425-1        DEFINITION OF BLINDNESS/DISABILITY

For APA purposes, a blind or disabled individual must meet the following definitions of blindness or disability:

1. Blindness

A person is blind if his or her vision, with the use of a correcting lens, is 20/200 or less in the better eye.  A person who has tunnel vision of 20 degrees or less in the better eye is also considered blind.

2. Disability

A person is disabled if he or she is unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity (SGA Substantial Gainful Activity) because of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment other than drug or alcohol addiction.  This impairment must have lasted, or be expected to last, for a continuous period of at least 12 months, or be expected to end in death.

“Substantial gainful activity (SGA)” means that the individual’s own average monthly earned income is at least the amount shown in Addendum 1.  This amount changes every year.  When making an SGA determination, impairment related work expenses (IRWE) and the amount of subsidized earning provided by an employer must be subtracted from the individual’s earned income.  No other deductions are allowed.  

“Subsidized earnings” means the amount of earned income an individual receives that exceeds the value of the work performed.  If a case worker believes that an individual may be receiving subsidized earnings, the amount of the subsidized earning must be verified by the employer.

Refer to manual section 442-2G for policy on impairment related work expenses.  Refer to section 425-2D for more information about SGA Substantial Gainful Activity determinations.

3. Grandfathered individuals

Persons who received Aid to the Permanently Disabled or Aid to the Blind in December, 1973, and who have received benefits continuously since then, are blind or disabled if they still meet the definition of blindness or disability that was in effect in December, 1973.