It is not true that it is Social Security Administration (SSA) policy to deny Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) payments to polio survivors.
In 1985 Dr. Bruno drafted the document that allows polio survivors to get SSDI, called the POMS for Evaluation of the Late Effects of Poliomyelitis (24580.010). In 1987, Dr. Bruno worked with Senator Bill Bradley to force SSA to release the POMS, which is when polio survivors started getting SSDI.
What's more, the SSA Commissioner agreed to our request to convert the POMS into what is called a "Social Security Ruling" that binds adjudicators and administrative law judges' decisions about disability for polio survivors. The Social Security Ruling, SSR 03-1p.; Titles II and XVI: Development and Evaluation of Disability Claims Involving Postpolio Sequelae, was released on July 2, 2003. SSA "retrained" SSA personnel to properly review polio survivors' applications for SSDI. "The Ruling is more inclusive than the POMS and uses the term "Postpolio Sequelae" to describe all of the late-onset symptoms polio survivors experience, not only post-polio syndrome -- new muscle weakness in those who had paralytic polio -- but also 'early advanced degenerative arthritis, sleep disorders, respiratory insufficiency, and a variety of mental disorders (having) an etiological link to either the acute polio infection or to chronic deficits resulting from the acute infection." According to the Ruling "any one or a combination of these disorders...will constitute the presence of 'postpolio sequelae' and can be grounds for granting SSDI.
For the first time FATIGUE, sleep disorders, 'problems with attention, reduced concentration capacity, inability to persist in tasks, or memory problems' are recognized as causes of disability. The Ruling also recognizes The Post-Polio Institute's research on the psychological effects of polio and PPS, that "traumatic psychological experiences associated with acute polio infection are revived when polio survivors recognize the onset of further weakness and functional loss. Many polio survivors endured a life- threatening infection as young children. They may have spent extended periods away from their homes and families while hospitalized with paralysis or respiratory dysfunction, or while undergoing multiple orthopedic surgeries. Often they endured many months, or sometimes years, of hospitalization and rehabilitation. The psychological effect of perceiving the onset of further weakness, fatigue, respiratory dysfunction or joint pain, many years following the acute infection, can be significant," and lead to disabling "anxiety and depression...mood changes and social withdrawal." Any of these symptoms can be the cause of inability to work and grounds for granting SSDI.
The Ruling also recognizes that "many individuals with medically severe polio residuals have worked despite their limitations." The Ruling states that "the new onset of further physical or mental impairments (even though they may appear to be relatively minor) in polio survivors may result in further functional problems that can limit or prevent their ability to continue work activity. Postpolio sequelae may effectively alter the ability of these individuals to continue functioning at the same level they maintained for years following their initial polio infection.'"__
So, SSA can and does grant SSDI for polio survivors. What's more not one of our patients has ever been denied SSDI. Why? It's all in the details. And you don't need a lawyer to get SSDI.
Dr. Bruno will help you get SSDI. He will write a complete report citing the Ruling and SSA regulations, call the SSA officials and doctor reviewers in you state who are involved in adjudicating your claim, and will even call your Congressperson and Senators if their help is needed. For all of these services, there is a one-time fee of $600.
Click here for Procedure for getting SSDI.
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Medical Services: Centers Of Excellence