Once an application and disability report are completed those documents are sent in to your local district office where a determination of eligibility is made. This office does not decide whether or not you are disabled. Even if you are disabled, you won’t received benefits if you don’t qualify non-medically. In order to qualify for Social Security disability you must have enough work credits in the last 10 years (20 work credits, meaning you must have worked about half of the time in the last 10 years). If you don’t have enough work the only other federal program available is SSI (supplemental security income), which is determined based on income and assets.
If you qualify nonmedically, your claim will be sent to a DDS or Disability Determination Services office. This office will make the determination of disability. One of the main factors this office will use to decide if you are disabled or not is your medical records. It is difficult to refute several doctors claiming disability for a long period of time. If there is only one doctor seen very infrequently, or no doctor, it will be a difficult case to win. If you have not seen any doctors, the Social Security office will many times schedule a consultative exam at their expense for you to be able to see a doctor.
If your claim is approved, your benefits will be calculated and you will start receiving checks. It normally takes around 6 months for a decision to be made at this level. If your claim is denied then you have 60 days to make an appeal. Most states will have the DDS review the claim again before it goes to a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). If your claim does go to a hearing you will probably have been waiting between 2 and 3 years from the time you filed your application.
Generally, if you qualify for SSI or Social Security disability (DIB) benefits, you will also receive Medicaid or Medicare benefits.