Waterfall of Health

How & Where to report VA abuse and fraud

March 24th, 2008 by Richard Brassaw

War veterans who suffer physical and emotion illness frequently suffer financial hardships due to their inability to find suitable employment. Veterans Affairs (VA) offers substantial medical services and benefits to those who have suffered a disability.
Unfortunately, the VA disability benefits can serve as an incentive to commit fraud and abuse. Psychiatric disabilities, like Post Traumatic Stress [...]


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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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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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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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What are your rights regarding medical files?

June 25th, 2007 by Richard Brassaw

The department of Health & Human Services provides information about your civil rights regarding your medical files. Available topics include:

Introduction
General Overview
Incidental Uses and Disclosures
Minimum Necessary
Personal Representatives
Business Associates
Uses and Disclosures for Treatment, Payment, and Health Care Operations
Marketing
Public Health
Research
Workers’ Compensation Laws
Notice
Government Access


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Drug companies declare war on “Sicko”

June 24th, 2007 by Richard Brassaw

Release of Michael Moore’s, Sicko is a week away and drug companies prepare to counter attack claims made in the film. They feel the American health care system has been unjustly characterized as ’sick.’ One issue they have with the film is that Moore doesn’t pin down what works and what needs to be improved.
The [...]


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SSDI process for psychiatric applicants

June 23rd, 2007 by Richard Brassaw

In 1996 slightly less than half of all Social Security disability claims were approved. Of the claims that were approved approximately 28% of them were for mental disorders. Every year there is an increasing number of SSDI psychiatric claims. The problem is because few psychiatrists feel competent in making a determination to render a professional [...]


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