Re: disability questions

[Guest guest]

Hi, Rose! I'm going for short-term disability (I think). I'm a teacher and

expect to be out for two semesters -- or possibly 3 or 4 (which would be 1 to

2 years). I'm so unknowledgable about this disability stuff that I don't

know when " short-term " becomes long-term -- or even what I applied for. I

just filled out the forms, sent my records and labs and jumped through the

hoops with my employer. This was all in July; Fortis claims they did not

receive claim until Aug. 12th. It's now Sept. 22nd. Am I being unreasonably

impatient? Can you or anyone else clear this up for me? Yes, my carrier

(through my school) is Fortis -- out in Kansas City. I'm scared because all

my labs were neg. but my doc. used Burrascano's guidelines and his own

research and within hours of going on Biaxin and Plaquenil I had major herx

reaction, which to his mind confirmed the dx. of lyme.

Thanks for any info about Fortis you or anyone else can give me. Best,

Charlotte

[Guest guest]

Hi Charlotte,I know we talked about this before, but since you are in the teaching profession, that may change things. In private industry, the company you work for usually handles your short-term disability (covering the first 6 months of a disability) under your company insurance plan. IF you elected to take long-term disability coverage as an additional part of your insurance package, then it goes into effect after 6 months of disability. In private industry, you are usually terminated after 6 months if you are not well enough to return. If you didn't elect long-term disability coverage, then you are out of luck and have to rely on SSDI, which won't go into effect until you've been sick for a year.

It would seem by your post that schools handle it differently, so I have no experience with that scenario. I know Fortis offers ordinary insurance, which I didn't have, and long-term disability coverage, which I DO have. I have heard that their regular insurance plan isn't too good, but my experience with them as a long-term disability carrier has been very good -- so far, anyway.

My short-term disability (and ', also) was handled by our company on a month-to-month basis. Meaning, disability was reviewed and approved each month. After 6 months, we had to apply for long-term disability benefits, which took about 30 days to be approved.

I wish you good luck. Hope I didn't confuse things more. I would get on the phone with your Fortis representative in Kansas City and ask them about the status. You should have a person to contact that is assigned to your case. I did, anyway, and he was always very helpful whenever I had questions.

Love ya, Rose in Texas

CHBasset@... wrote:

Hi, Rose! I'm going for short-term disability (I think). I'm a teacher and expect to be out for two semesters -- or possibly 3 or 4 (which would be 1 to 2 years). I'm so unknowledgable about this disability stuff that I don't know when "short-term" becomes long-term -- or even what I applied for. I just filled out the forms, sent my records and labs and jumped through the hoops with my employer. This was all in July; Fortis claims they did not receive claim until Aug. 12th. It's now Sept. 22nd. Am I being unreasonably impatient? Can you or anyone else clear this up for me? Yes, my carrier (through my school) is Fortis -- out in Kansas City. I'm scared because all my labs were neg. but my doc. used Burrascano's guidelines and his own research and within hours of going on Biaxin and Plaquenil I had major herx reaction, which to his mind confirmed the dx. of lyme. Thanks for any info about Fortis you or anyone else can give me. Best, CharlotteMany thanks to our founder and friend, Marta McCoy, for making what it is today.Easy Reference:Send a blank email message to: -Subscribeegroups - Subscribe to the list through email -Unsubscribeegroups - Unsubscribe from the list -Digestegroups - Switch your subscription to a digest format -Normalegroups - Switch your subscription to normalPlease send messages not related to Lyme disease to -OfftopicegroupsArchives can be accessed at lyme-aidPlease visit the sister site athttp://clubs./clubs/lymeaidThis is the primary chat site for .The "RoseWriter" says "Teach Tolerance, Overcome Ignorance, Advocate Lyme Literacy." See http://www.angelfire.com/tx3/RoseWriter/ or http://www.angelfire.com/biz/romarkaraoke/james.html for our personal stories, links to research articles, websites, & current Lyme info.

