Jan 04 2008
End of the Line (aka Bureaucratic Bullshit)
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it appears that I am finally going to be returning to work on Wednesday, January 9th..
But it isn’t exactly on my terms..
A couple weeks ago, I went to see my doctor; one of the many follow up appointments regarding my back injury. I explained to him that I needed to return to work because it won’t be long before we have no resources/options left. (Yes, I know that “wii” went a little overboard on Christmas, but even without that, it wouldn’t be long anyways). Anyhow, at this appointment, I asked him for a note to return to work, but he said no. He did give me a note for “work conditioning and strengthening”. He wanted to have me do it for 3-4 weeks, but I convinced him to see how I was doing about 2 weeks into it.
I’m sure some of you have been through this type of program. It isn’t cheap. I phoned around to a couple places, and the average price is $40-45 an hour. That’s $160-180 per day.. and I’m supposed to do this 4 days a week. Clearly, I’m not going to be able to pay for it one my own, but my doctor said that my long-term disability benefits should pay for it..
After a few days of trying to track down an answer, I got one today from BC Life/Pacific Blue Cross.. in short, they said that they “wouldn’t be likely to pay for it up front, unless it was part of a return to work strategy”. I told the lady on the phone that I was attempting to return to work, and this was part of the plan. Then, the lady said that “I could go now, and pay for it myself and TRY to get reimbursed later.”
I’m sorry? I’m still waiting for the LTD Benefits to be approved. I figured switching from Short-Term to Long-Term would have been fairly easy, but apparently not.. and where am I supposed to pull that kind of cash?
At this point, I’ve called my doctor and arranged for a note to return to work next week. I haven’t done anything for 5 1/2 months, and it’s going to take some time to get back into shape to properly do my job. In the meanwhile, I’ll have a higher risk of re-injury because I haven’t gone through any sort of program to return to work..
So… we’ll see.. I’ve wanted to return for a while now, and now that I am going to be, I am a little nervous about how I’ll do.. The last thing that I need is to hurt myself (even worse) and end up back off within a few days.. I’m going to do what I can to keep safe, but the risk is there..
Foolishly, I assumed that BC Life would have preferred to pay for a few weeks of therapy and then send me back. Alternatively, I could stay on LTD for months still…
I’ve enjoyed staying home with my girls. I’ve been able to spend time with them, play games with them, get Lizzy off to school, and put the younger two down for a nap.. The down side is that it doesn’t (financially) pay to stay home.. it’s too bad.. I could easily be a stay-at-home dad.. 
Oh well.. we’ll see how this returning to work goes..
This sounds all too familiar Cam. I have gone through all this before myself. Just when you think you’ve jumped through all the hoops, they pull more out of their asses.
It does take a while to get LTD approved. Mine took over a month and a half this time around. In the meantime we had to go into debt until the payments started coming through. And LTD certainly isn’t enough to live on. The amounts are different depending on your employer but are basically around the same. Mine is supposed to be 66 2/3% of my monthly wages. But they cap it at a maximum of 2000$ so it cuts it in half again. Minus taxes and its even less. Luckily my wife has managed to become gainfully employed so its not hurting too bad now but it was a tough go for a while.
I’ve been off for almost 1 1/2 years now. Going from Dr. to Dr., appt. to appt. and referral to referral. I know the outcome and the Dr. knows the outcome. But they have to follow the proper channels and procedures. It seems like a huge waste of time and resources but thats how it goes. Now I’m waiting to get an MRI and then most likely back under the knife for another decompression and possible fusion on my neck.
My benefit carrier is now trying to find other ways to make me go back to work. They are trying to get me to go to CBT (Cerbial Behaviour Therapy) AKA Brainwashing, Hyponitizing. They want me to think I’m not in pain and go back to work while I wait for surgery. My Dr. has stressed that while this rarely works, if it were to work, it would only mask my pain and not fix the physical problems. and it would risk further injury. My attitude at this point is go big or go home. But I am in no rush to return to work.
While this does limit our financial position, I feel in the long run its for the better. I still have alot of live left to work and earn money so why screw it up now and injure myself to the point of permanent disability. My health comes before any job.
In my case I don’t have a family to care for and support so our situations are a little different but I still say take care of your health before you rush back to work. Your LTD will come through. It will just take a while.
Mine is supposed to be 66 2/3% as well, but since I’ve reached the maximum benefit, it works out to be more like 33% of my net pay before..
For me, time has run out.. we can’t get more credit because they’ll want to see a recent paystub..
I’m still going to see a neurosurgeon in April.. but with WorksafeBC not accepting my claim, I don’t have any choice… As you said, LTD doesn’t pay the bills..