I'm going to try

[renidrag]

I have had the privilege of being a member of this group for quite a while. I suffer less than almost all of you warriors although some of the lasting gifts of WG are still prevalent, Neuropathy being the worst. Most of my lung issues right now are probably due to COPD and I am dealing with that. My numbers on the Leukemia side have come down very well and I have found a program where the medications don't affect me too much. After sitting at home for over three years and doing only gardening things really, I have taken a job with a big box warehouse locally. Part time, three or four days a week to start with and see how the old body holds up. I am excited and scared. I do from time to time get terrible cramping in my hands so I fear that happening but will have to work through it.
This all came about when I had an issue with Social Security and I ended up speaking with a very nice lady in New York. I had previously been going through my folders and came upon a pamphlet titled "Working While Disabled". I read it twice and came to the conclusion that I/ we can work for nine months and make as much money as we want and still receive our benefits. This was concurred by New York. After nine months I/we can work for Seven Years and make up to $1130.00 a month. In the mean time if you reach your retirement age (66 for me) you automatically go off the Seven Year program and again can make as much money as you can and still receive your benefit.
So I start Thursday and hoping for the best, I probably won't be on here as much and will miss you, my friends. Here we go!! Another Adventure......
Dale

[Pete]

Sounds like you're gonna give life BW (before wegs) another shot. Hope it goes well for you. Let us know how you're doing!

[MikeG-2012]

Great news Dale!

I hope you can fair pretty well.

Don't work "too hard" (-8

[Dirty Don]

Get after it Dale...what else ya got to do?! Best to you friend!

[vdub]

Good luck!

[annekat]

Sounds good, Dale! I'm in the 7 year period, I guess, not having been employable or well enough to make more than I do now during the first 9 months. I can make up to a little over $1000 a month at my rinky-dink pottery business and still collect my SSD benefits.The $1000+ is after the cost of doing business, and I'm well within the limit. By the time I'm 66, I'll still be on the 7 year program, unless anyone should offer me a high paying job and I can go off it! What I've heard from other disabled people is when you get to your retirement age, they stop calling it disability and start just calling it Social Security, and it's the same dollar amount, and you continue to get Medicare even if you wouldn't normally be eligible for it yet without being disabled. It is so convoluted that I can't keep track of it and may have gotten some of it wrong. But it helps to have you lay it out the way you did, straight from the horse's mouth. I hope the job goes really well and that you enjoy it!

[mishb]

I don't understand any of it, being an Aussie, but it sure sounds like a plan to me :thumbsup:

Best of luck with it, don't work too hard, and remember, I'm still waiting for you to come across the water and do my garden, if all else fails :tongue1:

Look forward to hearing how it's going, whenever you get a spare 5 miinutes

[annekat]

I don't understand any of it, being an Aussie, I don't understand it either, Michelle, as an American.... I don't even remember hearing about the 9 month plan or the 7 year program.... I just thought I could make up to around $1000/mo. net and still collect, indefinitely, as long as I'm on disability. I didn't know that when I reach full retirement age I can make as much money as I want and still collect, I thought there'd still be a limit. These details are not easy to find on the website, last time I looked, and if you talk to a real person, it depends on whom. So I'm counting on Dale to have talked to the right person and gotten the correct info.

Do you have Judge Judy on your TV down there? She acts like anyone on disability must be so disabled that they can barely lift a finger, and if they are doing any actual work whatsoever, like fixing someone's plumbing or caring for someone's children in their home, they are cheating the system. She is wrong. She is entertaining and funny sometimes, but sometimes she makes me a little angry!

[Alysia]

Sounds like a good plan, Dale. Enjoy and continue to take good care of yourself. Thanks for your friendship & kindness, compassion & wisdom. Good luck. Come to visit us from time to time to let us know how you are doing.

