Proving the Existence and Severity of an Impairment

The importance of having sound, medical evidence in support of the existence and severity of a claimant’s impairments is extremely important. Even the most jaded of judges has to acknowledge sound medical evidence in deciding a case.That makes it very difficult for claimant’s without health insurance or the financial resources to get medical tests and evaluations. The same applies to mental health impairments. So sometimes you have to be creative to get what you need. Utilizing free medical or community mental health clinics is one option. There are also clinics which work on a sliding scale regarding what they charge, which can be zero to a fraction of a what a private clinic would charge for the same services based on the patient\claimant’s level of income. There are also clinics now staffed by nurse practitioners which charge much less than a doctor’s office. Almost every county has a health department which offers medical services and most local hospitals participate in a federally funded program of providing free testing for those who are indigent and in need of tests they can’t afford. Finally, Vocational Rehabilitation services can sometimes get both medical evaluations as well as medical care provided to the people they serve who have this need as part of their potential rehabilitation and re-entry into the workforce, with little or no charge to the person.