Holiday on the South Coast of NSW

Hi. It’s Monday, about noon, and we’re staying at the Shellharbour Beachside Tourist Resort. They really mean "beachside", because we are about 50 feet from the water. We unfortunately have some trees in the way of our water view, but the sound of the surf is very relaxing and there is still a nice breeze. The beach is a combination of sandy and rock pool. There’s also a huge “manmade” ocean pool - huge! I think I might swim in it, since I’m not big about swimming in the ocean.... yeah, I’m afraid of sharks, I give.

We arrived here last night after packing and deciding at about 2 PM that we would leave on the day, rather than wait for the next day, which would mean today which means we wouldn’t be here now, so I’m glad we decided to go when we did. Phew.

The people who run this caravan resort are really nice. They must be, because they allow dogs! Yeah! All the usual rules apply regarding leashes, etc., but Sammy and Karma well-mannered in parks. They usually just lie around the outside of the caravan, unless they can finagle their way inside, which they invariably do. Last night, it was raining, hence, wet and smelly dogs. We kept them in the car (wagon, with their beds and all the comforts of home), and they probably slept better than we did. Except for the times we woke them for “walkies” because we were afraid they might bother the neighbours.

This morning, the weather was mostly clear - at least partially sunny, occasionally cloudy and fairly pleasant. I went to the local mall to pick up a book on caravanning and camping in Australia - a “bargain” at $50 bucks - yikes! I still can’t get used to the cost of books in this country. Hopefully, the information in this book with save us so much money, it will have been a charmed purchase. We had to do something, since we left our only, albeit, outdated, other caravan books somewhere at home. We were fortunate to have found such a great place to stay just by following signs and our noses.

I will include photos as I take and process them (aka: photoshop!).

Great headline

Drug-smeared boobs knock out robbed men

Still a few more days to donate....



Whales and dolphins singing

The Neptune Project in Canada has some cool recordings of whales and dolphins. Spectrograms are also shown.

Tim

This is great, and amazing, and wonderful....

The Next First Family Of The United States

Posted using ShareThis

Giant spider eating a bird (I TOLD you we have really big spiders here!)

Giant spider eating a bird caught on camera - Telegraph

Posted using ShareThis

If you like Cigna, then nevermind...



What Depression Means to Me

1. Intense sadness. I’m not even sure what I’m sad about.
2. Loss of friends. Slowly, but surely, people grow away from me. This happens for a couple of reasons. First, I’m hard to be around when I’m depressed. Secondly, I don’t want to be around anyone when I’m depressed – because it’s hard to interact when you’re depressed and because I feel guilty that I am bumming someone else out. I am not fun to be around.
3. Loss of interest. I have spent a lot of time lately sitting in my living room chair thinking of things I should be doing or trying to imagine what I want to be doing. Nothing sounds viable.
4. Loss of energy. I know I should exercise more, but I find it difficult to go outside, no less exercise with some amount of vigor.
5. Loss of cleanliness. See “Loss of energy”. It’s hard to clean a house effectively when just getting out of bed is a huge achievement.
6. Loss of order… impending chaos. My home is out of control. I have no energy to put things away. My “organizational systems” go unused.
7. Body discontent. I gained weight on an antidepressant lately (Zyprexa). Weight gain, no energy, and no exercise equals “flabolanche!” Impending 57th birthday doesn’t help flagging self-image.
8. Tears. Actually, tears help a bit by relieving some of the “depression” tension. (See “not fun to be around”.)
9. Lack of interest in sex. (See “not fun to be around”.)
10. Excessive sleep. Any form of escape is a good thing.

I don’t know if I’ve ever been this depressed for this long. I didn’t even realize how depressed I have been for the past year, until I tried the Zyprexa and briefly got “undepressed.” That is part of the insidious nature of depression – it isn’t always “obvious.” It is characterized by a growing discontent with one’s life and causes gaping lapses in a person’s ability to look at themselves in any realistic and positive sense. My artwork, that I normally derive tremendous pleasure from, has become an “irresponsible hobby” to me. I have completed many of my projects in the past year, but now they stand the chance of taking over the entire downstairs of our home (see “impending chaos”). I want to sell them (or give them away), but I don’t have the energy or confidence to take advantage of opportunities (local markets, garage sale, etc.)

Get the picture? Depression sucks. I am holding on while my medication is being adjusted, but it’s white knuckle all the way. If you’re a friend reading this post, you can now understand why you probably haven’t heard from me. Fortunately, I know a lot about my illness (unquestionably more than certain Cigna contracted peer review doctors!), and understanding the causes of my discomfort helps me deal with the frustration of going through it.

By the way, I write about my mental illness not for pity, but so that mental illness can come out of the closet. People need to learn about it so they will feel comfortable with people who are different. One last thing…. If anyone tells me to “just be happy” or “just think positively”…. I’ll pop them one. If depression affects you or someone you care about, learn more about it. In Australia, try “Beyond Blue” or “The Black Dog Institute.”

Death in the Garden

This is a recent painting that I did, and I actually like it. The best art I create takes the shortest amount of time, but I have to be "in the zone" to get there. This painting started with a feeling I had of something huge crushing down and tearing me apart. It took about 20 minutes to complete. That's true of my best collages and poetry. I'm convinced that my "inside people" (aka "alters") work out what they want to paint or what they want to say, and use me as a vehicle towards expression. Sometimes, I can write a three page poem in 20 minutes, and won't have an idea of what it means until I read it over when it's completed. Surprisingly, it has many characteristics of well planned verse. Well, I say surprisingly, but it really isn't.




This is a recent collage. I hope you can see some of the detail, pictures, print, etc. Since I was diagnosed DID/MPD, collage has been one of the most effective methods for trying to understand what's going on "inside". As in the painting above, I do the work, and the story unfolds. (Click on the image for a closer look.)