[Guest guest]

Hi, Rose -- thanks for the infor re: disability and Fortis. You may have

just read my previous post -- I'm not having such luck with them, but I think

it's for long-term disability (because I plan to be out the whole school

year, which would be longer than six mos.). Perhaps that is why it is taking

so long. I'm not so sure why they are so disorganized, though. My physician

is actually quite angry with them. Ah well, it feels good to dump it all in

the lawyer's lap. AND to have this group. Best, Charlotte

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/24/00 8:13:06 PM Central Daylight Time, CHBasset@...

writes:

<< This was all in July; Fortis claims they did not

receive claim until Aug. 12th. It's now Sept. 22nd. Am I being

unreasonably

impatient? >>

No, you are being reasonably patient

I am on another newsgroup list called DISINISSUES which deals strictly with

Social Security and private disability issues. Though UNUM/Provident is

considered the most devious of the disability carriers, Fortis is mentioned

quite regularly.

For your own sake, you should realize you are in an adversarial position

already. Disability companies are notorious for " losing " records, claims,

medical records, etc. Amazingly enough, they will also " lose " anything that

you mail them on a regular basis. The US Mail does not work very well with

correspondence to and from a disability carrier , for some strange reason.

You should send anything certified, signed receipt and keep copies of all

correspondence, envelopes included. I hate to tell you but you are now in a

position where you have to realize that the disability carrier sees you as a

liability and will do *anything* to discredit and foil your attempts to gain

your disability benefits.

And please understand....I am not being paranoid...I am only going from past

and present experience and those of many others I have read about.

[Guest guest]

This is a response to an e-mail sent by golfdawg on 9/27. Is UNUM really

considered so

devious? They took over my disability carrier (originally Revere, then

Provident,

now UNUM) and have not given me any problem to date. I send in a claim form

every month

by regular mail and never had a problem. Perhaps this is because my claim was

approved

prior to the takeover by UNUM. But it was Provident by then. I hope your note

isn't a

warning of what's to come, but I appreciate your honest input.

Eileen, NJ

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/29/00 10:51:39 PM Central Daylight Time,

emci@... writes:

<< Is UNUM really considered so

devious? >>

UNUM/Provident is the largest disability carrier by far in the US. So

whatever they decide policy-wise is usually followed by the other disability

carriers. There have been so many problems with claims being paid that class

action suits have been formed.

Not to scare you, but you should be forewarned and be prepared if they

contact you to conduct additonal testing, psych testing, ask for additional

information, etc. This probably means that have spotted your case as one

they think they can stop paying benefits on.

So the sky isn't falling yet but you should be prepared.

[Guest guest]

Thanks (I don't know your name and I hate to call you golfdawg), but I think

I'll be

okay with the documentation. If I stopped getting that I'd have to go live with

my

mother and I don't think she'd be too happy. My original policy is with

Revere, and

it's a special occupation only policy that they don't even write anymore. I'm

sure

they'd love to bump me off the rolls.

Eileen

[Guest guest]

Penny:I had to respond....It took me 4 years to get

the the judge...he approved my case in April....now I

am told he has 90 days to forward it to SS....they

have 60-90 days...so you can be looking at 5

years....they as in my case sometimes back date

it...but one thing I do know a letter from your doc

saying in detail what you can and cant do makes a big

diferrence...I know Lynn(MEMOM) just went through it

also...so maybe she can shed some more light on the

subject....I was told my case would be easy to win it

is just getting to the judge...because standard

procedure is to deny first two claims....Good

Luck..Kathi in OK

--- icu2tv2001 <edensmom2@...> wrote:

> Thanks for all the web address, I have alot of

> reading to do this

> weekend. My husband is very fearful of starting

> this, he keeps

> hearing horror stories from people that it takes 5

> years to get

> social sec. benefits...Im praying for guidance on

> this one.

> thanks again

> penny

>

>

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 6/27/2002 12:09:12 AM Central Daylight Time,

edensmom2@... writes:

> Thanks for all the web address, I have alot of reading to do this

> weekend. My husband is very fearful of starting this, he keeps

> hearing horror stories from people that it takes 5 years to get

> social sec. benefits...Im praying for guidance on this one.

> thanks again

> penny

>

Penny, It seems to me that it's better to start working on it when your sick

enough to qualify, but not too sick to be able to do all the work to get it!

