Hi! I am new to this forum and I have a question maybe you could help me with. I became disabled last year and am currently receiving weekly disability from my union benefits. These benefits are allotted in conjunction with EI disability which I received for the maximum of 15 weeks. I was then made to wait for two weeks before receiving my weekly benefits due not having to wait two weeks to receive my EI benefits (I had a claim open due to the Ft Mcmurray wildfire). The two weeks requirement was waived by EI due to the fire and evacuation. Should they be able to make me wait for two weeks to receive any benefits in this situation?
I am currently waiting to have a bilateral knee replacement. I am in queue for surgery and
They are claiming it is necessary to have my physician fill out an Attending Physician"s Statement every 4-6 weeks to continue receiving my benefits.
My doctor charges me 195 dollars to fill one out.
I am having a difficult time paying my bills as it is and now I have this to add to it.
I called my benefit office and they claim it is absolutely necessary to continue receiving my benefits.
Any thoughts?
Just a thought, but can your Doctor not write on the form that your condition remains unchanged for a set period of time-like 3 months or so?
Perhaps with that and a hardship letter outlining how much this is affecting you financially and causing extra stress they may relax on the requests.
One tactic I use, but it is up to you, Is I always ask for a copy of my claim file every time the Insurance Co asks me to provide an update-I then ask for any new copies of my claim file. They don’t bother me much. They don’t like me either.
I am just on claim so I would wait for other opinions too.
Without seeing the disability plan documentation regarding your union disability payments, it is impossible to say for sure if they were right to withhold the first 2 weeks payments. This is the kind of thing that is different from case to case depending on the wording in your plan documentation.
Regarding the doctors forms, the best you can do is get the doctor to certify your disability for a longer timeframe. Sometimes the disability plans will accept this but it really depends on your medical condition, treatment you are getting and the prognosis for your disability.
You do have an obligation to be under the continuous care of a doctor and to,prove regular updates from your doctor. How regular the updates should be depends on the situation. If you don’t send the medical reports when the insurance company asks, then they will use it as an excuse to stop your payments.
$195 seems excessive.
My doctor charges $50.
The amounts we see doctors charge to fill out forms range from $50 to $500. Much more if they have to write a narrative report. You are then in the range of $500 to $1000 in most cases.
Wow, for $500+, I’d want it written in such a way that future reports could just say “no change…” and cost $50.
It is often less expensive to request copies of your medical records from Doctors and Hospitals. Typically a fee of .50 per page and a fee of about $25 for search/retrieval added to that. Sending complete records ( including all the non relevant-medical supplies ordered, pre-op records etc…) meets your requirement to provide all proof of disability that Insurers request in the initial application.
Insurers ask for this in the initial application but often hope you do not send it all, so they can use that against you.
Case managers and disability files are often rated on correspondence and size of file-they prefer smaller files.
It works well that after sending so much documentation your Insurer often stops requesting more from you.
The world record in our office is that a psychologist once tried to charge us $1,100 to copy 112 pages (not to write a report, just to photocopy 112 pages). I kid you not! I had to threaten reporting her to the regulators for her to drop the fee.
Wow-we had a physiotherapist (Insurer paid) ask for 117.00 for 7-8 pages-she also declared herself/her clinic a public body. We did not pay it-asked the Insurer to, but they declined.
Are these amount for letters requested from cppd?
Yes, doctor’s are free to charge what they want (within reason) for filling out forms. The prices are all over the map.
We are going to see a pyshciatrist weÄşl known in canada about my husbands depression. A well cited Dr. . I can imagine the cost wilÄş be high if we need a letter.But we are thankful for a diagnosis and hopefully a good care treatment plan.
Often the Psychiatrist will send a consultation report to your family or referring Doctor. A copy of that may be all that you require. I wish your husband well. Take care of your self too!
Thanksfor that info it will help