The new normal, “after COVID”, seems to be driving disability physicians to tighten-up their support, and the manner in which they choose to support claims, and not in a good way either.
Physicians are more cautious, skeptical, and selfish about the amount of time spent filling out disability paperwork. While physician offices are often overwhelmed with insurance paperwork, the hint or offer of assistance is most often turned down and, as a result, forms are not being completed in ways that encourage insurers to accept their credibility. In fact, physicians are taking the “shortest distance between two points” and often document “one-word answers.” This is unacceptable for private disability.
Treating physicians today have become more reluctant to document “total permanent disability” and generally only make that recommendation for the most critical of SSDI cases. In the last five years, private disability has become a Mecca for “returning to gainful employment” more so than not.
Certain groups of physicians have been infamous for not documenting total disability, namely osteopathic surgeons, and PM&R (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) MDs. Osteopathic surgeons have a distain for filling out disability paperwork after the normal surgical post-op period ends. Likewise, PM&R physicians think everyone can go back to work, after all, it’s in their job title to “rehabilitate” everyone.
Readers who have been with the blog for awhile know that I frequently say, “No medical support, no disability claim.” Without the expert medical support of at least one treating physician, there can be no successful disability claim. Just think about this for a moment while I continue.
Medical records and patient notes belong to patients. The exception, of course, is mental health, because, in contrast to what insurers want you to believe, therapy notes belong to the therapist, and it’s the therapist who decides whether to release them or not.
Unfortunately, there is a trend today, for treating physicians to hoard patient notes, and refuse to allow patients to see disability paperwork before it is faxed to insurers. Some physicians refuse to give patients completed paperwork back to forward to insurance companies themselves. Why? Is there something to hide?
In my 25 years of experience, it has been proven time and again that physicians who refuse to allow patients to review completed forms, or insist on faxing documents themselves, eventually throw their patients under the bus.I can only write about my experiences with physicians who won’t be transparent, even when insureds tell me, “Oh no, I trust my doctor and he would never do something like that. He supports me entirely!” I think this statement falls in the category of, “Famous last words.”
I can’t tell you how many times treating physicians have taken doc-to-doc calls from insurers, even when patients have repeatedly said, “I do not give you permission to discuss my medical condition on the phone.” Phone conversations could be construed as HIPAA violations, and yet some physicians do it anyway.
While I’m not one to unjustifiably separate insureds from their primary care physicians, it is not advisable to remain with non-transparent physicians while receiving disability benefits. It’s just not a good fit for successful claims. In the end, physicians who refuse patient access to disability reporting paperwork and records before faxing to insurers, eventually throw their patients under the train in one way or another.
Those of you who are thinking, “Hey Linda, you’re all wet on this one”, should consider my statement, “No medical, no disability claim” before allowing treating physicians to “do their own thing.”
I began this article with the introduction “the new normal after COVID”, and unfortunately physicians are more reluctant to certify permanent disability, and/or fill out disability paperwork well. This is not the time for “generalities” when it comes to certifying disability, but treating physicians have tightened the reigns by refusing transparency of reporting.
