Irrespective of severity of symptoms, anyone having a record of past-year illness is entitled to access mental health protection. After joining a new job, many individuals don’t hesitate to enquire about the number of sick days or availability of gym membership reimbursement. Unfortunately, most of them purse their lips or have no knowledge about disability protection benefits that they are entitled to.
According to recent statistics, forty-one million Americans have already suffered some forms of mental illness in the past year – it’s one of every five adults. Every one – patients with mental disorders in the past – has rights to enjoy special protection as per the ADA (Americans with Disability Act). Unfortunately, many people have a misconception that the protection is made available to only those with chronic or severe conditions but that’s far from reality.
Mental Health Disability Rights
Disability Protection under the ADA: Irrespective of the nature or severity of your mental illness or the time length of your suffering, you are entitled to protection under the ADA. The act makes it illegal for your employer to do any sort of discrimination against you due to your mental illness.
Extra Help: Your employer may have an employee assistance program or EAP that usually offers short-term counseling, assessment, referrals and different other services for employees struggling with issues – personal or professional.
More Mental Health Days – You may qualify for short or long-term disability insurance benefits from your employer. Whereas short-term benefits last for a few months to two years, long-term benefits pay off as long as disability lasts.
If you seek disability benefits through your employer-funded plan, you have to ask your physician for all documents that support your illness, in order to submit to your company’s disability insurance provider. Chances are there that any individual with a pre-existing condition will have his or her claim denied outright. Claims for mental disability are usually scanned meticulously. In case, your claim is rejected, you are entitled to appeal. At this point, you should consult a Cigna disability claims lawyer to decide how to proceed along a legal route.
Special Requests: The employees are entitled to “reasonable accommodation” that may include ‘work from home’, flexibility in working schedule and being assigned to a reasonable boss. You have also rights to request to be in a comfortable workplace that is free from any kind of distraction and availability of whatever you might require. But for those benefits, you must reveal your mental health condition.
Federal Aid: You are entitled to seek Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) if it’s not possible for you to work for a long period. These two are federal programs.
Compensation: If you have been dealing with severe stress or exposed to trauma at your workplace, you can expect to get coverage of wage loss and medical bills under workers compensation. How long you will continue to enjoy the compensation varies and a state agency – usually a Department of Labor or Workers’ Compensation Commission – sheds light on this matter.
If you have never worked due to your disability or have worked only intermittently as well as your assets and income is limited, SSI may offer some good help. Approval of your claim makes you qualify for Medicaid automatically.