Four more years

The Ocean, a Little White Fluffy Thing, and Tragedy

Yesterday, Tim and I went to Pearl Beach on the Central Coast. It's a beautiful beach which is also somewhat dog-friendly. Sammy and Karma love beaches, especially when Tim takes them on a good long walk. I think the salt air makes them even sillier than usual. We last visited Pearl Beach Christmas Day 2005, when Tim's son, Gavin, and nephew, Ben, were visiting.

The tragedy happened yesterday when a tiny white fluffy dog (Maltese, Shitsu, Fox Terrier cross), got chased into the surf by a Staffie puppy, and was instantly swallowed up by the huge surf. The surf was much worse than it was two and a half years ago. On that day, Ben and Gavin went swimming and we also easily got our kayaks into the water. Yesterday, however, you could see the rip tides and the surf was breaking so close to the shore - well, the little thing didn't have a chance (it probably weighed two kilos soaking wet).

The dog looked similar to this:

Although this just isn't something you expect to happen, I talked to a couple of "locals" who were walking past, and they mentioned that this wasn't an isolated event. Anyway, Tim and I kept scanning the water with the owners looking for the little dog, but we all finally had to give up and head for home.

Poor Soaked Wretch

This poor wet Australian Magpie, that we fondly call "Randal", was begging for food on our balcony today. There has been a pair of them hanging around recently, and I suspect they are trying to feed and care for a new family. I've been giving the Magpies and the Kookaburras doggie meatballs (not meatballs made out of dogs) which they can't seem to get enough of. They are all cheeky enough to take the food right out of my hand. The maggies are particularly amazing to watch because they can pluck a piece of food out of thin air while in full flight mode. The kookaburras are not so nimble. They wait for the food to drop to the ground and then grab it.

We still have our regular rainbow lorikeets that visit (Benito and his wife), and during these rainy days, they huddle together on the "roost" I made for them enjoying relative dryness. Lorikeets are very affectionate with each other.

A Hacker!

We suspected that someone was hacking into our network, but little did we know it was....

CIGNA - progress!

We've made some good progress on Judi's CIGNA stoush. We now have a lawyer in New York with excellent experience in this area. He thinks we have a strong case so he's proceeding to gather material for the next step.

We'll keep you updated.

Tim

Cigna and Doctor Reviewers

I wish I could say something - anything - nice about Cigna or their disability benefit denial and review process, but I cannot think of anything. I have been told that if you have nothing nice to say, it's better to not say anything at all... however...

I do not understand how a person can go through medical or graduate school to learn a "helping" profession - but seem to act without ethics or care toward people - at least in an insurance-related situation. The three doctors that Cigna contracted with (Shipko, DeFilippis or Unsell), to provide reviews of my case and hence their “opinions” of my "ability" to work showed no compassion for me at all. I know it is a business situation and not personal care, but they did not even do what should be a minimum of honest investigation into my case.

For example, all three doctors state that I am able to return to work; that I could be malingering; that I might not really have DID/MPD; and that I lied in my submittals of information to Cigna. But no one from Cigna or their contracted doctors ever tried to talk with either me, or my highly trained and qualified physician. It seems there are professional insurance case reviewers in the medical community, who get paid to give Cigna (or other insurance company) what it obviously prefers - a statement that the disabled appellant is fine - ok - healthy - robust. Their tactics include raising questions against said appellant, but never actually proving anything. If you read our appeal letter, below, you will see the different methods these doctors used to give Cigna their desired outcome.

The Cigna-contracted doctors, Shipko, DeFilippis and Unsell, have caused me a huge amount of stress, enabled Cigna to rule against my appeal, and hurt me by raising questions about my integrity. Do they imagine theirs is a victimless crime? It is not!

I am fortunate that I have the love and support of a husband who works and can provide for me; otherwise, I could easily be one of the many homeless mentally ill. But there are disabled people who have lost their homes because the insurance companies are unfairly terminating their disability benefits, and they have nothing or no one to fall back on.

What happened to ethics? Is the doctor's need or lust for the dollar so powerful he is willing to toss his morals out the window?

We (the people of the USA) have a corrupt health insurance system utilized by corrupt insurance companies who utilize corrupt doctor reviewers. We are hearing more and more stories about insurance company shenanigans - when are we going to see some positive change?

Each doctor reviewer should take a hard look inside... perhaps they might realize that I am more than just another case file - a mental “gimp” that they never bothered to talk to. I guess that makes it easier for them – the "case" has no face and no voice, so they never had to deal with a human – after all; I was just another case and just another check in the bank.

Unsell - a track record

The first doctor used in Judi's case, Dr. Randal Unsell, has a track record. The Court in "Combe vs CIGNA" noted that:

Dr. Unsell concluded that the “available information does not support a psychiatric functional impairment to preclude the claimant from work capacity.” Id. He disregarded the treating physician’s opinion, as well as his office notes and letter describing the deterioration of Combe’s condition, based on Dr. Roniger’s refusal to obtain neuropsychological testing to substantiate the referenced cognitive deficits and his diagnosis.

Cigna - Unethical and Uncool

We were not totally surprised to received Cigna's most recent letter informing us they have denied yet another (and final) of my disability benefit appeals. Although, I must admit I was allowing myself to dream of victory when their response was late (past the 45 day limit). I hoped perhaps the only way they would allow that occurrence would be in the case they needed to pay me money. Wrong again.

In the final appeal denial - all one and a half pages of it - they stated they had not received additional supporting evidence to prove that I am unable to work. Tim and I are wondering, then, what do they think of the 50 plus pages of information we sent?

I am including, below, the letter that Tim (mostly) wrote for our last appeal. I have removed certain information for either privacy or brevity. I am posting this online because I feel the Cigna contracted staff and doctors should be made accountable for their – what I believe to be – unethical actions and conduct.

