Waterfall of Health

How you can unwittingly help disability insurance companies deny your claim

October 17th, 2007 by Richard Brassaw

You have probably seen surveillance footage of a fraudulent disability insurance claimant who claims to have a bad back, but is caught on camera lifting a heavy carton. What the cameras do not show is the legitimate disability claimant who is denied benefits by their insurance company.
Unless you know someone personally who has been denied [...]


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Military denies benefits based on genetics

August 22nd, 2007 by Richard Brassaw

Karen Kaplan’s August 18, Los Angeles Times article, U.S. military practices genetic discrimination in denying benefits, tells how the U.S. Military denies disability benefits to both active and veteran military personnel.
The problem began in 1999, when the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) decided that soldiers with a genetic predisposition for a disease will be denied benefits for that [...]


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Bad faith insurance companies

July 25th, 2007 by Richard Brassaw

Fight Bad-faith Insurance Companies (FBIC) is an excellent site on getting the low-down on your insurance company. In previous posts it has been mentioned that there are no Federal or State laws that specifically regulate insurance policies. Sure, there are rules and regulations on how insurance companies conduct business, but when it comes to how [...]


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Veterans file class action against Department of Veterans Affairs

July 24th, 2007 by Richard Brassaw

Veterans Adminstration (VA) Secretary Jim Nicholson has been accused by injured Iraq war veterans of denying them benefits. The class action suit was filed on behalf of hundreds of thousands of veterans. Attorneys filing the class action said that the objective is not monetary. What they want is for the VA to provide the mental [...]


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Long-term disability claimants make perfect victims

July 23rd, 2007 by Richard Brassaw

A few years ago someone close to me became disabled. She had purchased a long-term disability (LTD) policy with CNA insurance and felt fortunate to have the policy.
She was brought up with a strong work ethic, this, coupled with the fact that she immensely enjoyed her job, only increased the emotional pain of not working. [...]


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How ERISA makes your long-term disability policy worthless

July 23rd, 2007 by Richard Brassaw

Chances are if you have a long-term disability (LTD) insurance policy it falls under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) guidelines. If that is the case then know now that if you ever become disabled and file a LTD claim there is a chance you will be denied your benefits after a year or [...]


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Court of appeals sides with Vets in Agent Orange cases

July 22nd, 2007 by Richard Brassaw

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals chastised the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for contributing substantially to our sense of national shame.
The ruling agrees with the Veterans that they should receive retroactive disability benefits for those who contracted a form of leukmia after being exposed to Agent Orange.
Also affected are Vietnam vets diagnosed with [...]


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Long-term disability insurance — fiction or fact?

July 20th, 2007 by Richard Brassaw

Benjamin W. Glass’ book Robbery Without a Gun, is a thin book as books go. Even though modest in length the message speaks volumes—and one that you should seriously consider getting your hands on if you have a long-term disability (LTD) policy or have recently become disabled.
If you are someone who has never been denied [...]


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Disability insurance promises sometimes fail to deliver

July 5th, 2007 by Richard Brassaw

It sounds like a good idea. You are unable to work and long disability insurance will pay you a portion of your annual salary. At least that is what CIGNA insurance promised Susan Kristoff.
When Kristoff found herself battling cancer she found that she would also have to battle CIGNA insurance for the protection she had [...]


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What chance does a 20-year-old need disability insurance?

July 3rd, 2007 by Richard Brassaw

The chances of a worker now 20-years-old being disabled before retirement age is about 1:3. Surprisingly, the main reason for disability has nothing to do with work and everything to do with chronic disease—leading with cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal problems, and cancer.
Because so many people live from paycheck to paycheck a disability is often catastrophic. In [...]


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