How to Obtain Medical Records if You Cannot Afford Medical Treatment

Are you thinking about applying for Social Security Disability? You must know that SSA relies on a medical diagnosis and objective, clinical findings to make a determination on all disability applications. The Disability Examiner uses your medical records to apply SSA’s rules and regulations to determine if you meet the criteria.

But what does that mean? No worries, I can translate.

This means that Disability Examiners (the person that makes a determination on your disability application), cannot rely on what you tell them. They must look at the medical testing results, the physician’s diagnosis, and the severity of your documented complaints (symptoms).

Your medical records are the key to getting awarded financial and medical benefits.

But, what should you do if you are unable to afford medical treatment and prescription medications? You will not have medical records if you are not going to the doctor.

Well, friends, this is a tricky and unfortunate situation. I will go further with my suggestions and I will not rely on the obvious, "Have you applied for Medicaid?"

If you have NOT applied for Medicaid — please complete you online applications after you finish reading this post.

Depending on where you live, you may not be eligible for Medicaid, so we will discuss other options.

You have been out of work, you are uninsured, and medical treatment is awfully expensive!

What should you do?

I will discuss the most common solutions I have observed.

Consultative Exam

If you do not have a complete medical record, Disability Determination Services (DDS) will order a consultative exam (CE) to get a medical opinion on your claim. In other words, DDS will order a CE when the adjudicator is unable to make a proper determination based on the information within your claim of evidence.

Before you get too excited, a CE is not always helpful in your application for disability benefits. Since this post is not about CE's, I will touch on the most harmful result of a CE and then we will move on.

Please Do Not Malinger

I get it. You need a disability approval.

Maybe, you are experiencing a good day as opposed to an average or bad day. You may exaggerate your symptoms to reflect how you normally feel.

That is not a good plan!

A physician is trained to spot an exaggeration of symptoms (malingering). The exam consists of a series of tests that are self-checking. This means that if your results are inconsistent — then your exam is noted as unreliable because the patient was malingering.

A notation of malingering can be argued away, but let's try to keep the negative claim aspects to a minimum.

You already have a sparse medical file, so you need to be sure that you are presented as credible as possible. You can achieve credibility by putting forth your best effort at the exam.

If your symptoms are good today — inform the physician. Be sure to mention that on a bad day your symptoms make you feel like ... and then fully explain your normal symptoms. Do not worry if the physician does not listen to you.

Your job is to put forth your best effort. Unbound Disability Claims can address incomplete exam findings during the claim analysis.

Emergency Rooms and Clinics

The easiest option is to utilize emergency rooms and clinics to show that you are exhausting all efforts to get the treatment that you need. You may not receive a full work-up and this option may not provide you with a complete medical record, but it will show a history of consistent and subjective complaints. The records will also show a possible diagnosis.

Again, do not exaggerate your symptoms when speaking to the medical staff. You need credible records.

Free and Reduced Fee Prescription Programs

You went to an emergency room or a clinic and you received a prescription. Now what? How can you afford the prescription if you do not have insurance?

Ask the physician if they offer free samples or if there are any programs for free medications or reduced fees. You can also speak with the pharmacist to see if there are any coupons or programs available for your prescription.

Mark Cuban from Shark Tank created Cost Plus Drugs. This program is AMAZING because of the low-cost for commonly prescribed medications. This is a great option!

If I need to go to a pharmacy, I always ask the pharmacy technician if there are coupons available when I drop off my prescription. Most of the time, the pharmacy technician is more than happy to assist with my request, and I have saved a considerable amount of money.

Contact a local physician to see if you can work out payment arrangements.

This may be a stretch but contact independent physicians in your area and ask to speak to someone in financial services.

• State that you need treatment and you have applied for Social Security Disability (SSD)

• Explain that you are unable to work due to your symptoms

• Be sure to mention that you will have access to financial and medical benefits once you are awarded SSD benefits

If the physician is unable to work with you — ask if they are aware of any indigent programs in your area that can help you.

Indigent Programs

I mentioned this in the last point, but I want to dive deeper. You are not working due to your medical impairment and you do not have the funds needed for medical treatment. That would make you an excellent candidate for indigent programs.

Contact the hospitals, clinics, health departments, and Medicaid offices in your area and ask if they are aware of any indigent programs close to you.

If you have a non-profit hospital in your area, they may offer free or reduced medical care for patients that meet the financial requirements. If you are reading this article — you are likely eligible for the programs offered!

Ask Social Security Disability Experts for treatment options

My prior applicants are extremely resourceful! I was always surprised by the programs that they discovered. When that happens, I add it to a spreadsheet of possible solutions for my network.

A lot of these programs vary from community to community, so they may not be applicable to everyone. But it is helpful to see what has worked for others that are in a similar situation.

Do you have any other tips or suggestions? We would LOVE to hear them! Please share in the comments.