____________________________________________________

Disability Management Solutions
CIGNA Group Insurance
12225 Greenville Ave., Ste. 1000
Dallas, TX 75243-9337

RE: Second appeal concerning termination of disability payments for
Judith Dodge Lowell

We are writing to appeal the decision by CIGNA to terminate disability benefits for Judi Lowell. This is our second appeal following termination. We also filed an earlier document arguing that termination should not proceed. Thus, in all, this is the third substantial document that we have submitted concerning this matter.

In April 2008, we requested and received from CIGNA what we understand to be the complete Administrative Record (AR) for Judi's case. Our appeal is based on material found in that Record. The AR contains a large number of documents, including notes from Judi's doctors, reviews by CIGNA's peer reviewers, and correspondence between Judi and CIGNA.

We would like to categorize our responses in five areas:

Qualifications and experience of CIGNA reviewers:

None of the review doctors appear to have any experience diagnosing or treating DID. We used internet resources to determine information about the doctors:

• We can find virtually no useful information on Dr. Unsell's medical expertise apart from his qualification in anesthesiology, and a statement that he specializes in addictions psychiatry. Dr. Unsell has no published papers listed in PubMed. In our internet research, we did find that Dr. Unsell's name has been published in the Park City Police Blotter for public drunkenness and assault of his wife. He has also been arrested for "Harassing Communications". Given that Judi's second husband is documented in the AR as being a substance abusing and abusive stalker, we believe that use of Dr. Unsell as a reviewer is not appropriate.
• Dr. DeFilippis is a clinical psychologist/neuropsychologist running a company providing various services, including forensic psychology. His web site lists the areas in which he has received post-graduate training - dissociation is not included. Although he has published a substantial number of papers, none of those listed on his web site address dissociation. A search on PubMed also failed to reveal any papers on dissociation.
• Dr. Shipko's web site says that he is a "board certified psychiatrist in private practice in Pasadena, CA. Known for his work in the field of psychosomatic medicine, his clinical subspecialty is panic disorder." Dr. Shipko has a strong media presence, and is evidently an expert in the connection between reflux and panic disorder. A search on PubMed failed to reveal any papers on dissociation.

We both have experience in searching for appropriate doctors. We would not choose any one of these doctors to treat Judi's illness. We do not understand why CIGNA regards these doctors as being suitable to provide a well-informed medical review of a patient with DID.

Failure to determine medical history and current status:

The AR clearly shows that CIGNA and the various review doctors have failed to take reasonable steps to determine Judi's medical history and current status. We highlight a few examples below:

• Neither of the three review doctors or anyone from CIGNA has talked directly to Judi.
• Neither of the three review doctors has talked directly to Judi's current doctor, Sybil J (or to any other of her previous providers). For example, in the section of Dr. Unsell's report entitled "Peer-to-Peer discussion", he mentions that he elected instead to send a questionnaire to Dr. J because of the "17 hour time difference", presumably not realizing that the time difference is actually 7 hours (a time difference cannot be greater than 12 hours). Dr. Unsell then bases his assessment on his uncertainty over questions that could (and should) have been discussed directly with Dr. J (for example, the form and severity of Judi's switching).
• Following her most severe episode, in 1998, Judi was admitted to Timberlawn hospital (http://www.timberlawn.com/trauma.htm) in Dallas, Texas for 14 days inpatient care, followed by 14 days outpatient. The treatment and hospital unit are specifically for patients with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID/MPD). Timberlawn is operated by Dr. Colin Ross, one of the world's most recognized and respected experts in the field of DID. However, CIGNA has failed to obtain any documentation from Timberlawn. This is in direct contradiction to the letter of June 19, 2007 from CIGNA, which states that the review material includes "all the records from various hospitals and providers,..." We find this omission particularly strange since Timberlawn is located in Dallas, the same city as the corresponding CIGNA office. We find it even more troubling because Timberlawn is a leading center for the treatment of DID. Thus, for example, if as Dr. DeFilippis suggests, Judi is not actually DID or is malingering, the records from Timberlawn should show that. We note that the AR shows that CIGNA did ask Timberlawn for the records twice but then for some reason neglected to actually obtain the requested material.
• Judi was diagnosed as DID in 1997 by Dr. F, formerly of Albuquerque, New Mexico (as evidenced by two statements from Dr. F in the AR). Despite the obvious importance, Dr. F's case notes are not present in the AR.
• We have submitted two previous responses answering specific questions that were raised by CIGNA. We have not received any answers to the points addressed in these responses. In addition, the latest review, by Dr. Shipko, does not mention these as being amongst the documents that are being reviewed.
• As part of our second response, Dr. J (October 14, 2007) wrote a detailed explanation of why she considered Judi unable to work. The action sheet from CIGNA shows merely an annotation that "There is no new information that refutes the prior discussion re: functionality".
• At Dr. Shipko's request, Dr. J wrote another long, detailed letter to him (January 12, 2008) prior to his January 16 review. This letter is part of the AR but is not mentioned as one of the documents that Shipko reviewed, although he had specifically asked Dr.J for it. Since this letter addresses some of the issues in his review, this is a serious oversight that we believe undermines his review.

Errors, insufficient review of the AR, innuendo, and unfounded conclusions:

In addition, the reviews have errors, evidence of insufficient review of the AR, innuendo, and unfounded conclusions.

