Why Disabled Clients Should Worry About "Independent" (Insurance) Medical Exams (IME's)

If you become disabled, one of the things the insurance carrier may demand is that you submit to an "Independent" Medical Exam, or IME. Most people assume that this examination is impartial because the word "independent" is used in the title. However, that could not be further from the truth. In fact, it would be a lot more accurate to call the exam an Insurance Medical Exam because it is done by, for, and to benefit the insurance company. Unfortunately, insurance carriers are not looking for an independent evaluation.

If you are disabled and told by your insurance carrier to go for an IME, you should worry because most IME's are conducted by a doctor or other medical professional who depends upon IME's for a significant amount of their income. The IME doctor knows that the insurance carrier has no real interest in finding you disabled. Unlike most people, the IME doctor knows that the goal of most insurance carriers is to find reasons to deny, deny, deny your claim - even though you may have paid them hefty premiums through the years, and even though you may have become disabled and are unable to perform your job. Most insurance carriers are in business to make money, NOT to protect their customers and make good on disability claims. And, denying claims allows the insurance companies to make more money.

THE IME DOCTOR'S VESTED INTEREST

Most medical professionals who perform IME's for insurance carriers usually do so on a regular basis either in a direct relationship with the insurance carrier or with a third-party IME service. This gives them a vested interest in finding disabled claimants healthy and able-bodied - they consider it job security. These medical professionals seek to tell the insurance carriers (their customers) what the insurance carriers want to hear, i.e., that the patient is medically fine and not entitled to disability benefits. They know that if they perform an independent examination and find the claimant to be disabled it will lead to less repeat business from the insurance carrier or carriers. In the end, the IME doctor chooses to keep his or her customer happy by giving them what they want - a medical report which supports denying the claim.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT DURING AN IME

Given the IME doctor's biased agenda, it is not surprising that most of these exams are not medically very sound. It usually starts with a record review. Before you have even met the IME doctor, the insurance company has already combed through your medical records, typically cherry-picking which records to provide to the IME doctor for review. The records are frequently taken out of context to make it seem as if the claimant's medical condition isn't too bad, or that the medical evidence is contradictory or ambiguous. As a result, even if the IME doctor may be inclined towards impartiality, he or she is only provided with carefully controlled information.

Another fairly common practice among some IME doctors is to look for "holes" in your medical record. Something as simple as an accidental omission on the part of your treating physician can result in an IME doctor deciding that your medical report does not support your disability claim.

The carrier then provides the IME doctor with specific written "questions" for him or her to "answer." Even if the IME doctor didn't know what the carrier was looking for, these questions provide the guidance he or she needs to come up with the report the carrier wants.

When the exam finally occurs, it usually is quite superficial. Most IME's only last a few minutes - which is surprising given the length of the IME doctor's report and the extensive list of clinical testing the doctor supposedly performs. Straight leg raising, Tinel's sign... the IME report may contain a litany of physical exam tests which a layperson has never heard of and so has no idea whether they were performed or not. If you're scheduled for an IME, do not expect to receive a thorough exam. One can ask the question: so how can a superficial "Independent" Medical Exam determine whether or not a claimant is disabled? In my opinion, it can't.

Many IME reports are provided to the insurance company or scheduling company in draft form for their review. It is not uncommon for the IME doctor to change the report to cater to the request of the insurance company or its agent because they understand that the insurance carriers are looking for reasons to deny claims. In fact, even after the final report has been provided to the insurance company, the IME doctors will often provide the carrier with an "addendum" to address any additional concern the insurance company may have.

OTHER POTENTIAL PROBLEMS WITH IME's

Added to this already unfair system is the fact that many of these IME professionals often have their own preconceptions and biases about the medical conditions that claimants may have. Many IME doctors will dismiss - outright - debilitating illnesses and conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia because these conditions are not easily detectible through CT-scans, MRI's or other diagnostic testing. This is not surprising considering that most IME doctors perform a lot of IME's. Unlike a treating physician (your doctor) who tends to examine and treat a patient over an extended period of time, an IME doctor essentially sees a "snap shot" of the claimant's medical condition. The most an IME doctor can do is comment on the claimant's condition on that one occasion he or she performs the examination. Unfortunately, many medical conditions can only be observed and diagnosed over long periods of time, over numerous clinical visits tracking the patient's complaints, symptoms and clinical test results. Given their limited clinical interaction with the claimant and their general bias, it comes as no surprise that most IME doctors tend not to believe claimants and disregard or ignore claimants' self-reported symptoms such as dizziness, headaches and numbness. In general, IME medical professionals are not working for you, and you have every right to distrust their diagnosis and/or prognosis. In most instances, they are working against you.

WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT THIS?