[gilders]

Sounds like a great plan. Just don't push yourself too hard especially with the amount of hours.
The UK isn't set up well to return to work for a few hours. I returned to work after each relapse was under control. Unfortunately all benefits stop as soon as I returned to work. Therefore bills couldn't be paid unless I was working full time, which is what I quickly did. But this routine, I believe, was the cause of my frequent relapses. When I eventually had to quit work I had my longest period of remission. No coincidence in my opinion.

[NikkiNicole]

ok, this is going to sound like the pot calling the kettle black ... but don't work too hard.

I can't even wrap my mind around Social Security, Disability, and Retirement. Not because I am still a baby, but just because whenever I try to find out about it ... I am lost. Beyondlost. Gone. Confused.

[annekat]

Sounds like a great plan. Just don't push yourself too hard especially with the amount of hours.
The UK isn't set up well to return to work for a few hours. I returned to work after each relapse was under control. Unfortunately all benefits stop as soon as I returned to work. Therefore bills couldn't be paid unless I was working full time, which is what I quickly did. But this routine, I believe, was the cause of my frequent relapses. When I eventually had to quit work I had my longest period of remission. No coincidence in my opinion. I guess I should be thankful for the system here, but all the same, since my disability benefit isn't enough for me to live on, since I was never well-enough employed to pay a lot into the system, I need to supplement it with something. I've had some renters in RV's, but they aren't really supposed to be here according to county regulations, and that will cause me problems down the road. So it falls back to making and selling my pottery, which is labor intensive and stressful, so I end up never really quite getting into remission, though I'm not doing badly. I agree with your theory 100%, Pete.

[annekat]

ok, this is going to sound like the pot calling the kettle black ... but don't work too hard.

I can't even wrap my mind around Social Security, Disability, and Retirement. Not because I am still a baby, but just because whenever I try to find out about it ... I am lost. Beyondlost. Gone. Confused. It is very confusing. I did my application online and it took me 6 months to even do it. Since I was in the throes of Wegener's, for one thing, and also because it is so confusing! I was lucky to have a local office with really nice people who called me as soon as I sent in my app and led me through the rest of the process, interviewing me on the phone and typing up the transcript in the most favorable way. I never even met them! And I never needed any special doctors' evaluations or anything. I listed my all my docs, and never even talked to any of them about it! I was 58 at the time, which probably helped, and was hardly making any money anyway, which I could blame on being sick for 2.5 years prior to diagnosis. And when approved, I got a hefty retroactive chunk for part of that time. I wish it could be that easy for everyone, but am afraid it isn't.

[BookNut]

I am so happy that you are able to go back to work....as long as you do not overdo it. The best news is that you feel well enough to do this. best of luck!!!

[Middlesista]

Good news that you are feeling up to returning to work - as others have said be sure to take care of you! Are you starting with full shifts or partial hours?

I am truly happy for you Dale and think your new employer is lucky to have you join their company.

[Debbie C]

That's good news Dale...hope everything "works" out for you !! But don't overdue it.
Yea, I am with you Anne...all I know is I can make almost 1000.00 a month BUT the way the drs wrote me to be disabled was my immune system is suppressed and it is not good for me to be around people. Sooo I don't know if I got a job ,they would look at my disability different. And I don't know want I am going to get when I reach retirement age since I also get widows support. I don't know if that is taken away or not ?? Hell... I may not even be around at that point so I will worry about it then..all I need is a shack on the beach anyway and I'm a happy camper !!!