Examples from Dr. Unsell:

• Dr. Unsell writes, "If the Cx does indeed have DID, which is very rare, it would be common for her to be under the care of a mental health professional." The SIDRAN site (http://www.sidran.org) says that DID prevalence in the general population is about 1%. Judi's DID was diagnosed by Dr. F in 1997. Also, she is under the care of a mental health professional, Dr. J, who is experienced in treating DID.
• Following up on the previous point, we note that Dr. Unsell often uses the construction "If the Cx does indeed...", thus raising uncertainty and doubt without having to answer the implied question. He raises clearly important questions but does nothing to address them. Another example of this type of innuendo:
• "If the Cx indeed did write the blog, her psychiatric functional capacity may be significantly stronger than other sources indicate."
• Dr. Unsell wrote the following (obviously careless) statement: "She first saw the Cx on 10/25/05, and most recently saw the Cx on 10/18/05".
• Dr. Unsell wrote that the Cx has "patches of memory loss of traumatic childhood events." We presume he meant to write "recall" rather than "loss".

From Dr. DeFilippis:

• Dr. DeFilippis incorrectly refers to both F and D as "social workers". They are, in fact, MSW, Dr. F has a PhD in Education and they have many hours of continuing education credits from training opportunities in dissociation and trauma.
• Dr. DeFilippis consistently writes "D(removed for privacy)" instead of "D".
• Dr. DeFilippis writes "Unsel" instead of "Unsell".
• Dr. DeFilippis states that Judi's psychiatric history dates back to 1995 - in fact, it dates to the late 1980's.
• Dr. DeFilippis gives responses to two specific referral questions: on functional capability and on standard of care. His answer on functional capability relies upon his over-reading and misreading of our blog, and his answer on standard of care ignores much of the AR showing treatment by F, Timberlawn Trauma Unit, D, and J.

From Dr. Shipko:

• Dr. Shipko is clearly confused about the gender of Dr. Sybil J and even worse, refers to her as he and she in successive sentences. He is also mistaken about the gender of Dr Verna P, but he is consistent in mistaking her for him.
• Dr. Shipko writes Judi's name as "Judy", though the correct spelling is used throughout the AR.
• Dr. Shipko is asked by CIGNA to assess Judi's capability to work from July 19, 2007 - the date of the cessation of benefits. He actually has a lot of relevant information from Dr. J but he rejects this and instead, he draws an unfounded conclusion about Judi's state from the fact that Judi did not see Dr. J for a few months in mid 2007. Dr. Shipko deduces that the "most likely explanation for this attenuation of treatment, taken in conjunction with the other evidence of functionality, is that the claimant is significantly improved and back at her baseline of functionality when she was still working full-time." Dr. Shipko himself notes on page 5 that there was a similar gap in Judi's treatment from April 2004 to October 2004, yet does not draw the obvious but incorrect conclusion that she must have recovered then as well. As we have documented in our previous appeal, the reasons for the break in 2007 were financial, a desire to take a short break from the intense experience of therapy, and the fact that Dr. J was absent from work for some time with a broken shoulder.
• On page 8 of Dr. Shipko's report, he notes that Dr. J writes, "symptoms are anxiety, depression, mood changes, identity confusion, derealization, depersonalization, loss of time(s), social withdrawal and intrusive abdominal/pelvic discomfort". He also states that Dr. J "writes that the claimant is symptomatic on most days, is anxious and avoids socialization." However, in his conclusion, he baldly states that records do not reflect that either rapid switching or severe depression or anxiety are present. On page 12, Dr. Shipko states that "The information does not indicate that the claimant has a mood disturbance", in direct contradiction to his statement on page 8. The information available to him does indicate a mood disturbance, but in forming his conclusion he disregards the report of Dr. J, although Dr. J has treated Judi for three years and is best suited to provide a clinical report. Furthermore, only Dr. J has examined the patient, Judi, during the period in question - from July 19, 2007 onwards.

Our blog, http://tjoz.blogspot.com, is the focus of a lot of attention, both in the reviews and by CIGNA.

• In the letter of June 19, 2007, CIGNA relays a claim from Dr. DeFilippis that no alter has written in the blog. There is no explanation how this was determined. Dr. DeFilippis has not met Judi or any of her alters so we find it astonishing that he would make this claim.
• The hard copy of the blog in the AR contains handwritten comments of unknown origin. The comments extrapolate a lot from a little, always in a biased direction. For example, Judi wrote "Some friends told me about the blue ringed octopus...." and the note next to it read: "social?" Next to a note where Judi mentioned that she researched caravan parks on the internet, the note read "research and planning?" No notes were placed next to comments that indicated any problem with certain activities. There is no note next to where Judi talks about her depression or any mention of large gaps of time missing in the blog.
• About 80% of the blog posts were by Tim. Tim reads widely and often writes on the blog on a wide range of topics, and on books. Dr. DeFilippis comments that Judi is able to read complex books, such as by Cormac McCarthy, as evidenced by a blog entry. This is an unfounded supposition, which should have been checked - in fact, Judi has not read any substantial book in years, and that entry on the blog was written by Tim.

The blog is used by Dr. Shipko (letter to Dr. J, January 7, 2008) to argue that Judi is "capable of a high degree of socialization and activity". We found the following relevant entries for each month:

1. February 2005: 2 entries (trips to Santa Fe and Clovis - one night each)
2. April 2005: 1 entry (dinner at Epping with Indian friend)
3. May 2005: 1 entry (mention dog walks and meeting interesting people)
4. June 2005: 2 entries (re: Manly trip, Judi mentions socializing at the dog park daily)
5. July 2005: 2 entries (Berowra waters/Ferry trip with Tim, Juan and Rosa dinner)
6. August 2005: 1 entries (opera with Zoë)
7. October 2005: 2 entries (visit Michelle, Enno and Angelika for dinner)
8. December 2005: 3 entries (Ben and Katie, Visit with Bella and Lisa, Contemporary Museum visit, Ernie and Ruth visit)
9. April 2006: 1 entry (Judi describes people she has met on our street)
10. May 2006: 1 entry (museum trip - Tim and Judi)
11. June 2006: 2 entries (Manly Food and Wind, Urvashi and Watson's Bay)
12. December 2006: 1 entry (to see Priscilla, Queen of the Desert)
13. January 2007: 2 entries (Tim mentions Judi's birthday and lots of friends, and about Australia day with John and Alison)
14. February 2007: 1 entry (Judi mentions our caravan vacation)
15. March 2007: 1 entry (some "friends" told Judi about the octopus)

Thus in a period of over two years, the blog mentions 21 social events - less than one per month. We do not believe that any reasonable person would regard this as evidence of Judi's "high degree of socialization and activity".

