Disability Terms and Definitions

Auxiliary Aids and Services Devices or services that accommodate a functional limitation of a person with a communication disability. Medicare (SSDI) Two-part health insurance program for eligible disabled individuals and people age 65 or older Indexing Indexing is designed to provide some protection against inflation. After the first year of disability, a disabled employee's pre-disability earnings are usually increased (or indexed) by a certain percentage on an annual basis. Outcome Payment System The system providing a payments under the Ticket to Work program to an employment network for each month, up to a total of 60 months, during which Social Security disability benefits and Federal SSI cash benefits are not payable to a beneficiary because of the performance of substantial gainful activity (SGA) or by reason of earnings from work. IDEA Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Mental disorder In DSM-III, a mental disorder is conceptualized as a clinically significant behavioral or psychologic syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual and that typically is associated with either a painful symptom (distress) or impairment in one or more important areas of functioning (disability). Mandatory Supplementation The supplementary payments that are made only to beneficiaries who were converted to the SSI program from former State assistance programs at the inception of the SSI program. Supplemental Security Income (SSI): A cash benefit authorized by Title 16 of the federal Social Security Act. Eligibility and benefits are administered by the federal Social Security Administration at field offices throughout each state. Impairment-Related Work Expenses (IRWE) The provision that permits the exclusion from earnings of the costs of items and services which are needed in order for a disabled individual to work, which are paid for by the individual, and which are necessarily incurred by that individual because of a physical or mental impairment. Cost-of-living adjustments Each January, your benefits will increase automatically if the cost of living has gone up. For example, if the cost of living has increased by 2 percent, your benefits also will increase by 2 percent.

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	Did You Know?
	Certificate of Need (CON) is issued to health care providers Is a certificate issued by a government body to a health care provider who is proposing to construct, modify, or expand facilities, or to offer new or different types of health services. CON is intended to prevent duplication of services and overbedding. The certificate signifies that the change has been approved.