[annekat]

That's good news Dale...hope everything "works" out for you !! But don't overdue it.
Yea, I am with you Anne...all I know is I can make almost 1000.00 a month BUT the way the drs wrote me to be disabled was my immune system is suppressed and it is not good for me to be around people. Sooo I don't know if I got a job ,they would look at my disability different. And I don't know want I am going to get when I reach retirement age since I also get widows support. I don't know if that is taken away or not ?? Hell... I may not even be around at that point so I will worry about it then..all I need is a shack on the beach anyway and I'm a happy camper !!! From the people I've known who have been transitioned from SSD to to regular SS, their benefit stays the same. I don't know anything about the widow's support, I guess it might have to do with where it comes from. But if you'll be getting the same amount that you get now when regular SS kicks in, then I shouldn't think the widow's support should be affected. Also, people can make lots of money from other sources that aren't considered "work", such as investments, rental income, selling homes or possessions (and then moving to a beach shack, in your case), inheriting money or other assets.... and still collect the same amount of SS. Your widow's support isn't "work", so shouldn't count against you. I do know that if a person of retirement age makes a certain amount of money, his SS benefits may be taxed, and he may not be entitled to any of the perks or breaks from the Medicare system that lower income people may get.

As for the immunosuppressed stuff, I think that would have some to do with most of us getting disability and don't know if mine was written up that way. But it certainly is true. I'm around the public a lot in an outdoor setting, the farmers market, but don't think I'd want to work in close indoor quarters with people who might be carrying bugs, such as an office or a school. But it is possible to get jobs that aren't that way or to have a home-based job or business. Good luck figuring it all out, and it sounds like you have the wait and see approach, like I do... less stressful than trying to understand it.

[vdub]

A little off subject.... Did I happen to mention that I became an official MediCare person about a week ago. I'm not sure if I like it or not, but there isn't anything I can do about it, so I guess I better like it. I know the doctors don't like it.

[Pete]

Happy belated birthday, Vdub!! Hope you have many more with appropriately raucous celebrations!!!

[annekat]

A little off subject.... Did I happen to mention that I became an official MediCare person about a week ago. I'm not sure if I like it or not, but there isn't anything I can do about it, so I guess I better like it. I know the doctors don't like it. The doctors are going to have to get used to it. There are a lot of us, and more coming all the time. Happy Belated Birthday!

[drz]

A little off subject.... Did I happen to mention that I became an official MediCare person about a week ago. I'm not sure if I like it or not, but there isn't anything I can do about it, so I guess I better like it. I know the doctors don't like it.

I found this transition to Medicare did affect my Health Care since some clinics don't like to work for pennies on the dollar and prefer the dimes on the dollar they got from other insurance companies. Mayo would not accept me for in-patient care years ago because I had just gone on Medicare for my primary insurance the week before and my BCBS became a secondary insurance coordinated with Medicare.

Finding doctors and clinics that accept Medicare low rates for full payment can be hard in some locales. Fortunately for me everyone does so far in our rural areas but I hear it can be tough in some bigger cities and on both coasts. Some will accept Medicare for partial payment but then expect you to pay the rest.

Going on Medicare did hit me hard though in getting diabetic supplies since almost all vendors dropped Medicare assignment after their last rate cut and I had to try at least three dozen vendors to find one that would accept their low rates of pennies on the dollar. I spent over 50 hours on the phone to do it. Only one pharmacy out of seven in town will accept Medicare assignment for my insulin.

Best wishes for better health soon.

[drz]

The doctors are going to have to get used to it. There are a lot of us, and more coming all the time. Happy Belated Birthday!

Clinics and hospitals do try to adapt to having lot of Medicare patients but their low payment rates have serious impact on quality and availability of health care.

I noticed cut backs at the clinics I use except Mayo due to lower reimbursement forced by Obamacare this year.

Years ago most of our small town hospitals and clinics were forced to close because of Medicare lower payment rates. In rural areas where most patients were retired and on Medicare most smaller towns lost their hospitals and many lost their clinics and ended up with reduced services.

This was done deliberately in interest of efficiency and to reduce the cost of medical care. The official rationale was that due to better technology and transportation and better trained EMT and ambulance services it was not necessary to have a hospital at every small town and having larger hospitals that could be better equipped and better staffed at a further location was more cost efficient and could also provide a better level of care.