You cannot refuse to go to an IME. If you do, there is a high probability that the insurance carrier will deny your claim or cancel your benefits. However, you can be prepared by retaining an attorney knowledgeable in disability law at the outset. Our firm, for example, counsels our clients before they go to their IME's. And, we send a registered nurse from our staff with them to examinations. That serves two purposes: 1) it tends to relax our clients, and, 2) it sends a message to the "independent" medical professional performing the exam that the client's law firm is paying attention. In addition, our registered nurse is a seasoned medical professional who will observe and understand what goes on and what is said during the IME, then provide our firm's attorneys with a comprehensive report. She also will know whether or not the IME doctor performed the clinical tests he or she claimed to have performed.

Top 5 Books That Every Freshman Should Bring to College

Life Skills 101: A Practical Guide to Leaving Home and Living on Your Own by Tina Pestalozzi

Forgot how to do your laundry? Know when to change the oil? Worried that you might be damaging your credit Solid practical advice without the lectures!

College Cooking by Megan & Jill Carle

At some point you're going to get sick of the fast food that passes for food service at most colleges. You're going to need to good fresh food. Something that you can cook quickly, easily, cheaply, and using not much more than a microwave and your dorm's kitchen. Megan and Jill will show you what to buy and teach you how to cook it. Yum!

The Core Performance by Mark Verstegen & Pete Williams

The right kind of exercise will certainly help you fight the freshman 15. But this workout will keep you healthy and happy. People who exercise regularly feel better, enjoy life more, can concentrate longer, and get better results at school and work. This quick and fun workout can be done using equipment found in most college fitness centers or better yet done in your room using body weight and basic, inexpensive, and easy-to-store equipment.

Writing Analytically by David Rosenwasser & Jill Stephen

In every class you'll have to do analysis. But almost none of your professors will teach you how to do it. But David Rosenwasser & Jill Stephen will. They offer a fool-proof step-by-step method for conducting analysis of complex materials that will work in any discipline. Don't miss the "Reading Analytically" chapter. It'll help you get more out of your reading and prepare you to do more with it than just remember facts. Great writing advice too.

They Say/I Say by Gerald Graf & Cathy Birkenstein

Although they don't often realize it, college professors use formulaic sentence patterns to express complex ideas every time they write. With easy-to-use sentence templates Graf & Birkenstein teach you how to make the intellectual "moves that matter" in academic writing. You'll learn how to write sophisticated papers that professors will appreciate from the first day of college.

Should You Pre-pay For College?

You can prepay for a college education, and save a little money too.

The cost of education might seem high, but it is a necessary cost in today's world. Those without college educations often face a hard time finding a job today. Jobs you would never think would require a college education, do. For example, there are many cowboy jobs -- you know, riding a horse and doctoring cattle -- that require you have an animal science or ag degree. Firefighters have four year degrees. At the least, many management positions, even in retail, require that you have an associate's degree.

College tuitions are just going up and up every year. Increases are necessary to keep the level of education and boarding up to standard. Education is not cheap and it costs a lot to produce it. You can choose to pay tomorrow's college at today's tuition, tax-free.

Sounds too good to be true, but it isn't. With an Independent 529 plan, you aren't simply working with a state-sponsored savings plan. Independent 529's are offered by private colleges and universities.

You simply deposit up to $165,000 into the plan. In return, you receive tuition vouchers good for use at any of the plan's 255 participating schools and universities. You can use the vouchers between three and 30 years after purchase.

The benefit is that the actual cost of tuition will probably be at least double what it is today when you redeem the vouchers. Think of it as locking-in today's college tuition prices. Basically, you are pre-paying for an education.

The drawback is that the vouchers must be used at participating schools. If your child or grandchild enrolls at a school not on the list, you can get a refund at the rate your money was invested. You can also roll the assets into a state-run 529 plan.

State-sponsored 529 plans put your money into mutual funds or other investments that grow tax-free. You then can use the account to pay for any college tuition in the country.

Tuitions vary by school, so you will have to rely on the plan to let you know how many classes you are owed by the plan. You are also limiting the growth of your money to the rate of tuition increases. While tuitions have reportedly risen by 6% a year, there is no guarantee that they will continue that rate. However, most people agree that college tuition rates will probably never go down. You are basically risk free from losing money here.

Once you have saved for retirement, saving for your children's college educations is important. Do this for them, and you give them a step onto the right path. Research both traditional and independent 529 plans. Decide which is right for your family and use it to your advantage. Start saving as early as you can. It is the perfect answer to "What does she need for her birthday?" After all, they are ready for college before you know it.

College Scholarship Essays - 3 Reasons why should you write

Write a scholarship essay may at first seem pointless - until you understand why the Commission must be in their study. This article will help you reduce stress and see the whole picture.

