Opioid Use Disorder

It’s the latter issue that’s the most important, as more than half of all SSD benefits are denied. Join the thousands of people that have called a treatment provider for rehab information. However, certain food groups also have benefits when it comes to helping with the discomfort of withdrawal symptoms and detoxification. That is why alcohol detox and alcohol withdrawal treatment is administered by medical professionals.

Studies found that up to 50% of individuals with spinal injuries, orthopedic injuries, and traumatic brain injuries indulged in heavy drinking. The ease with which alcohol can be legally obtained greatly contributes to this problem. Many of the effects of drinking every day can be reversed through early intervention but become harder to treat with time. It’s critical to recognize alcohol abuse and treat alcoholism as early as possible to avoid irreversible damage to the brain and body. What is even sadder is that many of these people will not receive the help they need. The good news is that most people with an alcohol use disorder will benefit from treatment.

Yes, the recovery home discriminated against Sofia under the ADA because she wasn’t allowed to take her medication while participating in the treatment program. Sofia is considered a person with a disability because she has anxiety, depression, and addiction to alcohol, which are mental impairments that substantially limit Sofia’s major life activity of caring for herself. She must be allowed to participate in the recovery program while she continues to take the Gabapentin. During public health emergencies, including the COVID-19 pandemic, enhanced mental health and substance use screening among adults with disabilities and improved access to related health care services are critical.

Ways Insurance Companies Try to Deny Claims Involving Substance Use

People should always seek out a professional evaluation since not all levels of treatment are appropriate for all people. We surveyed 2,136 American adults who either wanted to stop drinking alcohol or had already tried to (successfully or not). We asked them about their alcohol use, reasons for drinking, alcohol-related outcomes, health and more. A subset of the study’s respondents (47.1%) qualified as heavy alcohol users.

Intensive outpatient care could involve several hours of treatment several times per week to offer more support to people in need. Drinking alcohol every day can have serious consequences for a person’s mental and physical health, both in the short- and long-term. Alcohol has complex effects in the body and can affect multiple organs and systems like the heart, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, vasculature system, and liver. There are different short- and long-term consequences for each of these systems. These problem drinkers are able to keep their careers or home lives together as they continue with their alcohol abuse. High-functioning alcoholics might be successful in business or pillars of the community, but they drink enough to have an alcohol dependence and often conceal how much they truly consume.

• Note that the SSA excludes caffeine addiction and nicotine addiction from its definition of DAA, so drinking coffee or smoking cigarettes won’t necessarily rule out your application.
• Your individual or group long-term disability insurer may severely limit substance abuse benefits, but many addictions arise from underlying conditions.
• Individuals with disabilities are more likely to be unemployed; disabled adults 25 and older are less likely to have completed high school and more likely to live in poverty.
• Treating physicians can over-prescribe opioids instead of treating underlying pain, even if it means surgery.
• In

  Williams v. Widnall, 79 F.3d 1003 (10th Cir. 1996), it was held that an

  employer lawfully fired an employee because of his threatening conduct, even

  though the conduct may have been a result of alcoholism.

In legal terms, if the finding of substance addition is MATERIAL to the finidng of disability, benefits are not awarded. At Bryant Legal Group, our disability insurance lawyers have decades of experience handling claims involving substance use disorders. We apply this experience on behalf of our clients with the goal of supporting their ongoing recovery. Unlike the Social Security Administration, which will not cover substance use if it’s material to your disability, you may be eligible for employer-funded or private long-term disability benefits. For example, many insurance companies limit LTD benefits for substance use disorder to two years of benefit payments. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, approximately 19.7 million people (aged 12 and above) struggle with some form of substance use, including addictions to alcohol, opioids, prescription medications, and illicit drugs.

Lifetime Consequences of Substance Abuse and Addiction

If you or a loved one struggles with alcohol addiction, help is available. The most important step to recovering from alcohol addiction is seeking treatment. The caring team members at The Recovery Village understand how difficult it is to take the first step of getting help. Overall, longer periods of treatment tend to be more helpful than shorter services. With addiction treatment, it is vital to keep the process going after rehab. People who successfully complete a period of inpatient or residential care should seamlessly transition to outpatient care with a strong aftercare plan.

Back due benefits and ongoing monthly payments will be sent to your representative, who is expected to manage the money on your behalf. People with fewer symptoms or additional responsibilities at home or work may opt for outpatient or telehealth offerings to limit the life disruption. These programs offer tremendous flexibility to assess and address each person’s addiction. Treatments must be intensive enough to meet the client’s needs without being overly restrictive or burdensome, so typically a person with frequently excessive drinking will need higher care. The Recovery Village discovered that heavy drinkers were 2.42 times more likely to attend inpatient or residential rehab than any other treatment program, most likely due to the increased needs involved with heavy alcohol use.

Alcohol Dependence, or Physical Dependence

Your individual or group long-term disability insurance company may also wrongfully deny benefits for an otherwise qualifying disability if you’ve struggled with a substance abuse disorder in the past. Your individual or group long-term disability insurer may attempt to attribute any disabling illness or injury to your look back period for preexisting conditions and then wrongfully deny you benefits. A person with social anxiety, for example, may begin drinking alcohol as a negative coping skill to reduce symptoms.

