Short Term Disability - Limitations?

Hi I am actually new to a great deal of this.

I was recently diagnosed with a situational anxiety due to home life stressors and work related tensions.

I asked my employer for time off and I was quickly directed to our companies Insurance Company to be "managed."

I am actually quite in the dark about how much authority these Insurance Companies have to second guess your medical professionals. My Insurance Agent (more accurately my employer's agent) just seems to be in a huge hurry to get me back to my place of work, and has blithely ignored any of my doctors reccomendations.

What do you do when your companies Insurance Agent directs you to engage in treatment/program requirements that are counter to what your Doctor's advice is?

I am actually surprised that these agents will take so many liberties when they don't even have a medical degree to begin with.

Hi Marty. Welcome to Psych Central. I am so sorry you have suffered bullying or insensitivity from insurance agents. I would appeal to your doctor(s) and see what they can do in this situation.

Many people here at PC find they can share these feelings and what they are going through with the confidence that people go through similar things and can empathize. So many forums are offered as well as Chatrooms (after you have 5 posts or comments on others posts). Anxiety (including social anxiety) is at 8PM EST Wednesday. Depression is Thursday night at 9PM EST.

You can also be an active member in other ways like supporting others in their questions, reading articles and posts http://forums.psychcentral.com that are applicable to your area of concern.

Please feel free to private message me or any of the Community Liaisons by left clicking on the name in blue to the left of their post) for questions or just to share.

Is it common for insurance agents to be this obtuse?

Do I have to go back to work if my insurance agent insists?

How much legal authority to they actually have, or is my doctor's diagnosis the final arbiter of when and if I am fit to return to work?

Who decides?

Hello and welcome to Psych Central Marty!!! It's nice to meet you. You have joined a community of warm and caring members who will want to offer you support and advice. Yours is welcome as well.

Please feel free to contact any community liaison or moderator by left clicking on their name in blue to the left of their post if you need help navigating the forums. It will take some time for your first five posts to appear as they are being evaluated and then you will be able to join chats.

I'm sorry for your struggles. I'm afraid I cannot give you anymore advice than CANDC already has. Please keep posting and hopefully someone with more success can help you. I found my insurance agents to be very obtuse and I did have to return to work in quite a bit of physical pain. You'll find we have a safe and supportive community. I'm glad you've joined us.

I look forward to seeing you around!!!

I imagine everyone here has already heard most of what I would have to say or ask.

From what I am reading everyone else experienced the same thing and worse.

It seems from what I am reading that this is par for the course where insurance companies and STD are concerned.

I will just have to wrestle with them as best I can I suppose. From what it looks like, the only course of action I have if I don't want to cooperate with my insurance company is to get a lawyer.

I used Short term disability policy I paid for thorough my employer.. My Doctor filled out all the information needed. My policy for for 12 weeks i think, and I also had a long term policy and I flipped to Long term once I exhausted short term. my HR dept really couldn't do anything as my Doctor was filling out all the paperwork on time and I had been employed over 12 months so I also had FMLA law behind me. She was always snotty to deal with, So wasn't fun but was doable.

Once I was able to return to work my employer did make my life difficult which I expected and had already been looking for a new job so I left on my own.

OK. Sounds like for you your doctor's opinion wasn't challenged.

Right now my insurance agent is consulting their in house Psychologist.

I am expecting him to challenge my family doctor's opinion without so much as meeting me.

The insurance agency pretty much calls the shots as to what their plan is/pays for. They get to define the disability, what will happen, etc. If you company buys/opts in to a crummy plan, it's not much different than having a crummy 401K group plan that loses money, doesn't have very good choices, etc.

https://www.aetna.com/faqs-health-in...lity-faqs.html

Yup. I am pretty sure this is a crummy plan.

Time for me to get back to work or find work elsewhere.

I would go back to my current employer, but I am not at all impressed with how I've been treated since I left.

I didn't realize how bad a situation this was, and for so many people!

