Disability Help, in Plain Language

What Disability Help Covers and How It’s Sourced

Disability Help is an independent guide to U.S. disability benefits and rights. It’s written for people with disabilities, family caregivers, parents and veterans who need a straight answer, often on a phone and often under stress.

The site covers six areas:

• Social Security disability: SSDI and SSI, how to apply, appeals, back pay and working while on benefits.
• VA disability: ratings, 2026 pay rates, claims, TDIU and the 100 percent rating.
• Health care and services: Medicaid, Medicare, ABLE accounts and vocational rehabilitation.
• State programs: short-term disability insurance in the states that have it, plus a page for every state and Puerto Rico.
• Rights: the ADA, workplace accommodations, school support for children, housing and parking.
• Conditions: what SSA’s Listing of Impairments (the “Blue Book”) requires for each body system.

Every figure comes from an official source and carries its year. Social Security amounts come from SSA, VA rates from va.gov, and state details from the state agency’s own site. Each page lists its sources at the bottom and the date it was checked. The methodology page and editorial policy explain how pages are researched, reviewed and corrected.

Disability Help isn’t a government agency or a law firm, and it doesn’t decide claims. It explains the rules so you can deal with the agencies that do.

Every guide opens with a short answer to its main question, then the details: who qualifies, the 2026 amounts, the steps, and where to go next. Links between pages follow the questions people usually ask next, so you can move from SSDI to Medicare, or from a VA rating to your state’s benefits, without starting over.

New to Disability Benefits? Start Here

Disability programs overlap, and their names are confusing. These questions sort most people quickly:

• Did you serve in the military, and is your condition related to your service? Start with VA disability compensation. VA pays based on a disability rating that reflects how severe your service-connected conditions are.
• Have you worked and paid Social Security taxes for several years? Look at SSDI. It’s insurance you earned through work, and the disability requirements guide explains the work credits rule.
• Do you have little income and few savings? Look at SSI. It’s for people with little or no income and resources, and in most states it also opens the door to Medicaid.
• Is your condition short term, and do you live in a state with its own program? Check state disability insurance, which can pay while you recover.
• Is this about your child? See SSI for children for money and IEP vs 504 for school support.

Then use a tool to check the numbers. The eligibility screener walks through SSA’s basic tests, the SSI calculator estimates a monthly payment, and the VA combined rating calculator shows how VA combines several ratings.

If your condition is serious, look up its section on the conditions page. You’ll see what SSA’s listing requires and how claims are decided when a condition doesn’t match a listing exactly.

When to Get Official Help

You can apply for Social Security benefits yourself; the how to apply guide walks through it. Call SSA at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), or find a local office with the Social Security office finder.

Get help from someone who knows your case when:

• You’ve been denied. You have 60 days from the date you receive the notice to appeal, and SSA assumes the notice arrives 5 days after it’s mailed. The appeals guide explains each level.
• You’re filing a VA claim. VA says help from an accredited Veterans Service Organization (VSO) representative is always free. Accredited attorneys and claims agents can charge fees only after VA decides your initial claim.
• Your rights are being denied. Protection and advocacy agencies provide legal support to people with disabilities; ACL counts 57 across the states and territories. Your state page names yours.
• You want to work. Your state’s vocational rehabilitation agency helps people with disabilities prepare for and find jobs.

Watch for anyone who isn’t accredited offering to file your VA claim for a fee. VA lets you file a complaint about people who try to prepare or present VA claims without accreditation.

SSDI vs SSI in Brief

Social Security runs two disability programs. Both use the same medical definition: you can’t work at a substantial level, can’t do your past work or adjust to other work, and your condition has lasted or is expected to last 12 months or result in death. The difference is who pays in and what counts.

	SSDI	SSI
Based on	Your work record	Little or no income, and resources of $2,000 or less ($3,000 for a couple)
Work credits	40 credits, 20 earned in the last 10 years (fewer for younger workers)	None needed
2026 monthly amount	Average $1,630 for disabled workers (SSA estimate)	Up to $994 for one person, $1,491 for a couple
Waiting period	5 full months after disability starts	Starts the month after you apply or become eligible
Health coverage	Medicare after 24 months of benefits	Medicaid in most states

Many people qualify for both when their SSDI is small. The SSDI vs SSI comparison covers that case, and disability benefit amounts lists every 2026 figure. If you’re approved after a long wait, back pay explains what SSA owes you; the back pay estimator gives a rough number.

VA Disability Compensation in Brief

VA disability compensation is a monthly payment for veterans with service-connected conditions, including conditions that service made worse. VA assigns a rating from 0 to 100 in steps of 10, based on your medical evidence, a claim exam if VA needs one, and other records. The rating sets your monthly payment and your access to other VA benefits, such as health care.

If you have more than one condition, VA doesn’t add the ratings. It combines them with a “whole person” method, so two conditions rated 10% each combine to 19%, which rounds to 20%. The VA ratings guide explains the math, and the 2026 pay rates show what each rating pays with and without dependents.

To start, read how to file a VA claim. If your conditions keep you from working, read about TDIU, VA’s individual unemployability benefit.

State Programs That Add to Federal Benefits

Federal programs set the floor; your state adds to it. Depending on where you live, you may find:

• Short-term disability insurance in states such as California, New Jersey and New York.
• An SSI state supplement on top of the federal SSI payment.
• Medicaid buy-ins and waivers that let you work or get care at home.
• An ABLE program for tax-advantaged savings.
• A vocational rehabilitation agency and a protection and advocacy agency.
• The disability parking placard form and agency.

Health coverage depends on your state too. In the District of Columbia and 34 states, SSA’s SSI approval also settles Medicaid. In the other states you apply to the state Medicaid agency, and eight of them use at least one rule stricter than SSI’s. The Medicaid guide lists which group your state is in.

Each state page brings these together. Puerto Rico has its own page because SSI isn’t paid there.

Your Rights at Work, School, Home and on the Road

Benefits pay the bills; civil rights laws protect your access to everyday life. The ADA prohibits disability discrimination by employers with 15 or more workers, state and local governments, and businesses open to the public. Because it’s a law and not a benefit program, you don’t apply for it.

• At work: employers with 15 or more employees must give you an equal opportunity in hiring, pay, promotions and training. The workplace accommodations guide covers asking for changes that help you do the job.
• At school: children with disabilities may get an IEP or a 504 plan. Start with what is an IEP or what is a 504 plan.
• At home: the Fair Housing Act covers many types of public and private housing. See disability housing rights.
• On the road: the disability parking placard guide lists every state’s form.
• Everywhere else: ADA rights explains which places the law covers and where to file a complaint.

If you care for a family member with a disability, the paid family caregivers guide explains when Medicaid or VA can pay you.