While the majority of disability insurance cases our firm handles are for physicians and medical professionals that are disabled as a result of addiction, there seems to be a trend of an increasing number of doctors that are suffering from the effects of “burnout” and/or have become dissatisfied professionally. In fact, this is a very hot topic among the various members of the Federation of State Physician Health Programs. Today’s practice of medicine is totally different and has substantially changed when compared to that of even 10 or 20 years ago. Many physicians explain and complain that they are now […]

In prior articles I have written for Physicians’ News Digest, I have brought to your attention your Disability Insurance Company’s use of surveillance and other investigative techniques used to develop information to be considered in evaluating your claim.  If the results of that investigation can be viewed as contrary to your claimed activities or depicting activities your Company feels are inconsistent with what you would or would not be able to perform in relation to your disabling condition, your Company will likely use that information in a way that is beneficial to it and detrimental to your claim.  For years, […]

You are a physician who has been suffering from a medical condition, for which you have asked your Disability Insurance Company to pay you benefits, under your Disability Insurance Policy. You have contacted your Company, you have provided it with all the pertinent information that it requested in a timely fashion; you have done “everything by the book”.  You may have met with its Field Representative, or even been evaluated by one or more of your Company’s chosen Independent Medical Examination doctors.  But, notwithstanding your compliance, the Company has methodically asked for endless amounts of additional information, or “dragged its […]

Having Residual Disability (or Partial Disability) provisions in your policy can be the most important decision you (or your insurance consultant) make when you bought (or if you are considering buying) your Individual Disability Insurance policy. If you are eligible for Long Term Disability Insurance (Group) coverage from your employer, most probably, the definition of Disability includes a Residual component. However, having the coverage and getting paid under that coverage may cause you to be subjected to some creative refinancing of your financial information as assessed by your Disability Insurance Company. The beauty of Residual Disability coverage is that it […]

Believe it or not, the summer is already more than half over. With all of us thinking about when it is going to be our turn to “hit the beach”, you, the disabled physician, don’t want those words to apply to your claim with your Disability Insurance Company, as if it were “D-Day” at Normandy. The simultaneous crash of our stock, financial, and real estate markets and the significant long term recession in which we are currently mired, have likewise had a significant and adverse financial impact on your Disability Insurance Company. As a result of this “new economy”, you […]

If you are, or have been, involved in a disability insurance claim, you are keenly aware of the pitfalls and difficulties in prosecuting and maintaining your claim. But, if you think the claim’s process is difficult, try being involved in a professional licensure action at the same time. In most disability insurance cases that involve either a psychiatric, and/or an addiction component, there is often times a concurrent legal issue involving professional licensure. Both of these issues can be extremely complex in their own singular sense. The problem is, that in most cases, these issues can not be singularized and, […]

M.D. News, August 2008  In July of this year Clifford D. Swift, Esquire joined our firm as a Senior Associate. Prior to joining Mark F. Seltzer & Associates, Cliff was a prosecuting attorney for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of State, representing the Commonwealth, and its citizens, in professional licensure matters before several State Boards, including the State Board of Medicine. We are pleased to have Cliff with our firm and his knowledge and skill in state regulatory matters. Oftentimes, inherent in any state licensure matter, is a physician’s “fitness to practice” issue. However, other issues provoke the prosecution of […]

Published in M.D. News, May 2008  Working as a physician is highly demanding both from a physical and emotional perspective.  Increasingly, physicians, regardless of gender, face disabling health issues as a consequence of age, chronic emotional stress or from the impact of repetitive stress and strain from performing procedures.  Those stresses are significantly amplified for women who choose to have both a family and a medical career.  Female physicians must often be prepared to work what amounts to two full-time jobs; in addition to all of the physiological and emotional strains that come with practicing medicine, they also face special […]

How today’s disabled physicians can effectively protect their benefits.   In Part I of this series, you learned work-related and other health conditions that impair physicians’ abilities to practice. In Part II, you learned what to expect from an insurer when confronted with a disability claim. Now, in Part III, you will learn how to protect your benefits when your company is confronted with your disability claim. The most important factor to understand about the entire claims process is that your disability insurance policy is a contract. It is crucial to appreciate the important and pertinent provisions of your policy […]

The Insurers Strike Back: What to expect from your Disability Insurer when filing a claim. In Part 1, we explored how aging physicians today may experience work-related and other health problems impairing their abilities to practice their specialties or to continue practicing at all. In Part II, you’ll learn what to expect from your insurer when confronted with a disability insurance claim. Changes in the dynamics of the disability insurance industry over the last 10 or 15 years have caused your disability insurance company to become financially driven. The reality is that “it’s all about the money.” When the disability […]