It's upsetting most to find out how many people have been mistreated by their employers, insurance companies, etc... and at the worst possible time too!

Yes, unfortunately... the oil companies used to run this country, now the insurance companies do

They may have made your life difficult, but it does at least sound like your insurance company didn't challenge your doctor's opinion?

That's the most offensive part of this I think... that these insurance agents not only question your own testimony of your symptoms, but will second guess license medical professionals as well. It's like the insurance companies think there is some big conspiracy out there to exploit them.

I do realize people may try to pull one over on an insurance company, but when you have one, or multiple professional medical doctors all telling the insurance company the same story the insurance agents really need to back off.

I am so sorry so many people have to deal with this nonsense. I had no idea!

But in your case Christina it does sound at least as if they took your doctor(s) as their word. That's something at least. No?

I just realized how crazy this is.

You have insurance for your employment, but if they can second guess your medical doctor you are better off working at company that does not provide insurance. I would just bring my doctor's note in to work and that would be that.

Just having my own insurance seems to make a lot more sense. Right now my employer appears to just be using their insurance company to discredit my doctor's diagnosis. :\

I guess they figure if I fight for my insurance that I am actually ill. If I don't fight and give up then I wasn't ill? That's just horrible.

I have a phone purchased by my workplace.

I was just asked to return the phone in person because I am on Short Term Disability. They already had the service disconnected, NOW they want the actual phone delivered to them in person!

Do they not realize that STD means you don't work for your company during that time?

These all seem to be not so carefully disguised attempts to pressure me back to my workplace. Rather underhanded, but from what I am reading on this forum, this is not that uncommon.

I feel for people on disability now so much more. You really don't understand until you've been through it.

I can understand them wanting the phone back while your not able to actually perform the job. The phone is there property.

Yup. I don't mind handing back the phone.

What I didn't care for is them telling me to bring it in.

He can accept it via courier. That's what I will be suggesting tomorrow. My Dr already advised me not to be operating a vehicle right now. My manager didn't even ask if I am at all fit to travel. He just assumed I was.

Yeah if your not safe to drive certainly don't .. i would suggest getting a reciept or something is writing that you have indeed turned the phone in , so they cant turn around and say you never did..

I was just given a new prescription today
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I am not impressed with how my employer's managing my absence thus far. He just keeps emailing me despite my insurance company's instructions that I have zero contact with my workplace. He knows he's not supposed to contact me.

I am considering looking for work elsewhere while I am on Short Term Leave. I am just wondering though how this may affect my insurance. I can't imagine there's any legal reason why I can't apply for work elsewhere while I am on STD. I don't think my workplace is even allowed to disclose those details to anyone calling my company for a work refrence.

Has anyone looked for more suitable work while on Short Term Disability? Ever run into any issues with your insurance?

If you " accept" another job while on STD you have to notify them right away. Its illegal to be given STD benefits from one job while working for another. I knew a nurse that did that and she had to repay all the money plus a ridiculous amount of interest and a very hefty fine.

Yes, definitely I would give her two weeks notice before I started another job.

I can imagine it would be profitable to run both, but no, I wouldn't do that.

Don't know about that, but I imagine looking for a job would be considered evidence by your short-term disability insurer that you're not sick enough to be on leave.

It would also put you in a difficult position as far as answering questions from anyone you might interview with about your current employment status.

Yup. I had considered that.

My Doctor has declared me unfit for work. That's what my insurer is going on. I would have to maintain I am fit enough to browse job listings and look.

But yes, i can certainly understand how that may not look well with my insurer or my current company. But as far as I know it's not against the law to browse job listings while you are on a sick leave. As long as I don't actually work for anyone, I don't think I am outright breaking any labor laws.

I was just wondering if others have had experience in this area. I did read one post of someone changing jobs while on sick leave and it worked out just fine.

Even taking a job interview isn't much different than a medical visit, and my insurance company is pressing me to visit my doctor every week.