Insurance companies . . . bureaucrats . . . social security . . . physician offices . . . medical records . . . you put all of these together and you end up with a HUGE mess. One in which the left hand has no idea what the right hand is doing – and has no intention of communicating with the right hand . . . except through you.
This morning, I received a phone call from the insurance company that is paying M’s long-term disability claim through his employer. I don’t remember exactly when long-term disability kicked in for M . . . he left work in August and short-term disability lasted about 90 days.
Let’s say it was October/November 2019.
Ever since then, the insurance company has been agitating, wanting to make sure I have filed for his social security benefits so that social security will kick in, and they can stop paying his long-term disability claim.
Nevermind he paid the long-term disability premiums through that job for 28 years. And he’s entitled to receive the payments for 24 months. They are in contact with me every few weeks, wanting to know the status of his social security claim.
Well, it just so happens, I’ve been talking to social security (on an almost DAILY basis) so I was able to call them back AGAIN this morning – and the woman who is working on his social security claim said that she is closing his file today and sending it to the state office to have a decision made on his claim.
What?!?!
When we last checked in with the social security saga (last week), they had received his neuro-psych evaluation test results, but wanted him to get a new assessment of his current mental condition, and I was in the process of trying to get an appointment set up to handle that. I hadn’t told M about the upcoming appointment – I figured I would cross that bridge when I got to it.
NOW they’re telling me they don’t need that second assessment, after all. (Does this mean that someone figured out that dementia is a progressive illness and he won’t show any signs of improvement, if we go through a second test?) I don’t know what happened, but I’m not worrying about the appointment for that second test now.
The only thing that could hold up the social security decision is if his file gets pulled for an audit. Yep, if they decide to audit his file to see how the folks down there at social security are doing their jobs, it will delay his decision – by several weeks.
I’ll know on Friday whether or not his file was pulled for an audit.
Tomorrow, I’ll send the paperwork that proves I’ve filed the social security claim to the insurance company AGAIN – they have it marked in their system that they’ve received it but they can’t seem to find it in the file . . . am I sure I sent it to them? Can I send it again?
Sure! I can send it again! I have nothing better to do than to answer your phone calls and send you paperwork over and over again.
I know it’s in my best interest to stay calm and not lose my temper with these people on the phone. But it sure is hard sometimes!
You are amazing. The journey is arduous. It gives me chills just thinking about the internal temper tantrums I threw over the years trying my best to so what was right, while living the stress of caregiving. I had TONS of help, and still lost it regularly. Go easy on yourself. ALL the feelings are valid and normal. Sending hugs and prayers for your journey!♥️
Thank you! Don’t you just want to SMACK somebody sometimes?!?! I had one woman say to me – when she was letting me know that nothing had been done on our SSI claim from February through May – “now, please don’t shoot the messenger.” I thought she HAD to be kidding. She was so lucky I couldn’t come through the phone!
Are you submitting the information electronically to the insurance company or in paper form? If it electronically send them the information twice a day. If it’s paper, have 25 copies printed and mail them a package every single day for three weeks and see if they respond to all that paper. When I applied for my mom’s Spousal Aid and Assistance with the VA I had to fax a copy to their service center, but I also mailed a hard copy via certified-return receipt requested. I was never asked for an additional copy of that information. That little green card from the post office is great to have when they try to say they didn’t get the information requested. This makes my blood boil.
Ah ha! You have figured out the secret!! I see I should have asked you for the code a long time ago! I’ve been so foolish – I faxed it once and, when I got the confirmation that the fax had gone through, I believed it! Now I have it electronically stored on my computer so I can zip it off to them at any moment.
So exasperating! Oh my gosh sometimes it feels like they are being intentionally obtuse. You are doing good not yelling. I would definitely want to yell.
I think SSI gets paid by how long they can put off paying on a claim. And I think the insurance wants to cut off the claim, even though he’s entitled to two years. Grrrrr.