Lavonne BAXTER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Louis SULLIVAN, M.D., Secretary of Health and Human Services, Defendant-Appellee
Opinion
Opinion
Pregerson, J.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services denied Lavonne Baxter’s application for disability insurance benefits. The district court affirmed the decision of the Secretary, and Baxter filed this timely appeal. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (1982). We reverse.
BACKGROUND
Except for an unsuccessful three-month attempt to resume working in 1985-86, Lavonne Baxter has been unemployed since January 1982. In June 1986, she filed for benefits under Title II and Title XVI of the Social Security Act. She initially asserted that she had been unable to work since February, 1986, due to bronchitis, emphysema and asthma. She successfully established that she was disabled as of June 1, 1986. Although she therefore met the medical qualifications for receiving Supplemental Security Income payments under the provisions of Title XVI, her husband’s income rendered her ineligible for the benefits of that need-based program.
Eligibility for disability insurance benefits under Title II, however, does not depend on income. But Baxter’s initial application for Title II benefits foundered when it became clear that she was insured only until June 30, 1982. Baxter then amended her claim and…