Dismissal of Dr. J's qualifications and assessment:

Over the last three years, Dr. J has treated Judi regularly and is therefore in the best position to offer an assessment of her status and in particular Judi's ability to work. Faced with the clarity of Dr. J's submissions, all three reviewers have resorted to questioning her qualifications. We defer to Dr. J's most recent letter (see enclosed) for an account of her qualifications and experience. Clearly, she is both qualified and experienced at the appropriate level to treat and assess Judi's illness.

In support of Dr. J, we will relate how Judi came to choose Dr. J as her doctor. Before we came to Australia, Judi searched carefully for a suitable doctor, and ended up using the following approach - she contacted the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (http://www.isst-d.org) and asked for a referral to a doctor capable of treating DID. The Australian contact for ISST-D, Dr. Francesca Collins, then suggested three names, including Dr. J Judi contacted Dr. J via email and, after some email discussion, Dr. J agreed to take Judi as a patient.

We strongly believe that Judi is receiving care of the highest quality from Dr. J. Her letters are part of the AR, and speak for themselves. We excerpt the conclusions from two of the letters:

January 12, 2008, to Dr. Shipko: "As an employer, I would love to employ people with Judi’s high level of intelligence and skill but I would not do so if the potential employee had such unpredictability and variable ability to cope with stress and normal tasks.

"I hope that my answers are clear and sufficient to convince you and the insurance company that she is unfit to hold regular employment and that furthermore, if she were to receive the payment which she believes she is entitled to receive, she will be in a better position to receive more intensive therapy and hopefully improve to the point of being able to resume gainful employment."

May 3, 2008, to CIGNA (attached): "I have no doubt that Judi would like to be gainfully employed, and I am hoping that this will happen in the foreseeable future. Meanwhile she is not currently fit to return to paid employment in any job where she would be required to attend consistently and reliably. Unless her disability payment is reinstated by Cigna, I believe that the company’s action is a revictimisation of an already greatly traumatised woman."

Failure of attempts to understand CIGNA procedures:

We have also attempted to ascertain whether CIGNA staff followed CIGNA policies in reviewing Judi's case - for example, are the reviewers themselves selected on the basis of expertise relevant to the case at hand? Are the reviewers vetted in any way - why was Dr. Unsell's arrest record not a disqualification? Why was Dr. Shipko only asked to review Judi's ability to work from the date of termination of benefits? None of the doctors talked to Judi or her current doctor – is this consistent with CIGNA procedures?

Accordingly, Judi wrote to Kim Jackson, asking for the relevant manual, evidently called "The Book of Operating Knowledge".

From: Judi Lowell [mailto:judi.lowell@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2008 8:21 PM
To: Jackson, Kathryn I 212
Cc: Cornwell Tim; Lowell Judi
Subject: "The Book of Operating Knowledge"

Dear Kim,

Below is the complete text of an email I sent to you on April 18, 2008.
Apparently, the last part of the message was deleted when I sent it via pdf.

The deleted section is:

Does Cigna have a list or document that claim reviewers refer to that contains
this type of information? May I have a copy? Is there any other information
and/or document(s) that Cigna uses as reference for claim reviewers that is
relevant to my case? May I have a copy?

Thank you for your time and attention.
Best Regards,
Judi Lowell

As we are continuing to work on our appeal, I would like to go forward with
our request for this information, and I understand the manual I refer to is
called "The Book of Operating Knowledge." As I just recently found my error of
omission, and we are anxious to complete this step of the appeal process, I
would appreciate it if you could send the book to me as soon as possible.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Judi Lowell

Ms. Jackson replied that the internal guidelines are proprietary information:

Received: May 13, 2008 6:17 AM ChST
Expires: Jul 12, 2008 6:17 AM ChST
From: Jackson, Kathryn I 212
To: judi.lowell@gmail.com
Subject: RE: "The Book of Operating Knowledge"

Ms. Lowell,

Internal guidelines are proprietary information. Each claim is reviewed and
evaluated individually and a determination is made based upon the medical
documentation and the policy under which the employee was covered.

Based on this information, we are unable to provide you with a copy of what
you are referring the Book of Operating Knowledge. If you need anything else,
please let me know.

Thanks,

Kim Jackson
Case Manager
Dallas Claims Office
(800) 352-0611 ext. 5692
Fax 860-731-3493

Confidential, unpublished property of CIGNA. Do not duplicate or distribute.
Use and distribution limited solely to authorized personnel. ? Copyright 2008
CIGNA


We found this hard to understand - the policy is not specific about the procedures to be followed in claims dispute. We also found a relevant court case that seemed to indicate that CIGNA must release such documents (quoted in the letter). On May 12, 2008, Judi wrote to Kim Jackson, quoting a specific web site:

From: Judi Lowell [mailto:judi.lowell@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 5:06 PM
To: Jackson, Kathryn I 212
Cc: Cornwell Tim; Lowell Judi
Subject: Book of Knowledge

Kim,

You mention that this book is proprietary information, but I found the following on a lawyer's blog online. Has that ruling been overturned? I'll write to the Law firm as well to ask them to confirm their information.

Thank you for your speedy response,

Judi Lowell


http://www.longtermdisabilitylawblog.com/benefit_denials/

CIGNA's Claims Manual is Not Confidential

If CIGNA, or one of its subsidiaries, denies your long term disability claim, you should send a request to CIGNA demanding a copy of its claims manual. You should ask for it by name; CIGNA calls its claims manual "The Book of Operating Knowledge."