Why Apply to write an essay scholarship? Scholarships require testing for three simple reasons. As you can see below, the reasons are quite simple:

1. Their competence. The Committee intends to grant scholarships money to someone scholar - at a certain point. They should not be ableto write like Jane Austen or Hemingway to get a scholarship. But writing a dissertation shows strong ability to communicate and get to higher education.

2. Their values. You can write what he thinks and what one believes, for the most part. Wise will be passed on values, and the Board of the fellowship you find them. For private donations, the values are not significant. The scholarship is to reward an attempt at a mission before or a few ideas. If you connect with the missionStatement, you are more likely to award.

3. Your character. You express your personality in his essay, and show yourself. If you have a private scholarship, your name still on the list of recipients. Transportation reputation reflects the confidence we should give them to them in the future. For example, you named a Rhodes Scholar?

Here are the scholarship committee in your walletTest, and I want the best side of you, the Committee a sense of what happens in life, and if it will help to a good end, a worthwhile goal.

Some other notes: You want your essay to flow well. Based on a sample for testing to become familiar with the winning videos. Others, such as teachers and friends, read the tests to detect for errors in grammar, spelling, word usage and style.

Last but not least: Copy. No one will criticize the applicationfor more scholarships. A few minutes in order to assess if qualified, and if you do not, you go ahead and apply. Someone must have received this scholarship and money for college, why not?

Scholarship Myths You Should Know About In Advance

Although there are many scholarships annually to students of all ages, there are still many myths about scholarships that students hold of them, the first application. Unfortunately, this limits the amount of the financing of higher education that students can often receive. Here are some myths about scholarships that you need to know to know about the facts.

1. The first myth is widely recognized that the universityAwards is that they are generally available for those who have the highest average quality, an "A". That is simply not true. Even if the programs many scholarships do list with a good academic performance as a factor in the price received, but in reality there are many other factors are taken into account.

The truth is that even those with a "B" or "C" grade point average often apply for scholarships due to various factors that caninstead. For example, many programs give high priority to grants for the participation of students in extracurricular activities, including members of the community. For them, this may mean that you are a well-rounded person will do in an environment of school and are looking for personal fulfillment. So if you want to receive scholarships to try to participate in activities that you can give something back to the community and expand your horizons.

2. AnotherScholarship myth is that one can not generally receive a scholarship if you are some kind of financial hardship, and that means the students in the class are usually get in a position to scholarships.

Again, this is simply not true. Although some scholarships geared towards the needs, there are many who are not. In fact, some scholarships are need rather than on performance. This means that provide a good combination of academic achievement and extracurricular activities,Personal growth can often benefit from a student for the award of the fellowship, even when it comes, from a bourgeois family.

3. A common myth scholarship is that there are billions of dollars in scholarships each year. While there is little money for scholarships go unclaimed which, it is usually because the qualifications are very rigid and narrow in nature and are not easily met for this reason. What does this mean for the average studentThere is little competition for scholarships that are easily available, and you should start for this application, as soon as possible to get a good start. And the demand for as much as you can possibly receive and manage, is also a good practice.

4. Another myth about scholarships that may actually cost money, that there are programs that do all the work for you, so you have to do in order for the Academy ofScholarships. While there are organizations that advertise they are usually scams that get students from their hard-earned money instead of helping them, they need scholarships are set separately. So if you are a grant program designed to be able to do all the work for you, or ask for any kind of payment or credit card in advance not to be aware that it's a good chance this type of program is a scam that should be avoided.

Hopefullywith the various myths that scholarships are in circulation today is known, you can be better prepared for the funds for scholarships, you actually need.

Working mothers should be aware of scholarships and mentoring program for mothers or Mag Help

Many stay at home to find that they need to help a job, find financial support. Even those who work already, but do not have enough money for household needs, to discover that going to school and graduate, has much to offer. This can be expensive, however, and the right scholarship or mentoring program will go a long way to ensure that the mother receives it needs push beyond education. Scholarships for Moms program can make economic sense.

College Education CostsCosts amount to wherever twenty-five thousand U.S. dollars more than six miles per year, and that for other items such as computers, books and stationery, and we talk a significant cost for a household has already overburdened family. Some scholarship programs such as school scholarships for mothers of President Obama and his administration, qualified applicants up to ten thousand dollars per year, the school enrollment offered.

Working mothers must be well trainedqualify for the jobs they find, they can be both personal satisfaction and financial scholarships A. provide them with the increase in funding for further formal education in a way that will make them himself. There are hundreds of ways to fund the scholarships and those who need assistance should try to figure out what the best for them. More generally, we can not be used at all times so as to see the mother, the problems with these "extra" in order to be covered,Purchase Price.

There are athletic scholarships, university scholarships, including business mentoring, science, and each has different criteria that must be met. If the mother is working with a lawyer, perhaps as a secretary or "go-fer", they can mentor you. This would help to pay for his college and allow him to continue his studies part-time law, during, and its position with the company.