Atticus offers free, high-quality disability advice for Americans who can't work. Our team of Stanford and Harvard trained lawyers has a combined 15+ years of legal experience, and have helped over 10,000 Americans apply for disability benefits.
Why trust us?If you are applying for Social Security disability benefits, medical evidence is a crucial part of your application. This “evidence” consists of records and treatment notes from your doctors — anything that can help show an official diagnosis, prove your limitations, and demonstrate the severity of your condition. And the best way to get this evidence is by regularly seeing doctors for medical care.
Technically, you’re free to apply for disability even if you don’t have health insurance. However, if you aren’t receiving regular medical treatment, it will be much more challenging to show the Social Security Administration (SSA) why you need benefits.
Take a look at what you need to know about how to get disability without insurance.
Technically, disability applicants are not required to have health insurance coverage. Your health insurance status does not determine your eligibility for SSDI or SSI.
However, if you’re applying for disability benefits, it’s crucial to have medical evidence that proves your disability. So, it is important to be receiving some kind of medical treatment. And, of course, getting comprehensive medical care is easier and much more affordable if you have health insurance.
Yes, you can apply for disability benefits even if you don’t have a doctor you regularly see. But it’s going to be much more challenging to prove your disabling condition to the SSA. They’ll consider past medical records, but what’s most helpful is up-to-date records — doctor’s notes, treatment logs, and any test results from the past three months.
We recommend regularly seeing both a primary care provider (PCP) and at least one specialist who treats your specific condition. It’s difficult to navigate your way around how to get disability without a doctor.
If you don’t have enough medical evidence on your disability application, the SSA will likely ask you to do a consultative examination (CE). For this exam, they’ll send you to a disability examiner doctor for a brief appointment to help determine whether you meet the SSA’s definition of disability.
Consultative exams can be helpful. But in most cases, this exam won’t be enough to get Social Security disability insurance. Consultative exams tend to be quick and surface-level. What you really need for your disability claim are thorough, detailed notes from a personal doctor whom you regularly see.
Get free advice about your benefits options. Take our 2-minute quiz.If you cannot work because of a medical condition, affording health insurance premiums or paying for treatment out-of-pocket can be difficult or impossible. However, building up your medical history is crucial to secure disability benefits.
Consider the following organizations for medical treatment if you’re uninsured:
You can also speak with a social worker or the financial assistance department at a local hospital to get more ideas about where to access low-cost medical treatment and care. Some urgent care centers might offer reduced costs and affordable care for people without insurance.
In some cases, you might be able to low-cost specialist treatment at an academic medical center. To get benefits, however, working with the same doctor long-term will be most beneficial to build your disability case.
Find more ideas in our guide that shares housing, healthcare, and legal resources for people with disabilities.
A helpful tip for how to get disability without insurance is to work with a lawyer. An experienced Social Security disability lawyer will be able to help you build a timeline of your medical conditions, symptoms, and treatment history to include with your disability application. They can also recommend what medical evidence would be most helpful for your condition and the best way to obtain it. Here at Atticus, we offer free legal advice for people seeking disability. We can also introduce you to a disability lawyer if you’d like. Take our two-minute disability quiz to give us more information about your condition, and give us a call to get started.