On November 14, 2006, we successfully defeated CIGNA's attempt to prevent disclosure of its Book of Operating Knowledge. In the case of Levy v. INA Life Ins. Co. of New York, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83060 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 14, 2006), Judge Gerard E. Lynch denied CIGNA's motion. Judge Lynch explains:

The case for non-disclosure is further undermined by Department of Labor regulations requiring disclosure of procedures employed during claims processing as mandated under section 503 of ERISA. See 29 C.F.R. § § 2560.503-1(g)(1), (h)(2), (i)(5), (j)(5), and (m)(8). Indeed, the Department of Labor "has taken the position that internal rules, guidelines, protocols, or similar criteria would constitute instruments under which a plan is established or operated within the meaning of section 104(b)(4) of ERISA and, as such, must be disclosed to participants and beneficiaries." U.S. Department of Labor, "Frequently Asked Questions about the Benefit Claims Procedure Regulation," C-17, http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/FAQs/faq_claims_proc_reg.html. These requirements make plain that such claims-handling manuals, whether in whole or piecemeal, are likely to be disseminated widely to plan participants and to litigants challenging benefits denials. Under these circumstances, the effort to protect such materials as confidential is quixotic.


Ms Jackson replied with an even less helpful and intelligible response:

From: "Jackson, Kathryn I 212"
Date: 15 May 2008 5:20:30 AM
To: "Judi Lowell"
Subject: RE: Book of Knowledge

Ms. Lowell,

Sorry it has taken me a few days to get back with you, but I needed to clarify with my boss on how to respond. Please see below.

Our decision utilized the information contained in the file, together with the policy. We did not rely on any procedures contained in the Book of Knowledge in making a determination on your claim. Furthermore, this request is unclear and not specifically related to the decision rendered in your claim.

Thank you,

Kim Jackson
Case Manager
Dallas Claims Office
(800) 352-0611 ext. 5692
Fax 860-731-3493

Confidential, unpublished property of CIGNA. Do not duplicate or distribute. Use and distribution limited solely to authorized personnel. © Copyright 2008 CIGNA

We then made one final attempt:

From: judi.lowell@gmail.com
Subject: Request for Book of Operating Knowledge
Date: 21 May 2008 1:15:21 PM
To: Kim.Jackson2@cigna.com
Cc: timcornwell@gmail.com, judi.lowell@gmail.com

Hi Kim,

I just want to clarify my previous request, since your boss mentioned that it was unclear. I might have referred to the book in question as the "Book of Knowledge". However, the law firm referred to it as "The Book of Operating Knowledge." If I was unclear or incorrect about the complete title, it was also mentioned as "The Book of Operating Knowledge" in the excerpt from the Law Firm blog which was included in the same email message to you.

However, I'm certain that your boss would understand these two titles as referring to the same book of reference used by Cigna, but just in case, I wanted to provide this clarification.

I also wrote the following, which seems quite clear as to what I was indeed asking for:

Does Cigna have a list or document that claim reviewers refer to that contains
this type of information? May I have a copy? Is there any other information
and/or document(s) that Cigna uses as reference for claim reviewers that is
relevant to my case? May I have a copy?

So I guess I am asking for any manuals or documents that contain procedures that Cigna follows to ensure consistent levels of standard in their review procedures. I found very little of that type of guidance in the policy.

In addition, I found the following in the DOL.gov link provided by the law firm blog:

The regulation requires that a claimant, have access to, and copies of, documents, records and other information relevant to the claimant's claim. For this purpose, the regulation defines as relevant any document, record, or other information that:

* Was relied upon in making the benefit determination
* Was submitted, considered, or generated in the course of making the benefit determination, without regard to whether it was relied upon
* Demonstrates compliance with the plan's administrative processes and safeguards for ensuring consistent decision making
* Constitutes a statement of policy or guidance with respect to the group health plan concerning the denied treatment option or benefit for the claimant's diagnosis, without regard to whether it was relied upon in making the benefit determination. See §§ 2560.503-1(h)(2)(iii) and 2560.503-1(m)(8)

Any explanation and/or documents you can provide us would be helpful.

Best Regards,
Judi Lowell

With the following reply:

From: "Jackson, Kathryn I 212"
Date: 21 May 2008 10:50:30 PM
To: "Judi Lowell"
Subject: RE: Request for Book of Operating Knowledge

Ms. Lowell,

Please be advised again that the determination was based on the documents contained in your file, which a copy was mailed to you on or around 3/19/08. We did not utilize the Book of Knowledge to make a determination in your claim.

Thanks,

Kim Jackson 
Case Manager 
Dallas Claims Office 
(800) 352-0611 ext. 5692 
Fax 860-731-3493

In pursuing our request, we were guided by material on the website of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (http://www.dol.gov/ebsa). The reason for our request was to understand the procedures followed by CIGNA in determining Judi’s case since the procedural documentation in the AR is minimal. CIGNA has replied multiple times that the determination was based on the documentation in the AR – which is not at dispute. At the end of this exchange, we were unable to decide whether CIGNA was being obtuse or obstructive. The result is the same: we were not able to determine the procedures used by CIGNA in this case.

SUMMARY:

The evidence above shows that:

1. The CIGNA reviewers are poorly suited to review Judi's status,
2. Both CIGNA and the reviewers failed to take reasonable steps to determine Judi's medical history and current status,
3. The reviews have careless errors, evidence of insufficient review of the AR, innuendo, one-sided reading of the evidence, and unwarranted conclusions,
4. The qualifications of Dr. J are incorrectly dismissed as being insufficient, and her assessment of Judi as being unable to work is therefore erroneously rejected.
5. CIGNA rebuffed our efforts to understand the procedures followed in Judi's case.

