topic Re: cigna in Wellness

cigna

Pooky1 — Sun, 27 Aug 2017 11:36:00 GMT

when i got diognosed with ms back in 2002 my company had offered long term disability insurance and i signed up for it and out of my check payed for it for 12 years. now that im no longer working i collected it for 2 years and tthen i got throw off. they had told me when i started colecting it that as long as doctors say i cant work i can colect it until im 65.i apealed it with a lawyer and still just got turned down again. any thoughts on this subject.

Re: cigna

I am still oxox — Sun, 27 Aug 2017 11:50:17 GMT

I am sorry but I am not following what you are saying

Re: cigna

Mmsfoxxie — Sun, 27 Aug 2017 12:04:16 GMT

@Pooky1, it seems you're saying that Cigna didn't give you what you paid for after two years. This isn't the first time I've heard this about those long term insurances. They aren't the only company doing it. They can't afford to support it without losing their profit. Profit is their main concern, not the policy holders like us.

If you can afford it, appeal again. But it might be throwing good money after bad. Sorry you're going through this.

Re: cigna

LTT1 — Sun, 27 Aug 2017 12:07:03 GMT

@Pooky1

What I'd like to know (if this is the case) is since when is a contract not a contract anymore?

Re: cigna

pigletsmom — Sun, 27 Aug 2017 13:48:53 GMT

Usually if you are on long term for a while they do the work to transition you to SS disability. Are they doing that?

Re: cigna

GCR18 — Sun, 27 Aug 2017 13:57:13 GMT

The company I work for has a limit on long term disability. If you are off for 12 straight months, you are terminated along with your insurance. I think they may have been referring to SS until you are 65. What does the lawyer say?

Re: cigna

Abrowneyegirl — Sun, 27 Aug 2017 13:57:46 GMT

@Pooky1

Go back and read the contract carefully, MOST long term care dis can be used applied to an employee up to 65 years old.

HOWEVER they only pay for 1 to 2 years. Longterm disability does not pay forever after. This is a common misunderstanding. LTD pays longer than SHORT term.

You can pay the annual premium for 20 years and at age 30 or 45 or 60 if you need it you can collect 1 year (most policies or 2 years some policies).

Re: cigna

q-girl — Sun, 27 Aug 2017 15:26:51 GMT

@Pooky1 wrote:
when i got diognosed with ms back in 2002 my company had offered long term disability insurance and i signed up for it and out of my check payed for it for 12 years. now that im no longer working i collected it for 2 years and tthen i got throw off. they had told me when i started colecting it that as long as doctors say i cant work i can colect it until im 65.i apealed it with a lawyer and still just got turned down again. any thoughts on this subject.

@Pooky1. . . . I am obviously unfamiliar with your LTD policy, but I, too, am collecting a LTD at this time, although not through CIGNA. My diagnoses are fibromyalgia along with bilateral lower extremity chronic radiculopathy and dominate side upper extremity chronic radiculopathy. The radiculopathies stem from nerve damage caused by spinal issues.

I began collecting LTD in 2010 and will continue to recieve it until my 65th birthday. I am presently 60 yrs. old. I also receive Social Security Disability. The amount of my LTD is reduced by the amount of my SSD. In other words, my LTD guarantees that I will receive a total of two thirds of my gross salary (at the time I became disabled) until I reach the age of 65. They subtract the amount of my monthly SSD from my monthly gross salary, and that is the amount of my LTD benefit.

Are you receiving SSD? Could that have cancelled out the amount of your LTD? Also, every 12 - 18 months or so, my LTD provider does a review of my case to determine if I am still unable to perform "any gainful employment". It doesn't have to be my previous job. Could this be what happened?

Is is there anyone in HR at your former employer who could assist you, at least with understanding you LTD policy? I have often used that resource even years after my disability began.

Good luck to you. Believe me, I know how meaningful that LTD can be when you've lost your ability to work.

Hugs. . .

Re: cigna

twinkies — Sun, 27 Aug 2017 17:00:04 GMT

I don't know what state you live in but call your states Attorney Generals office and ask them for advice on what to do ,

cathy from ma

Re: cigna

Mz iMac — Sun, 27 Aug 2017 17:04:34 GMT

@Pooky1

"they had told me when i started colecting it that as long as doctors say i cant work i can colect it until im 65."

If that "comment" is NOT in your contract, I see why you lost the appeal. "Verbal" statements do not stand up in court. It MUST be in writing. Now if they told you that over the phone & you have a "recording" of same, then you may have had a chance at your appeal.

Re: cigna

Pooky1 — Sun, 27 Aug 2017 17:56:49 GMT

i got disability. and i had cigna to that i paid for. cigna told me that if doctor says i cany work then i can collect it until im 65.

Re: cigna

VaBelle35 — Mon, 28 Aug 2017 12:03:44 GMT

We are talking about Long Term Disability (LTD), not Long Term Care. They are 2 different things.

Employees pay for some or all of their Long Term Disability (LTD) benefit through payroll deductions. LTD starts after Short Term Disability (STD) and they have different thresholds. Most people qualify for STD but not always LTD. It's your doctor who submits the information to the insurance company so that the insurance company can determine your LTD eligibility.

Unless you have an irreversible, progressive or terminal diagnosis that impacts your ability to work, there is no guarantee that your LTD benefits will continue until you are eligible for Social Security. If you are collecting LTD benefits, the insurance company will keep requesting updates from your doctor on your status and progress. If your medical condition is being managed with medication or treatment and you have seen improvement, your doctor has to report this to Cigna and it can and will impact your benefits.

I don't think a lawyer is the way you need to go, I think you need to talk to the doctor who submitted your medical information and find out what he reported to Cigna. It may be a simple mistake or the doctor didn't submit the proper paperwork in time.

Re: cigna

VaBelle35 — Mon, 28 Aug 2017 12:07:10 GMT

Also, the way LTD works has to do with being able to do any job, not just the job you had when you went on LTD.

Just because you may not be able to do the job you had doesn't mean there isn't a job you can do now or that you can't do the job you had with accommodations.

Re: cigna

chrystaltree — Tue, 29 Aug 2017 17:50:42 GMT

Disability benefits don't work like that. If that were the case,half the working world get a doctor to say they are disabled and collect a check for 20 years. It sounds like you don't meet the insurer's criteria for disability benefits now.

Re: cigna

Nuttmeg — Tue, 29 Aug 2017 19:39:26 GMT

@chrystaltree wrote:
Disability benefits don't work like that. If that were the case,half the working world get a doctor to say they are disabled and collect a check for 20 years. It sounds like you don't meet the insurer's criteria for disability benefits now.

It is very difficult to keep a Ltd policy paying.