If you are disabled and unable to work due to your asthma, you may qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. While having asthma does not automatically qualify you for disability benefits, you may qualify if you can meet one of the listings or otherwise show you are unable to work due to limitations you suffer because of the asthma.
While asthma can be a disabling condition, it is often treated effectively with medication. However, if you have a severe form of asthma that requires frequent hospitalization, you may qualify for Social Security disability.
Social Security Listings
Social Security has a very specific listing to determine whether your asthma is disabling enough to prevent you from working, Listing 3.03.
One of the prongs you must meet is you must have three hospitalizations within a 12-month period due to asthma exacerbations or complications. The hospitalizations must be at least thirty days apart and must be within the period that Social Security is considering in connection with your application. Each hospitalization must last at least 48 hours (including hours spent in the emergency department immediately before admission).
The other prong requires that your FEV1 score be less than or equal to a certain number. The number that your FEV1 must be less than or equal to varies depending on your age, gender, and height without shoes. The FEV1 results must meet the specified number during the same 12-month period as your three hospitalizations.
Your medical records must also show that you are compliant with at-home medications, such as an inhaler.
If you meet both prongs of the listing, Social Security will consider you to be disabled for one year from your last discharge date. After that year, Social Security will evaluate your ongoing impairments.
I Don’t Meet the Listing!
If you do not meet the listing, you may still qualify for SSDI or SSI benefits. To prove that you unable to work, you will need medical evidence that shows the severity of your impairment. Social Security will need medical evidence from your doctors to prove that your condition limits you and prevents you from working.
Unfortunately, because of the high bar set to meet this listing, one of the most common reasons for a denial is because there is not enough medical evidence. It is important that you keep a log of all doctors, hospitals, and clinics you have seen for your asthma. Included in those records needs to be spirometry testing from a time when you are medically stable.
If you do not meet the listing, Social Security will consider your residual functional capacity (RFC). Your RFC outlines your job restrictions and will be used to determine if you can go back to your past work. Your RFC is also used to determine whether there is other work available for you.
If you have asthma and are unable to work due to your condition, contact a local attorney today if you have questions or wish to apply for disability.