Thus, we have shown that CIGNA has failed to give Judi's case a full and fair review. The conclusion by CIGNA that Judi is now able to work is therefore unfounded, and in particular is not supported by an impartial reading of the full material in the AR.

Although we contend that the material in the AR when read impartially will support our case that Judi is not able to work at this time, we include the following additional material:

• The most recent letter from Dr. J to CIGNA,
• A personal statement from Tim concerning Judi (dated May 11, 2008),
• A personal statement from Judi regarding her condition and symptoms,
• Entries from Judi's diary.

The letter from Dr. J provides highly specific information on Judi's case.

CIGNA has told us previously that it will not use the personal material, such as that from Tim and Judi, in the review process. Nevertheless, we ask that it be placed in the AR. If this appeal is rejected, we will proceed to our next level of remedy.

This letter was written by Tim, with comments and minor revisions by Judi.

Sincerely,

Judi Lowell
Tim Cornwell
May 24, 2008

FUTBOL NEWS!!!!

Tim finally get his big break and proves the naysayers wrong!

I like this....

"Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end."~ Scott Adams

Response to Question by "DC":

"Insurance question for you--I will be taking a job in Australia for one year (currently living in the US) and will need to purchase a private insurance policy. Both my husband and I have pre-existing conditions and are having a really tough time finding a company that doesn't have the 12-month waiting period clause. We both are covered now (in the States) and will not have a gap in coverage--am I understanding that there a universal rule that as long as you don't have a gap in coverage that pre-existings will be covered or is there a company you can name that doesn't exclude them?"

Hi DC: My recommendation to you is to maintain your current policy (under COBRA if need be - although that is expensive) or switch to another US policy prior to moving here. Be sure they will cover you while living in Australia. Unfortunately, Australian health insurers don't honor USA (or other countries') health policy rules. Both my husband and I had pre-exisiting conditions that are not covered until after a waiting period. The paper needed is a Certificate of Continuation, but that only applies from Ozzie health cover to Ozzie health cover (at least that is my understanding). We even had excellent "expat" Ozzie health cover (QBE), and we still weren't allowed continuation of cover. (And, for some reason, it took about six months for our health fund to determine that.) Fortunately, we became permanent residents last October and became eligible for Australian Medicare, so at least some of our expenses are covered through the Australia government. Public health insurance is a VERY GOOD THING!!!!

In addition, if you keep your US insurance, you will still be covered when you return after your year abroad. One problem with what I'm recommending is that US insurers (in my case, Cigna) try all kinds of tricks to get out of paying international claims. For example, they question my doctor's provider number (She's an Australian doctor. Duh!) and so haven't paid my claims yet. They also state that I bought medicine prior to the eligible date (I assume that is 30 days or something). In the US, a pharmacist can check online or by phone to see when a patient can obtain a refill, but that's not practical from Australia. I just went and bought my prescriptions as I needed them or when it was convenient. I still took the same number of pills! I am still fighting to reclaim most of what I have submitted to Cigna (and I'm talking $100's) which is most of my claims since moving here in April 2005.

I hope this helps you and I hope my explanation is both correct and understandable. If you have any other questions, either about living in Oz or health insurance, feel free to ask.

Q: Is Judi a NERD?

Best goal ever

Awesome, non-linear, non-Euclidean, extra-dimensional goal. Probably the best I've seen.

Homer Simpson + John Wayne =

Q. Is Tim a nerd?

A.

House of the mentally interesting

Judi has demonstrated her openness by writing about her Dissociative Identity Disorder in several posts. This was partly provoked by CIGNA's stupid decision to classify her as being able to work, even though no one from CIGNA has talked to Judi or her doctor.

So she has set the standard. Now I have to live up to it. I've had clinical depression diagnosed since some time in the mid nineties, but I think that I've had it essentially all my life, starting at the age of 14 or 15, with bad flare ups every few years. I recently went to see a new doctor, and to cut a not very long story even shorter, it seems that I have Bipolar II. Bipolar used to be called manic depression, a name that is somewhat frowned upon but which is quite useful as having two parts that can be used as appropriate - mania and depression.

Depression is easy to spot in my life. We're not talking the blues here but major internal white-outs in which I disappear even from myself. I've dealt with these over the years in various ways. For the last 13 years, I've been taking anti-depressants, which usually work very well. That is, they work for a few years and then the effect seems to wear off (at least for me), and I have to move onto another type.

Mania is a much trickier customer. Severe mania is associated with BP I, and this wrecks lives. You run short on judgment, discretion, good sense, the need to sleep, etc. In place of these worthy qualities come delusions - farsight, clearsight, profound understanding and insight, and the urge to share these. Fortunately I seem to have hypomania - a little bit of mania. In small doses, the delusions seem helpful (homeopathic delusions?).

So depression and mania come hand-in-hand for a person with BP. Usually they occur sequentially but it's possible to have both at once.

I can now look back on my life and recognize periods of depression, hypomania, mania and mixed states. I feel like calling up people I know and saying you know when I did that idiotic thing.... Fortunately I don't think I've been that bad, apart from some time in the mid nineties when I was probably in a mixed state for many months. My very good friend Andy helped me get through this wretched time.

The good thing (and you knew there had to be at least one) is that BP is more amenable to pharmacological treatment than pure depression. I've been taking Zyprexa which is a wonder drug in my book. My depression has lifted totally. I may be slightly manic but I can live with that, and I suspect it will die away as I get used to the drug.

BP is evidently being diagnosed more these days, probably because doctors are more aware of it and also have better diagnostic tools. I have an appointment at the Black Dog Institute to get tested more definitively. I used their on-line test as a first pass. Black Dog deals with mood disorders in general and their web site is an excellent resource for anyone suffering from mood disorders (either one's own or someone else's!). If you think you might benefit, go check it out.

