Insurance denial

March 9, 2021

March Is National Autoimmune Diseases Awareness Month

Autoimmune disease is a broad category of related diseases in which a person’s immune system mistakenly attacks the tissues and organs it was designed to protect. Normally, the body’s immune system protects it by responding to invading microorganisms, such as bacteria and viruses. The immune system produces antibodies, which are special proteins that recognize and destroy the invaders. Autoimmune diseases occur when these autoantibodies attack the body’s own cells, tissues, and organs.

Autoimmune Facts:

There are more than 100 autoimmune diseases.

March 1, 2021

What Does “Own Occupation” vs. “Any Occupation” Mean in Disability Policies?

by Peter S. Sessions

If you have a disability insurance policy, you probably assume that if you’re unable to perform the duties of your job because of your medical condition, you’re entitled to benefits under your policy.

Not so fast! You may be surprised to learn that most disability policies don’t insure you from being unable to perform the duties of your job – instead, they insure you from being unable to perform the duties of your occupation.

What’s the difference? Well, as insurers will tell you, they are concerned about insuring people when they don’t know what those people are doing. There are too many jobs with individual specific duties performed in a variety of idiosyncratic ways for insurers to keep track of. As a result, they only insure the “type” of job you have, i.e., the job as it is typically performed in the national economy.

February 23, 2021

Mediation Basics for ERISA Disability Cases

by Monica Lienke

If an ERISA appeal for long term disability benefits is denied and the claimant pursues litigation, the appeal is likely to be mediated before going to trial with a judge. Indeed, most ERISA cases settle in mediation.

Here are some fundamental points to understand about mediation of long-term disability cases:

Mediation discussions are confidential. What you say in mediation cannot be used against you in court.

February 23, 2021

Is Your Condition a Pre-Existing Condition, and What Does That Mean for Your Disability Claim?

by Stacy Monahan Tucker

When you start a new job that provides disability insurance, or accidental death and dismemberment insurance, most policies include language that states you will not have coverage for claims you make in the first 12 months if the claim is for an injury or illness that is a “pre-existing condition.” But what is a pre-existing condition, and how will insurance companies determine if you have one?

A pre-existing condition is generally defined as any medical condition for which you received treatment, care, advice, or a prescription from a medical professional in the 90 days before you started your new job. The precise language will differ from policy to policy, but that is the general idea. For some medical conditions, the application will be obvious. If you were in treatment for breast cancer in the three months before you started your new job, started a new job believing you were in remission, and then 8 months later found out that your cancer had returned, that would be a pre-existing condition and you would not have coverage. If you were in a car accident before you started a new job and treated with a chiropractor or in physical therapy for injuries, and eventually could not work because of those injuries and so went on leave within the first year of work, that would be a pre-existing condition. It’s also reasonably clear that if you treated with a doctor for a broken leg, or with a psychiatrist for anxiety before starting your new job and six months later you were hit by a car and went out on disability for internal injuries, your prior medical care would not be a pre-existing condition that would bar coverage for the accident.

There are other situations that are not so clear cut. If you were treating for back problems due to a slipped disc prior to starting work, and then were in a car accident six months into your new job and further injured your back, will coverage for that injury be barred by the pre-existing condition limitation? Your insurance company will almost surely argue that there is no coverage because the injury was a pre-existing condition. What if you had diabetes, and after a car accident lost a leg, in part because of complications related to your diabetes? Or what if you had been fully released to work after a prior injury and were not treating for it, but were titrating down on your pain medication during the 90-day period before you started work, and then your injury flared and you needed to go on disability?

February 22, 2021

Chronic Pain and Long-Term Disability Insurance

by Monica Lienke

Chronic pain can be related to a variety of conductions including joint issues, nerve damage, fibromyalgia, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), spinal problems, post-surgical complications, and cancer. While certain diagnoses can be more clearly associated with a disabling level of pain, pain is usually a subjective symptom. For example, a person with degenerative disc disease will be able to show evidence of their diagnosis through an MRI or X-ray; however, this kind of imaging cannot necessarily measure what level of pain a particular individual is experiencing. In some cases, people may experience a more severe level of pain than others with the same diagnosis. Pain may also not be clearly associated with a particular condition or diagnosis. Pain can be due to tangled combination of factors that may not be very well understood.

Consequently, although many disability insurance policies seek “objective” proof of disability, in some cases objective medical evidence simply is not available due to the nature of the condition. Even without the type of documentation that is typically considered objective medical evidence of disability (like lab tests and imaging scans), a person with chronic pain may very well still qualify for disability insurance benefits.

In fact, in a recent Kantor and Kantor victory in the case of Hamid v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in the Northern District of California, the court reaffirmed that objective evidence is not required to prove disability. The court cited to prior case precedents to explain that, for medical conditions that are difficult to quantify through labs or imaging scans, benefits cannot be denied simply because quantifiable documentation is not available.

