders".
The "Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Respiratory System Disorders" proposal changes the medical criteria that the Social Security Administration uses to determine whether someone with cystic fibrosis is eligible for disability benefits, and physicians who specialize in CF say that these revisions do not accurately measure whether a person with cystic fibrosis is disabled. If left unchanged, the proposed rule could unfairly bar people with CF who cannot work from accessing these critical resources.
The most troubling provision of the proposed rule states that in the event of a serious complication, a CF patient would have to be hospitalized in order to show that they are becoming progressively sicker to the point of disability. However, doctors now have the ability to treat some very serious complications on an outpatient basis, and many doctors prefer this alternative due to the risk of hospital-acquired infection and the cost of hospital care. Requiring hospitalization goes against accepted medical practice and could impact CF patients' eligibility for benefits.
Once again, we are encouraging all members of congress to sign Representatives Markey and Marino's letter to the Social Security Administration (SSA) which expresses concern with the proposed "Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating Respiratory System Disorders" rule and urges SSA to revise this proposal. For more information or to sign on, please contact Sara Schaumburg in Congressman Markey’s office at sara.schaumburg@mail.house.govor Drew Kent in Congressman Marino’s office at drew.kent@mail.house.gov.
To share this request with your member of congress and help to make a difference, click here:
http://bit.ly/11p3XNS
If this is the case, then congressmen should revise the previous bill to cater everyone with SSDI. What's saddening is the fact that a hospitalization is needed just to prove that CF will cause a person to be disabled, although they're just making these precautions because of the people taking advantage of SSDI. I hope that this proposed bill is passed and the future of your kid is already taken care of.
ReplyDeleteErminia Cavins