APOPKA, Fla. — An Apopka woman said surgery on her vocal cords has left her unable to work, but the Social Security Administration has denied her benefits.
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She has lived without money for the last eight months, lost her house, and is about to lose her car.
Krystal Darby had multiple surgeries on her vocal cords, and now she lives with a trach. She said she can’t work, talking is difficult and she needs oxygen because she has a hard time breathing.
So, Darby applied for social security disability in Feb. 2023, living off of short-term disability while she waited, but that only lasted two years.
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9 Investigates and KFF Health News has looked at issues with the Social Security Administration.
Social Security has changed some of those wait times, making them months instead of years, but they are still dealing with a backlog of hundreds of thousands of cases.
The SSA hopes to process initial disability claims within approximately seven months by the end of fiscal year 2025.
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According to the SSA, most applicants are turned down the first time they apply, with only a quarter of initial applicants approved in some years, according to data from the SSA.
But an appeal has a good chance of succeeding.
According to the government accountability office, 49% of people who filed appeals between 2008 and 2019 and whose cases were concluded within that period successfully received disability benefits.
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Darby did apply for Medicaid, but despite receiving it, she has faced challenges with that, too.
The list she received from Medicaid providers was not updated, and it seems that every time she calls a doctor, they no longer take it, which has sometimes left her with months between appointments.
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