If you receive a letter that states the SSA’s intention to initiate a medical review, take notice. The main thing that disqualifies you from receiving your disability benefits (cash and medical insurance) is being found to be “nondisabled” based on your medical information that is directly related to your “disability of record.”
What happens if you receive a letter from the SSA initiating a medical review before your ticket was assigned?
You may go ahead and assign your ticket to an Employment Network. However, you will still undergo a medical review. Please let your Employment Network know that you are in the process of being reviewed.
What happens if you receive a letter from the SSA initiating a medical review after your ticket was assigned?
If you receive this type of letter after you assigned your ticket within the first year, then you have received the letter in error. If you receive this type of letter in any of the years after, then it would be in error as long as you continue to meet the benchmarks of the program. In both of these situations, do not move forward until you call us. In addition, we will ask you to make a copy of the letter, and write on it that your Ticket to Work is currently “in use.” You will send that copy to the address provided.
One of the benefits of participating in the Ticket to Work program is the protection from the medical review. From the point that you assign your ticket to an Employment Network, you will automatically have a year of protection if you have never assigned your ticket to a provider previously. Your time in the Ticket to Work program whether you have one Employment Network or ten is the total time of your assignments combined. We urge you to call the Ticket to Work Help Line if you have further questions. The phone number is 1-866-YOURTICKET (1-866-968-7842 (V) or 1-866-833-2967 (TTY/TDD). After a year of participation, you will receive a Timely Progress Review. See the SSA’s timely progress guidelines here: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10062.pdf. Upon meeting the benchmarks for the Ticket to Work program each year, you will continue to have protection from the medical review. If, however, you did not meet the benchmarks, the protection will be lifted until you meet the benchmarks for the program. Please call the Ticket to Work Help Line for any specific questions related to what activities can be counted toward meeting the criteria and how long you will need to engage in the activities.
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