The best thing to do is get a lawyer to start with that specializes in Social

Security - they don't get paid unless you are awarded SS and then only based

on your back payments from SS. It took me about eight months from the first

paperwork to the first check. I have Systemic Lupus and couldn't work

anymore. The next thing is to make sure the doctor(s) that you see document,

document, document EVERYTHING right down to the last ache, pain, headache,

etc..... I did the first paperwork myself and SS turned me down. I

immediately got a lawyer and never had to appeal again. Good Luck, it's

hard, but if you're sick and in pain you have to try at some point. Alice

in Texas

[Guest guest]

it only took me 6 mos.so it all just depends. i got it while still on short

term disability from my company. my company is questioning the fact that i

got it so quick. we are still waiting for an answer to my appeal. i should

hear something by the 5th of july. kathy in il

[Guest guest]

Hi Penny,

I just received ssd and it was a long battle. For me it was 6 years but

understand my file was lost for 17 months. It seems it has been all over the

country. When I was approved the judge made the payments retroactive back

four years. So I will be getting monthly payments plus a settlement for the

four years. Also my medicare went right into effect. Actually I have been

told to get all the doctor bills I have paid over the last two years and I

will get the money back. Was it worth it? Well I know I can't work and this

is something I paid into. I think because so many people try to get ssd they

have to take their time and be sure you need it. It was a long frustrating

battle but worth it. I would do it again. The best advise I can give you is

to get a social security lawyer and let him handle things. Read up on the

process and expect to get turned down a few times. That is the way it is

unless you are one of the very lucky ones who gets approved right away. My

court hearing lasted less than five minutes, I never had to say a word. Make

sure your doctors all agree you can't work and go for it. But do get a

lawyer right away it may shorten your wait. If I can be of any help please

let me know. The sooner you start the better. I will say again it is

frustrating but if you need to do this than by all means it is worth it. At

least now I know I have an income and insurance.

Lynn (MeMom)

icu2tv2001 wrote:

> Thanks for all the web address, I have alot of reading to do this

> weekend. My husband is very fearful of starting this, he keeps

> hearing horror stories from people that it takes 5 years to get

> social sec. benefits...Im praying for guidance on this one.

> thanks again

> penny

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Penny, It is a frustrating process to go for SS. But most lawyers who

specialize in these cases will tell you their protocol....usually you must be

denied 2x before they will take your case .Then there is a set amount they

can only charge you. I, too, had my file " lost " by SS for a little over a

year. I am in AZ and it went to Wash DC, OK, Indianpolis, to name a few

places.I filed on my own the day I left my Rd's office with a dx. I think

that was bad.....cos I had the people at SS help me fill out the papers in

their office. There are people who work for some community disability

organizations who can help for free so you can get the wording just right.

For me I filed in 3/96 and I got approved in 12/98 in a 10 min hearing and

money was back paid till 5/95.Rec'd monies deposited into my checking acct in

Feb 99. I also was covered by Medicare immediately...I had to get a 2nd

lawyer (never had to pay for first , and he gave me a free copy of my file

upon discharging me...he felt cos they " lost " case it would have to be

altered to proceed..)....my next lawyer was across the hall and changed my

date of onset by 3 months ...bingo I got it.....oh, and yes, my lawyer wants

a letter from a doctor who will support the idea of you not being able to

work along with the 2 denials. It is worth it for a lawyer...they wont take

it unless they will win cos they get paid from settlement. Judy in AZ

PS I really think it takes such stress off your disease process knowing that

you dont have to worry anymore about money and ins.

Judy in AZ

[Guest guest]

Hi Heidi,

I've received disability since 1974 and would be happy to

answer any questions for you that I can.

[Guest guest]

Teri,

I was in the same condition you are in when I was rejected by Social

Security. My condition has gotten worse, and I believe that I have

Fibromyalgia. This condition cannot be diagnosed by any test. It has been

missed by my GP and my neurologist, so in two weeks I will see a Rheumatologist.

From viewing these posts it seems to me that Fibromyalgia

(http://www.arthritis.org/conditions/DiseaseCenter/Fibromyalgia/fibromyalgia

..asp) and its myriad of symptoms is linked to CMT.

Pam