Do You Have a Right to Recovery?

       Do you believe that Americans have a "Right to Recovery"?

     I believe that that no one speaks for the rights of Americans who are disabled, and trapped in a life of meaningless, empty disability. 

     I believe that many "disabled" Americans truly want to work, yet feel trapped by a maze of legalistic, contract driven policies that preclude their even attempting to re-enter the workforce.

     I believe that the language of corporate benefits, while well intended, rule-driven disability contracts, and a desperate need to provide a measure of financial stability for our families are a "legion of doom" for the truly disabled who want to work.

     I believe that fear of penury, an unintended consequence of the hidebound disability carriers in their war against fakers, has created a class of dependent Americans.

    The hobgoblins of recovery are:

• byzantine, myriad insurance contracts;
• a complete and total inability of these same carriers to explain these contracts to the beneficiaries thereof;
• a total failure of Human Resource departments to perform the function of representing the interests of itself as a corporation to the carriers it hires;
• the inability and unwillingness of human resources departments of said corporations to represent the interests of its employees who want to work, to the insurance carriers with whom it has entered into a contractual relationship.

     I have asked my own company to explain my benefits, through HR, to me.  They, after more than a year's effort,  still cannot do this without involving the insurance carriers on conference calls with me.  These insurance representatives simply read the language of the policy to me over the phone.  In answer to the question, am I allowed to try to earn money under conditions that I can medically tolerate,I am often answered, "that is a case by case scenario."  Or, "you may risk your benefits in part or in whole if you become gainfully employable".

     To the question, "In my case, what would make me "gainfully" employable?"",  the answer is, "It depends on the circumstances."  The circumstances are also "case by case".

     A Gordian knot, an insoluble paradox makes up disability benefits.  The easiest answer is don't rock the boat, or simply, stay disabled.  This leaves me unhappy, costs the insurance company money, unless it can figure a way to eliminate me from the roll of the disabled, and deprives my firm of whatever work product I might be able to do in a 2-3 hour workday.

     If I could work on a pay for project basis, without risking the financial benefit my family needs, with protection of my original benefit if I physically couldn't do this work, I'd try it in a flash.

     Instead, the maze that is the pathway between basic questions and basic answers, the benefit itself, which I paid for, is a disincentive to attempting to become productive.

     Every disabled American with whom I've spoken, wants to be productive.  Few will ever take that chance and do you blame them?

     Disability contracts don't seem to allow for the possibility that a disabled person, who can't walk or sit without excruciating pain, still has a brain that works.

     We have no advocate.  So our experience and intelligence languishes in dormancy.

     It's not right.  Give us a fair shot.  A plan that allowed the insurance company to recapture "disabled earnings" on an after-tax basis, and protected the disability award (less earnings), a frozen benefit, indexed to the CPI, allows everyone to benefit.

     Many private policies provide for this already.  Most corporate plans don't.  Law should protect all.

Comments

[Opforsoldier]

Great post! I could not agree with you more.