So now people often have to do 50-100 miles to get health care that they used to get a few miles away. Many patients miss dealing with local people that knew them personally but hopefully they generally get better care even though the wait to get the services is often longer and lacks the more personal touch of dealing with some one who knows you.

[Debbie C]

Yes , Happy Birthday Vdub......sorry I missed it. Hope next years is better for you ( on the road again !!! ) I will be able to get a senior discount on things next week !!!

[Pete]

Clinics and hospitals do try to adapt to having lot of Medicare patients but their low payment rates have serious impact on quality and availability of health care.

I noticed cut backs at the clinics I use except Mayo due to lower reimbursement forced by Obamacare this year.

Years ago most of our small town hospitals and clinics were forced to close because of Medicare lower payment rates. In rural areas where most patients were retired and on Medicare most smaller towns lost their hospitals and many lost their clinics and ended up with reduced services.

This was done deliberately in interest of efficiency and to reduce the cost of medical care. The official rationale was that due to better technology and transportation and better trained EMT and ambulance services it was not necessary to have a hospital at every small town and having larger hospitals that could be better equipped and better staffed at a further location was more cost efficient and could also provide a better level of care.

So now people often have to do 50-100 miles to get health care that they used to get a few miles away. Many patients miss dealing with local people that knew them personally but hopefully they generally get better care even though the wait to get the services is often longer and lacks the more personal touch of dealing with some one who knows you.

My former boss who designed healthcare benefit plans said there are three factors to be considered when designing a health care plan: easy access, high quality, and low cost. You can only have two out of three...

[Debbie C]

My former notes who designed healthcare benefit plans said there are three factors to be considered when designing a health care plan: easy access, high quality, and low cost. You can only have two out of three...

I think you are lucky if you get 1 out of the three

[Pete]

I think you are lucky if you get 1 out of the three

I guess I'm lucky. I have easy access and high quality. It's not cheap though!!

[annekat]

I have two out of three, easy access and low cost.

[drz]

On my lucky days I have all three. Maybe not low cost since I pay hefty premium to my insurance and some things are not always covered but most things are so there is little or no extra costs. So on my unlucky days I have none of the three. But generally I regard myself as pretty lucky in getting good health care but I do encounter so screw ups from time to time. Like having a doctor that failed to diagnose my broken ankle for over two months or the several doctors that failed to diagnose my hernia for several weeks. I ended up diagnosing both problems correctly myself and then finding a doctor to agree with or confirm my diagnosis so I could get the right treatment.

[Gab122]

On my lucky days I have all three. Maybe not low cost since I pay hefty premium to my insurance and some things are not always covered but most things are so there is little or no extra costs. So on my unlucky days I have none of the three. But generally I regard myself as pretty lucky in getting good health care but I do encounter so screw ups from time to time. Like having a doctor that failed to diagnose my broken ankle for over two months or the several doctors that failed to diagnose my hernia for several weeks. I ended up diagnosing both problems correctly myself and then finding a doctor to agree with or confirm my diagnosis so I could get the right treatment.


Just wondering how your return to work has been. Good I hope!
Gab

[renidrag]

As most of you said, not to over do it I immediately went out and over did it. Because of the Neuropathy the sense of feeling in my feet is compromised. I did not feel the blister the size of Nebraska until it exploded, okay weeped. Finished my week and went to Urgent Care where they cut some away, dressed, (which we had been doing) and gave me some antibiotics. Wanted a follow up with wound care but everything seemed okay. Back now with a callous the size of Nebraska and a new pair of spongey sneakers. Actually the company is not scheduling me on purpose so as to take care of myself. Feeling good, going well. Thanks for the well wishes.
Dale

[Alysia]

Thanks for the update. Sorry for that event. Wow. You were lucky after all. I hope that you have fully recovered.

Should we tell you not to over do or maybe telling so is causing one to challenge it... ? ;)

anyway, please take good care of yourself. Sending prayers ♡

[Gab122]

Speedy recovery!

[Middlesista]

Take care Dale and heal!!!