Sep 15, 2023 - Disability Insurance, Disability Insurance for Doctors, Long Term Disability Insurance by Seltzer & Associates
Dementia is a challenging disease to address. This is especially true for doctors for a number of reasons. Not only is dementia a disease that can be difficult to identify but there is still a stigma around any type of mental or cognitive impairments, especially in careers that have a high level of education and training required. While the medical community is making strides toward eliminating this stigma, there is still progress to be made.
Unfortunately, the complexity of diagnosing dementia along with the stigma of psychiatric and psychological conditions creates problems when it comes to seeking disability insurance benefits. Just as the general public and even the medical community stigmatize these conditions, disability insurance companies often stigmatize psychiatric and psychological disorders and deny their disabled insureds the disability insurance benefits necessary to ease the financial burden of being unable to work.
Seltzer & Associates has decades of experience working with insurance companies and clients nationwide. Our attorneys understand the high-stakes environment that physicians and surgeons work in and strive to ease the burden of being unable to work due to disability by securing their disability insurance benefits. We handle claims for disability insurance benefits with a vast range of disabling conditions, including those that are difficult to diagnose and treat, such as mental disorders. If you are suffering from dementia and unable to work, having a disability insurance attorney in your corner is critical. Do not delay in contacting Seltzer & Associates to discuss your claim for disability insurance benefits.
Reasons Doctors Suffering From Dementia Delay Treatment
Before a physician can start treatment for dementia, they need to be diagnosed with dementia. This can be difficult due to diagnostic criteria for dementia, which involves observing a pattern of loss of skill or function. Doctors hoping to escape this diagnosis can become adept at hiding or explaining away symptoms if they are trying to avoid a career-altering diagnosis such as dementia.
A glaring reason that doctors suffering from dementia do not seek treatment is that there is a stigma to the diagnosis of dementia that may be accompanied by a sense of shame. Doctors may also seek to avoid being treated with sympathy or pity by colleagues who learn of their condition. Those suffering from dementia do not want their life disrupted more than it will be with this disease, and the fear of being treated differently due to dementia can cause a delay in seeking medical attention for the symptoms they are experiencing due to dementia.
Physicians may delay getting treatment for their own condition if they feel they will be judged or forced out of the medical field due to a diagnosis like dementia. It is understandable to want to cling to normalcy when facing a life-changing diagnosis. This includes wanting to maintain a medical career, though this is not practical and eventually impossible due to the functional limitations of dementia. The loss of memory, cognitive function and changes in behavior by a doctor suffering from dementia can put patients at risk for harm. Some physicians may fear losing their medical license if they seek mental health treatment or admit to shortcomings in their ability to conduct certain activities, not yet having a diagnosis to point to the reason for the changes they are experiencing. Delaying a dementia diagnosis delays treatment and prevents the sufferer from getting the medical help they need.
There has been significant progress in research regarding dementia and how to treat the symptoms. The medication and therapy prescribed will vary from case to case depending on the patient’s specific symptoms and needs, and it can take some time to arrive at the correct combination of treatments to help the dementia patient.
Throughout your journey for disability insurance benefits, Seltzer & Associates can fight for you and the benefits you are entitled to. You do not need to go through the disability insurance process alone. From claim filing to claim maintenance Seltzer & Associates has your back.
Challenges with Disability Insurance Claims and Dementia
As mentioned, dementia can be a difficult condition to diagnose due to one’s reluctance to seek medical care for the symptoms and the stigma of mental health conditions that remain for practitioners in the medical field. Many dementia patients also suffer from mental health conditions they are hesitant to seek treatment for, such as anxiety and depression.
Even after the necessary diagnoses and treatments for dementia and accompanying conditions are reached, the disability insurance claims process has multiple challenges that prevent insureds from securing the disability insurance benefits they deserve. For example, many disability insurance policies place limitations on benefits for mental health conditions. Your disability insurance policy may have a short time duration of coverage for mental health conditions that accompany dementia, like anxiety, despite this being an ongoing disabling condition that prevents you from working in your career. A long-term disability insurance lawyer can help explain the policy definitions and provisions of your particular policy and ensure your disability insurance record contains the medical proof necessary to make your claim for disability insurance benefits for dementia, as well as any comorbidities that disable you.
As a business, the insurance company will use what policy provisions it can to terminate disability insurance benefits and save its own financial profitability, especially since the payouts for high-earning doctors’ claims are high. An experienced long-term disability insurance lawyer can help you overcome the challenges placed on your claim by your insurance company. Should you need to appeal the insurance company’s determination on your claim, Seltzer & Associates can help you with the appeal. There are many deadlines and requirements to keep track of during the claim appeals process, and missing any of these deadlines could be detrimental to your case. With Seltzer & Associates on your side, you can rest assured that someone is keeping up with the requirements of your claim.
Schedule Your Free Consultation for Dementia Disability Insurance Benefits
If dementia has disrupted your medical career, you need to claim your disability insurance benefits. Schedule your free consultation to discuss your case with an experienced disability insurance lawyer at Seltzer & Associates by completing the online contact form or calling us at 888-699-4222.