Termination of LTD

[MikeyV]

I recently was notified by my LTD carrier that they have terminated my benefits. My doctors have not released me for either part or full time employment. I am not sure how to procede to have my benefits reinstated. The reasons for termination are inaccurate and based on their opinions. I am looking for legal advice in the San Francisco Bay area but have not been successful. Any information is greatly appreciated, I am not sure how to proceed. Any and all suggestion's are welcome!

[allanq]

I've heard several accounts of LTD carriers abruptly terminating benefits for people with HIV. This happened to the partner of a friend of mine. Forum member "jeffreyj" has also dealt with this issue. He filed a lawsuit and eventually won.

Here's a link to the thread in which he announced his victory:

http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=23692.msg300557#msg300557

Did the LTD termination letter provide instructions on how to appeal this decision? Your doctor sounds like he might be helpful. Perhaps he can write a strong letter that specifically addresses the inaccuracies in the termination letter.

I would also contact an ASO such as the SF AIDS Foundation to see if they can help.

Good luck to you. I hope you'll be posting a victory thread of your own.

Allan

[MikeyV]

Thanks Alan, I appreciate your response. I have made some progress. Got in touch with The AIDS Legal Referral Panel this morning, I forwarded information regarding my termination, they are going to handle the appeal for me, and yes, I have a good doctor who will help me with my reinstatement, I hope I will have a happy story to tell as Jeffrey did with his victory!

[the trebmeister]

when you first began the LTD did they tell you what factors were used to approve your request?   most LTD programs have coverage limitations on certain conditions and you may have been lumped into one of them.

Metropolitan Life sent me an ambiguous confirmation letter at the time i left work.  two years later they said i was going to be dropped because benefits for mental health disabilities last only 2 years.   besides supporting letters from my primary care physician and another doctor my application for benefits contained a letter from my psychiatrist so they thought they could use that loophole, i guess.

i filed an appeal immediately and pointed out chronic hepatitis and AIDS are not mental illnesses.  for those 2 years all requested medical reports to MetLife were filed by my primary care physician, not my psych.  they re-instated my benefits. 

in december, 2008, i received a letter stating i had not responded to their requests for medical records so would lose benefits after january, 2009.  i called and wrote asking when these requests were made because i hadn't received one since early 2008, which was filled out and returned.   supposedly letters had been sent in july and august but i received neither.  in my last letter to them i asked why the requests were no longer enclosed with my LTD checks as they always had been, then stated it was hard to believe the post office had lost these 2 letters when they managed to deliver my checks every month.   they re-instated my benefits (after my doctor filled out the 2 page form, of course).

i hope you don't have to go through too much bureaucratic bs to resolve this matter.  i know if i didn't have LTD as well as SSD i'd be living on the streets in a matter of months.  good luck!