Even after WINNING a claim, there are unconscionable delays in the Social Security system.
Laurie Mickelberg, 49, is dying of cancer and needs Social Security disability benefits – now. However, she and thousands of others just like her, face a long waiting period and may not survive to collect.
Mickelberg is fighting stage 4 ovarian cancer medically and financially. “It’s financial implosion. Cancer is expensive,” she said. Too sick to work, she’s struggling to keep the home she hoped to pass on to her daughter and granddaughter.
“It may not be much, but it’s mine and it’s theirs and it’s all I have to give them,” she said.
Because of her disease, Mickelberg says she qualified in February to receive $1,900 a month from the Social Security Administration, but she was told she has to wait until July at the earliest before she can collect her full disability payments
“I’ve been working since I was 14 years old. I’m 49. I’ve paid into Social Security for 35 years. I won’t live to collect it,” she said.