December 3, 2020

Departments of Insurance Crack Down on Property Insurers During the Pandemic – No Cancellation During COVID!

by Stacy Monahan Tucker

Did your insurance company cancel your insurance due to nonpayment of premium during COVID? Be aware that most states have either requested, or required, insurers to institute a moratorium on cancellations due to nonpayment during at least part of the pandemic. If your insurance company cancelled your insurance during COVID, remind them of this fact and ask them to reinstate your policy. If they refuse, you may want to talk to a lawyer.

The entire West Coast has seen their Departments of Insurance issue requirements on this subject:

California: On March 18, 2020, California issued a “request” to all insurance companies on March 18, 2020 to provide insureds “at least” a 60 day grace period to pay insurance premiums, and to ensure that policies are not cancelled for nonpayment of premiums due to coronavirus. http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2020/release030-2020.cfm

November 25, 2020

Court Rules Air Ambulance Transport Expense Is Not Covered by Health Insurance

by Tim Rozelle

If you have an unpaid air ambulance claim, you may be interested in the recent decision in Lubinski v. CVS Health Welfare Benefit Plan, Case No. 20-cv-89, 2020 WL 6870822 (N.D. Ill. Nov. 24, 2020).

While on vacation in the Dominican Republic, Plaintiff Renatta Lubinski, who had a history of acute leukemia, developed multiple conditions that compromised her respiratory system and kidney function. Doctors determined Lubinski should be transported by air ambulance to receive lifesaving treatment in the United States. Because of her complicated diagnosis and medical history, Lubinski was taken to her local hospital in Illinois, where her own doctors, who cared for her regularly and were familiar with her medical condition, could treat her. Aerocare Medical Transport System Inc., a company that provides highly specialized international air ambulance transportation services for patients in critical care, flew Lubinski from the Dominican Republic to Miami, Florida, and then from Miami to Evergreen Park, Illinois.

Aerocare charged $242,500 for the first flight and $284,250 for the second flight and submitted two claims for payment to Lubinski’s employee benefit plan, CVS Health Welfare Benefit Plan (CVS Plan), which was administered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL). BCBSIL initially denied Aerocare’s claim. Aerocare appealed, and BCBS concluded that the first trip from the Dominican Republic to Miami was medically necessary and covered under the plan, but that the second trip from Miami to Evergreen Park was not. Aerocare was reimbursed $30,000 out of $242,500 and its second appeal for more money was denied. Under Lubinski’s employee benefit plan, air ambulance transportation was covered at a rate of 80% minus a deductible. Aerocare initiated this lawsuit, seeking to recover payment for both trips, pre-judgment interest, and attorney’s fees. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss arguing (1) that the anti-assignment clause in the plan document precluded Aerocare’s claim and (2) that Aerocare failed to state a claim for relief. In response to the first argument, Lubinski replaced Aerocare as the plaintiff. This left defendants’ second argument for review.

June 16, 2020

June is National PTSD Awareness Month

by Cari M. Schwartz

National Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (“PTSD”) Awareness Month is commemorated annually in June. The month is dedicated to raising awareness of PTSD and how to access treatment. June 27 is also recognized annually as PTSD Awareness Day.

According to the National Center for PTSD, between 7 and 8 percent of the population will experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during their lifetime. Men, women, and children can experience PTSD as a result of trauma in their lives. Events due to combat, accidents, disasters, and abuse are just a few of the causes of PSTD. No matter the reason, PTSD is treatable, but not everyone seeks treatment, or some people seek treatment and they are denied benefits by their health insurer.

Common symptoms of PTSD might include:

June 4, 2020

Business Insurance and Damage from Riots

by Stacy Monahan Tucker

The riots throughout the United States have been heartbreaking on a number of levels. While the social and political implications will be something our country grapples with for years into the future, the economic effects will be felt immediately.

Small businesses, already devastated by the pandemic and government-mandated shutdowns, are now having to deal with damage from riots and looting. How are businesses going to recover from this double assault on their bottom line?

Ideally, most businesses have insurance to provide security in the event of riots or looting. However, many insurance policies have exclusions of or limits on activities that could be viewed as “terrorism.” We do not yet know how insurers will categorize the riots.

May 29, 2020

Kantor & Kantor, LLP to Establish BenefitsChat, a Live Forum so the Public Can Ask Attorneys About Insurance Benefits

by Kantor & Kantor LLP

Kantor & Kantor has established a regular, live, and interactive Zoom conversation to discuss generally and answer questions from the public about long-term disability, health insurance, pensions, life insurance, casualty (homeowners), and more. BenefitsChat will be live on Wednesday evenings from 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm Pacific Time.

Host Andrew Kantor, his fellow Kantor & Kantor attorneys, and select guests will explain and discuss everything from “big picture” concepts, such as the distinctions between different ways of obtaining insurance, to case-specific concepts designed to help individuals protect their rights.

While there is always a demand for legal information, current events have created an unparalleled need for as many real, live, helping hands as are available to be lent—even if the hand can only be safely lent via webcam. This forum will give people the chance not only to learn from our attorneys and each other; but to do so within the safety and comfort of a like-minded and supportive group of individuals and their families.