Hi, I am new here as a caregiver but I can tell you about the LTD benefits. My husband has just been approved for them.
This is how it went. At his job he paid into short term disability, so he collected that money after showing proof (i.e., medical records, etc). When that ran out, his company had long term disability for him(from the same insurance company). Unfortunately, it is a very time consuming process.
He had to go thru many tests-nerve conduction, MRIs, breathing, strength, CAT scans, doctor appt after doctor appt so they could rule out everything else and come up with the ALS diagnosis. After going thru all those hoops, the diagnosing doctor wrote him up as disabled and eligible for the long term benefits. Now, the long term insurance benefits require us to apply for government disability benefits and sent us info for a disability lawyer to take over for us. I hear it is very hard to get government benefits, so we will probably go with the lawyer.
I hope this helps. Its a lot of running around and stress and worry but it's what has to be done.