Disability Terms and Definitions

Elimination Period This is the period of time between the date the disability commences and the beginning of the benefit payment period. It is the period during which an employee must be disabled before payment of benefits begins. It is sometimes referred to as the Qualifying Period. Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) The level of work activity used to establish disability. A finding of disability requires that a person be unable to engage in SGA. Supplemental Security Income (SSI): A cash benefit authorized by Title 16 of the federal Social Security Act. Eligibility and benefits are administered by the federal Social Security Administration at field offices throughout each state. Auxiliary Aids and Services Devices or services that accommodate a functional limitation of a person with a communication disability. Medicare (SSDI) Two-part health insurance program for eligible disabled individuals and people age 65 or older PD Presumptive Disability. Only for SSI claims. Enables an early (presumptive) allowance of benefits for 6 months based on a substantial probability of a final allowance when all required documentation is obtained. A PD can be reversed to a denial, but the claimant does not return the PD benefits. Vocational Rehabilitation Services Those services identified in Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, which are provided in an individualized plan for employment necessary to assist an individual with a disability in preparing for, securing, retaining, or regaining an employment outcome that is consistent with the strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, capabilities, interests, and informed choice of the individual. SSI State Supplement A cash benefit authorized by Ch. 49.77 and 49.775, Wis. Stats. This benefit is intended to supplement the federal SSI benefit payment. Eligibility is based on current receipt of federal SSI benefits or special "grandfathered" status as a recipient of the state supplement only. Indexing Indexing is designed to provide some protection against inflation. After the first year of disability, a disabled employee's pre-disability earnings are usually increased (or indexed) by a certain percentage on an annual basis. Family and Medical Leave Act The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 To grant family and temporary medical leave under certain circumstances

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	Did You Know?
	EPSDT stands for Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment Program A program mandated by law as part of the Medicaid program. The law requires that all states have in effect a program for eligible children under age 21 to ascretain their physical or mental defects and to provide such health care treatments and other measures to correct or ameliorate defects and chronic conditions discovered. The state programs also have active outreach components to inform eligible persons of the benefits available to them, to provide screening, and if necessary, to assist in obtaining appropriate treatment.