To counter these arguments, you’ll need help from an experienced disability lawyer who understands how to interpret long-term disability policies, evaluate substance use claims, and analyze your complex medical history. You may experience cravings even after completing rehabilitation because drug abuse can permanently change your brain chemistry. You’re physically motivated to continue engaging in rewarding behaviors even if the reward is only temporary and ultimately destructive. The surges you get in your brain’s reward center when you take a drug encourages further abuse and deeper addiction.

JAN Publications & Articles Regarding Drug Addiction

Strong opioid drugs like oxycodone stimulate tolerance in certain people, who will continually need higher-dose pain medication to relieve their symptoms. Soon, you find that two pills don’t have the desired effect or manage your pain. Substance abuse can be grounds for disability benefits, but the eligibility for such benefits will depend on the specific circumstances and the rules of the disability program in question. Ongoing addiction treatment can help to minimize relapses and establish longer periods of recovery. Outpatient care involves treatments that allow the person to live at home, work and maintain other routines while attending care. Rather than living at the treatment center, the person will attend their appointment and then return home.

They may have several questions about treatments, medications, and disability services. Contact a treatment provider today to inquire about various treatment plans. Examine your options for faith-based treatments, holistic-based treatments, and peer groups today. Explore the many ways rehab https://sober-house.org/ can help you restore your life to one of health and happiness. Numbers of individuals with physical disabilities and alcoholism remain high. The combination of emotional and physical frustrations can greatly contribute to lowered moods and a tendency to self-medicate with alcohol.

Psychological Signs of Alcohol Abuse

Second, because the surveys were English-language only and data were obtained using nonprobability–based sampling, despite quota sampling and survey weighting, the findings from this nonrandom sample might not be generalizable. If you’re dependent on drugs and you have other physical or mental impairments, you might be able to receive disability benefits—under certain conditions. You can get disability benefits for any of a hundred impairments if you meet the SSA’s stringent requirements for them.However, if the Social Security Administration finds that your drug dependence is actively contributing eco sober house complaints to your disability, you won’t get benefits. Technically, the SSA will determine whether your drug addiction is a “contributing factor material to the determination of disability.” Adults with disabilities have been disproportionately affected by adverse mental health symptoms and substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the importance of improved access to treatment for this population. You can’t receive Social Security disability benefits (SSDI or SSI) based on drug addiction alone (since a rule change in 1996), even if your dependence on drugs makes it impossible for you to work.

For example, the half-way house doesn’t dispense any medications, so requiring the staff to dispense Suboxone would fundamentally change their operations. However, the half-way house could allow Jason to leave each day only to receive Suboxone at a treatment center. It’s important to note that people in recovery may have other disabilities requiring accommodations, such as providing a sign language interpreter for a Deaf participant or providing materials in an alternative format for someone with a vision disability. Recovery homes and half-way housing are examples of housing options that are covered under the ADA. Other housing, like half-way houses, serve people who are on probation, some of whom have addictions. Often staff of housing programs refuse to admit people who take medication prescribed to treat their substance use disorders, even if they are required to live there while on probation.

Can You Get Disability for Drug Addiction?

So if drug addiction is your only impairment, you won’t qualify for disability benefits. And in fact, if you’re addicted to and using drugs, it can prevent you from getting disability benefits for other impairments as well. However, if you’ve stopped taking drugs and the Social Security Administration (SSA) believes you’re in recovery, you should be able to get disability benefits for drug-related damage and other impairments.

• A subset of the study’s respondents (47.1%) qualified as heavy alcohol users.
• The court noted, It is one

  thing to say that further treatment made medical sense, and quite another to

  say that the law required the company to retain [the employee] through a

  succession of efforts.

• If you win your claim for disability but the SSA believes you’re still struggling with substance abuse, the agency might require that you have a representative payee.
• It is important to understand that individuals who suffer from Drug Addictions need ongoing treatment in order to maintain abstinence from the drug they are addicted to.
• However, the addiction can be managed with psychotherapy, withdrawal therapy and prescription medications that can alleviate the withdrawal symptoms an addict may suffer.

If a person is prescribed medication to treat a substance use disorder, the ADA and/or the Fair Housing Act may require housing programs to admit the individual. The ADA also requires that state-funded housing provide “reasonable modifications” to individuals with disabilities, including those in recovery. Your individual or group long-term disability insurer may severely limit substance abuse benefits, but many addictions arise from underlying conditions. Injuries related to traumatic car accidents, nerve damage, spinal injuries, fractures, and compartment syndrome can all cause extreme pain. Treating physicians can over-prescribe opioids instead of treating underlying pain, even if it means surgery. Your individual or group long-term disability benefits may provide post-surgical benefits.

Those who are approved for needs-based SSI disability benefits will automatically be eligible to receive Medicaid. Those who are approved for work-based SSD benefits may be eligible for Medicare benefits after two years. The SSA cannot refuse to pay benefits to someone with a substance addiction disorder if they are actively abusing drugs or alcohol – as long as the qualifying condition will remain. In order to determine this, a drug and alcohol addiction (DAA) evaluation is conducted to gauge the permanency of the disability. Individuals with disabilities are more likely to be unemployed; disabled adults 25 and older are less likely to have completed high school and more likely to live in poverty.

It only takes one potent overdose of an illegal substance to become a fatality. Addiction often begins with a car accident or back injury for which you need prescription medication. It continues with substance misuse, leading to tolerance, dependence, and ultimately an addiction disorder. Orange County, California, is densely developed, home to nearly 3.2 million people—which makes it more populous than almost one-third of U.S. states.