Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Help...insurance issues and severe frustrating...don't know what to do

Sorry guys for the two back-to-back posts...I'm about to head off to the gynecologist (fun) and am really stressing out about what happened yesterday with the insurance company.

Ok, I'm literally going to start pulling my hair out and I don't understand what the f**k the insurance company is trying to do here. As some of you know I was waiting for a decision from my personal insurance company (I'm currently on short-term disability and am Canadian) as to whether they were going to force me to return to work based on their "independent medical evaluation" or whether they were going to listen to my doctors and give me the extra time I need. My doctors made a recommendation for 2 months of at least weekly psychotherapy combined with a change in job position when I return to work (I currently work in a call centre handling primarily complaints or pushing sales) and they wanted to see me in a more administrative capacity where I wouldn't have dealings with the general public (of which there are many positions with my employer that I am more than qualified to do).

Anyways, the insurance company calls me back today (finally) and says that they are supporting what my doctors said. I started to cry from relief I was so happy. Then I asked for all the details so I knew what was going on and they said they were supporting me until May 7th at which point they would expect me to return to the SAME position. So obviously they aren't going with what my doctors said. I explained this to her and she just kept saying the same ol' line "there is not objective medical evidence to show you can't do THAT job." Which is completely BS.

So she said that she wrote to all three of my doctors (pdoc, tdoc and GP) telling them the "plan" and asking them if they had any contraindications to the "plan" I told her that obviously they are going to given the fact they have ALREADY told them I cannot work that position and need AT LEAST two months before I can return and that they can't really say more than they already have, and she just said that was my problem.

Sounds to me like they are just trying to jerk me around, but I can't understand why. I mean, why give me the three weeks then? It just doesn't make any sense. Force me back to work or give me what the doctors say I need...why bother with this three weeks crap? Could it be because effective June 2nd I've been off for a year and that's when it rolls into Long-Term disability. Could I be missing something?

I contacted the lawyer that I've been dealing with to see if they could get involved at this point and they said they really couldn't because the insurance company is being "tricky" in that nothing they are doing is "actionable" even if it is detrimental to my health. They said the only way they could get involved would be as my "advocate" so that I wouldn't have to deal with or speak to the insurance people, but because they are lawyers who primariliy sue I would have to pay them hourly to do that (if I'm cut off benefits completely, then you don't have to pay as they work on contingency). I can't afford to pay them hourly, so that option is out.

Any opinions?

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