Life Changes - is it time?

[AllyB]

hi

[Fern]

Well, you were asking several different questions, but the one i felt i must answer is that no, the insurance companies do not at all think you are hypochondriac. MS is a real disease with a range of widely variable symptoms.

So they will cover your treatment. However, insurance companies are in the business of helath insurance to make money. It's a business, so it would be inaccurate to say they are "sympathetic."

[AllyB]

Hi there

Thanks for the reponse, however, I fear I have been misunderstood - my fault for using colloquial terminology and apologies for that.


Thanks & Regards

Ally

[missvicki]

My experience has been that my long term disability company has been very understanding and accomodating. I am working 4 hours/day. Please let me know if you want to talk more offline.

[NHE]

I have never dealt with these people before and am concerned that they will only see the visible impairments and not the effect of the insidious symptoms of MS e.g. fatigue, memory loss, inability to process information, depression etc. These things naturally impact on one's ability to function at work (and should be viewed in conjunction with physical impairment to see the cumulative effect), but they are difficult to measure objectively and are often dismissed by the medical profession, so I cannot see them being taken seriously by the insurance industry in this context

I haven't had to deal with this but here's one idea. If you have the support of your neurologist, have them write a letter documenting the different aspects of your condition to support your claim for disability insurance. In the US, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society has some advice on applying for disability. I don't know what South Africa has available, but they may have a similar group which can also advise you.

NHE