Principal Attorney
The SSA’s listings for kidney diseases include many subsections in different categories including kidney cancer, cancers of the urinary tract or reproductive tract, and chronic renal problems requiring dialysis etc. However, meeting a diagnosis is not necessarily enough to qualify you for the SSDI benefits. You will need to convince the agency that the limitations caused by your particular urinary disorder, kidney issue, or problem with reproductive organ make it impossible for you to work.
Read on to find out how you can get SSDI or SSI disability benefits for these conditions.
Medical Limitations required by the SSA to approve Disability Claims for Kidney dysfunction
- Undergoing dialysis or a kidney transplant or
- Serum creatinine levels from a three-month period :
- Above 4 mg per deciliter
- At a clearance level of 20 ml or lower per minute
- Experiencing at least one of the following complications:
- Renal osteodystropy
- Motor or sensory nephropathy
- Chronic fluid overload syndrome, accompanied by diastolic hypertension, vascular congestion, or anorexia
Chronic Kidney Disease
The SSA has listed specific requirements for chronic kidney disease – for dysfunction other than transplant and dialysis, the section of reduced glomerular filtration is also included by the SSA. The requirements are listed as:
- – Ongoing peritoneal dialysis (a method of hemodialysis that involves dialyzing solution being put into and removed from the peritoneal cavity intermittently or continuously)
- – Ongoing hemodialysis (the removal of toxins from the blood with an artificial kidney machine)
- – Kidney transplantation, or
- – Reduced glomerular filtration
Reduced glomerular filtration can be shown by persistently high levels of serum creatinine (a natural product of muscle metabolism), low creatinine clearance levels, or a low estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). To qualify by showing reduced glomerular filtration, you must also show that you suffer from one of the following:
- – Renal bone degradation and bone pain
- – Peripheral neuropathy (inability to filter toxic substances from the blood)
- – Fluid overload syndrome despite taking medication, documented by diastolic hypertension, signs of vascular congestion or anasarca (massive edema or swelling), or anorexia with weight loss and BMI of 18.0 or less
Nephrotic Syndrome
- – Consistent levels of serum albumin of 3.0 per deciliter or lower AND elevated proteinuria of 3.5 g or higher over a 24-hour period
- – Proteinuria measurements over a 24-hour period of 10 g or higher AND a total-protein-to-creatinine ratio of 3.5 or higher
- – Chronic Kidney Disease with Complications, which appears in Section 6.09 and requires:
- – You have been hospitalized at least three times within 12 months, with no more than 30 days in between hospital admissions
- – History of hospital stays started in the ER and resulted in inpatient treatment of at least 48 hours
Complications of Chronic Kidney Disease
This includes that you stayed at least thrice in a consecutive period of 12 months and the hospitalizations occurring at least 30 days apart. Each hospitalization must last at least 48 hours, including hours in a hospital emergency department immediately before the hospitalization.
Since each person and his condition is different from the other, it makes a unique case for every individual. It is important that you are able to present your case efficiently in order to reap full benefits of the Disability Claims for Kidney Diseases. Our disability advocates are at service to guide you through the process step-by-step 24/7.
