Chronic Anemia

How to Get Disability Benefits for Chronic Anemia by Meeting a Listing

To determine whether you are disabled at Step 3 of the Sequential Evaluation Process, the Social Security Administration will consider whether your chronic anemia is severe enough to meet or equal the chronic anemia listing. The Social Security Administration has developed rules called Listing of Impairments for most common impairments. The listing for a particular impairment describes a degree of severity that Social Security Administration presumes would prevent a person from performing substantial work. If your chronic anemia is severe enough to meet or equal the listing, you will be considered disabled.

The listing for chronic anemia is listing 7.02, which has two parts, A and B. To meet the listing you must satisfy either part A or B despite treatment. To satisfy either of the two parts of the chronic anemia listing, you must demonstrate a minimum of 2 hematocrits of 30 percent or less for at least three months.

Meeting Social Security Administration Listing 7.02A for Chronic Anemia

You will meet listing 7.02A if you have chronic anemia that requires of one or more blood transfusions on an average of at least once every 2 months.

These transfusions do not have to be whole blood. Most transfusions in medicine are not whole blood, but rather packed red cells. There is no reason to overload most anemia patients with extra plasma fluid volume that they do not need, and which could even be harmful (as in individuals with congestive heart failure).

Meeting Social Security Administration Listing 7.02B for Chronic Anemia

You will meet listing 7.02B if you have medically documented findings of functional impairment caused by your chronic anemia. Impairment caused by anemia should be evaluated according to the ability of the individual to adjust to the reduced oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. A gradual reduction in red cell mass, even to very low values, is often well tolerated in individuals with a healthy cardiovascular system. This is just a reminder to use whatever other Listing is appropriate to evaluate the severity of your impairment.

Medically acceptable imaging includes, but is not limited to, x-ray imaging, computerized axial tomography (CAT scan) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with or without contrast material, myelography, and radionuclear bone scans.

Continue to Residual Functional Capacity Assessment for Chronic Anemia.

Go back to About Chronic Anemia and Disability.