Do you have an upset in your life (who doesn’t?)?  If you work or are in a relationship or have children and/or other relatives, chances are you have been upset about some part of your life.  However, be careful of what you tell your physician about these upsets – it might come back to haunt you.

I have had several clients who have given a “yes” answer when asked the question, “are you depressed?” by their physicians.  In these cases, my clients had some situations in life that were “bringing them down,” or upsetting them in one way or another and thought that “yes” was the appropriate answer to that question.  However, when they went to apply for individual disability policies, those answers came back to bite them.  They were either declined coverage or had their policies severely restricted in regard to mental/nervous claims.

You see, in order for a physician to receive payment from an insurance company for services rendered, they must assign a code to the diagnosis and treatment given.  In the cases mentioned above, the physicians determined that my clients were Depressed and assigned them the relevant codes.  The word “depressed” had very different meanings to the insurance companies than to my clients.  To my clients, they were upset about something or had some difficulties at work or with a spouse, etc.  To the insurance companies, based on the codes assigned by my clients’ physicians, they were suffering from DEPRESSION!!!  There’s a big difference between those explanations and, as a result, my clients paid the price when the underwriters reviewed their medical records.

I’m not condemning the physicians who assigned those codes or the insurance companies that require these types of codes in order to pay a claim,  Nor am I condemning the disability insurance companies for their underwriting practices.  These condemnations belong in another BLOG on another subject.  I merely wanted to point out to you the liability of discussing your personal problems with your medical doctor.  It might cost you in the future if you apply for a disability insurance policy.

This BLOG post should in no way be construed as medical advice.  If you have a serious medical problem, by all means see a physician.