Many people affected by Hepatitis viruses are dependent on their salaries to live and survive. They do not have working spouses or family members to depend on. Some can lose their homes, cars and children. Often Hepatitis patients become so critically ill that they can no longer work. They can go through their savings quickly especially those who are on Rebetron or Interferon therapy.

If you have been diagnosed with Hepatitis you should be under the care of a specialist. Your doctors should be your closest allies, both in your battle with hepatitis and also in obtaining disability benefits should you qualify. Contrary to what many people suffering from Hepatitis believe, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is very familiar with the disease. In fact, SSA considers Hepatitis to be such a potentially serious medical condition that federal law provides that if their hepatitis is advanced, a person can be found disabled based on laboratory test results alone.

Financial issues are common for chronically ill patients to deal with especially when medical bills grow faster than the income. This is one of the reasons that the Social Security Administration has two programs, the Social Security disability insurance program and the Supplemental Security income program. While eligibility for Social Security disability is based on prior work which contributed to your own Social Security account, SSI disability payments are made on the basis of financial need. Unfortunately, because so little is known about hepatitis and its symptoms and effects, this process can be long and complicated. For both programs, the medical requirements and determination process are the same. In general, you will be considered disabled if you are unable to do any kind of work for which you are suited and your disability is expected to last for at least a year or to result in death.

In addition, it is recommended that any applicant who is trying to get SSI or disability benefit should get a copy of their medical records before applying. This reduces the delay time because they will have the information instead of waiting while they request the information from your health care providers.

There are number of ways that a person with chronic liver disease including hepatitis can be found disabled. If a person with hepatitis has a history of a massive hemorrhage due to esophageal varices then the person will be considered disabled for three years after the last massive hemorrhage. After the three years are over, the person’s Social Security and/or Supplemental Security Income disability case will be reviewed to see if the person is still disabled.

Thus, The Social Security disability program is designed to pay benefits to people suffering from medical problems causing symptoms so severe that it becomes impossible to function at any type of work. Issues of employability, job existence, insurability and location or desirability of alternative work will not be considered, although age and education are often important factors.