Can alcohol and drug addicts really get Social Security Disability benefits?
Not anymore. Congress has now prohibited Social Security from paying benefits on the basis of drug addiction or alcoholism. In a nutshell, the law states that if SSA determines that the claimant is disabled but that the drug abuse or alcoholism (DA&A) is a contributing and material factor to the claimant’s disability determination, the claimant cannot be found disabled and receive benefits. Put into simple terms, this means that the disability would not be there if the person did not abuse alcohol and/or drugs, and if the claimant stopped drinking alcohol or abusing illegal drugs, he/she would no longer be disabled. If an alcoholic or drug addict becomes disabled for reasons other than their addiction, they can become eligible for Social Security Disability benefits. For example if you have a severe back impairment, involving multiple surgeries before you were finally diagnosed with failed back syndrome, it would be silly if Social Security could find that if you stopped drinking or us