Disability insurance companies deserve high marks for intimidation of treating physicians, and, they’ve been doing it for a long time. For years, treating physicians were cooperative with insurers and basically gave in to requests to return their patients to work until it became evident their opinions were disregarded by insurance physicians who sold out to the insurance industry.
While it may have taken treating physicians several decades to catch on, they eventually realized it was a waste of their time to fill out insurance forms when their opinions were constantly challenged and have little positive weight for their patients. It was disappointing when the courts threw out the “Treating Physicians Rule” requiring insurers to use the opinions of physicians, and understandably so, treating physicians tightened their belts and toughened up.
Today, treating physicians are looking for diagnostic certainty before putting their signatures on disability medical documentation. They look for objective evidence from Functional Capacity Reports, CAT scans, X-rays, MRIs etc. But, if it doesn’t exist, treating physicians are likely to say so in their documentation, which of course, weakens the credibility of disability claims.
<p class="just"In the end, treating physicians have become more argumentative and reluctant to fill out forms making disability patients even more nervous and stressed. It's hard enough for the disabled to keep up with a near impossible chain of paperwork, much less having to deal with an arrogant doctor who gives patients grief about filling out their paperwork. Even the office nurse managers have become rude and resistant to the paperwork as well.
What some treating physicians do not realize is that it isn’t their patients’ fault. Patients are legitimately disabled by treating physicians who then refuse to support them to obtain financial assistance from their disability claims. The contradiction is that nearly all treating physicians have their own IDI policies and will need the buy-in of their own physicians in order to file claims. Good luck with that one!
So, the question is what do insureds do about it, and how do they handle their own treating physicians? What I’m about to suggest might be difficult for some readers. Having a frank and open conversation with your doctors is needed.
For example, “Dr. J., I am not able to return to work right now and my family depends on my disability benefits. I understand you might be frustrated in filling out the paperwork, but if you don’t do this, my claim will be denied and I won’t be able to pay my bills. If you cannot continue to support my claim by completing my forms, I would appreciate it if you could make a referral to another doctor who is more cooperative to helping me and my family while I’m disabled.”
If your doctor persists with his/her hesitation, insureds need to transition to other doctors who are more willing to complete the forms. In other words, take your business elsewhere, which is also often difficult for insureds to do. Doctors who give you grief over the forms are not trustworthy enough to report your restrictions and limitations accurately to an insurance company, or take the time to fill out the forms properly. I’ve seen more half-grassed medical forms completed lately than at any other time. This isn’t helpful either.
Talk to your doctor openly and frankly about what you need, why you need it, and how important it is to you and your family. If that doesn’t result in a better attitude about the forms. ask for a referral and move on. There ARE doctors out there who genuinely care about their patients and spend time filling out forms in a beneficial way. They may be few and far between, but they ARE out there.
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