Tim

Vincent's world

Danny Boy, the definitive version

(hat tip to Andrew Sullivan)

CIGNA dirty tricks or just a coincidence - YOU decide!

One of our readers, Darvin, comments on a previous entry:

I found your blog rather interesting. Cigna Insurance is one of the few insurance companies which does not have too many negative reports. It seems to pay out the reimbursement in time, in full amount. The customer service is also impressively good. www.pissedconsumer.com though displays people’s dissatisfaction with the company. Obviously, there are some gaps in the way the company provides its services.

He/she also writes exactly the same comment at Shakespeare's sister's blog.

I found your blog rather interesting. Cigna Insurance is one of the few insurance companies which does not have too many negative reports. It seems to pay out the reimbursement in time, in full amount. The customer service is also impressively good. www.pissedconsumer.com though displays people's dissatisfaction with the company. Obviously, there are some gaps in the way the company provides its services.


Darvin? Care to explain?

Updated:

I'm surprised that Darvin is located in the Ukraine and has such an active interest in CIGNA. Our blog log shows that he/she connected from Ukraine, Kiev, Kyyivs'ka Oblast'. My guess is that he/she is using an anonymizer. I'm not sure then why the name Darvin would be used.

Tim

Another Grand Canyon?

Australia has its own Grand Canyon. I hiked it last weekend with some friends, Robert, Sandra, and Connie.

Grand is perhaps too strong a word. I'd call it Deep Canyon - it's very narrow and deep. So much so that my GPS didn't track very well. Here's the Google Map showing the parts where I had a reading:


Here's a warning sign:



Here's a view along the footpath:



The bottom is wonderfully dark and damp. The path goes up and down the side of the canyon, sometimes close to the top and sometimes at the bottom so it's quite a hike. We saw lots of people, most hiking but a few were obviously going to climb down.



The temperature was in the teen's when we were there. The bottom of the canyon would be a good place to spend a hot day but getting in and out would raise your own temperature a lot.

Here's a picture taken looking up from the path:



The guide books call this a half day walk but we did it in a couple of hours. I'd guess it was about 5km. There's a nice view at the north end of the loop shown here. The view from here really is similar to the view from the north rim of the Grand Canyon in the US - one of our favorite places to car camp.

Tim

Why we miss New Mexico....

Musings...

So... as one ages, does one get dumber or does one get wiser and just truly begin to realize how much one really doesn't know? Put another way, am I losing smarts or gaining self knowledge? Hmmmm.

We had four Kookaburras outside our balcony yesterday. They are funny birds. They usually don't find Tim or I very interesting since we are fish eating vegetarians, but someone suggested dog mince to me - and well, they like us more now. When it comes to food, these birds know no fear. One Kookie (as they are endearingly called here) flew right up to me to grab the mince. This is what they sound like. And here's a photo I got the other day:

















It's not a great photo, but it was overcast.

Here's a photo of a Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo. He was just a foot away from me.... speaking of fearless!



When these birds arrive I do battle with them to scare them away. They are known to destroy timber homes if you stop feeding them. They are beautiful though.

Judi xxoo

The second best version of Hallejuah

A group from Norway has the best version (after k.d.) - who'd have thought it?

Espen Lind(on guitar), Askil Holm, Alejandro Fuentes, Kurt Nilsen(World Idol). Wait for the last singer!

Caminito del Rey

Enough with the rain already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm really sick of it. It has been raining for weeks here. I realized that I'm not turning gray, it's just mold growing on my head.

And let me tell you about the leeches! Yuck. Last week, Tim took the dogs for an hour long bush walk. It wasn't raining at the time, but it has been raining as I mentioned. When he came home, I noticed a couple of leeches that had dropped off the dogs. They weren't engorged - meaning they hadn't yet feasted on my dogs' tasty blood - but still skinny stretching slinky alien lifeforms. It's hard to like a leech. Anyway, I thought I might rub the dogs with some special doggy insecticide I have to encourage any "hangers-on" to exodus my doggys' bodies. We've had leeches before, but I still wasn't prepared for the plethora of squiggly critters to jump ship (I mean, dog). I must have picked up 20-30 leeches! Now ask me, did I flush the leeches down the toilet?

Funny you should ask....

The last time a leech dropped off one of the dogs, Tim flushed it down the toilet. Jumping ahead (no pun intended - :) ) 20 minutes, I had just finished relieving myself and turned to flush. Have you ever had the experience of something you just deposited in the toilet coming back atcha? Well, you might have guessed what my first impression was, but it actually was the "flushed" (and may I say very good swimmer) leech! It had crawled up the inside of the toilet and was stretching its disgusting self toward where my very "personal" self was just exposed. Are you getting the picture here?

I know that some celebrities, with way too much money and time, actually pay to have leeches placed on their bodies. I know that surgeons use leeches in lifesaving heart surgery. But wouldn't a leech be the epitome of a hemophilia's nightmare?




Personally, I don't like 'em, but if you want to learn more, try here.

-Judi

Australian Private Health Insurance

Tim and I took out private health insurance here in Australia. We became eligible for Medicare - Australia's public health insurance - in October. Even with the public health program, many people who can afford it, take out private insurance as well. For one reason, there is a tax rebate for people with private health insurance. I assume the reason is that private healthcare relieves some of the stress on the public system.

There is a general rule here, that if you have had hospital coverage prior to enrolling in a new program, that your benefits will continue if you enroll within two months of terminating your last insurance (hence no 2-month waiting period or pre-existing condition clauses). There is some question whether our expatriate coverage that was provided through CSIRO (until Medicare became effective by becoming permanent residents) is eligible for this 2-month continuation rule. The interesting item here, is that our new health insurer is helping us get that continuation of coverage - i.e., save us money which could potentially cost them money!

Comparing this to our experience with Cigna - well, in fact there is no comparison! I had to fight Cigna for almost every claim I ever made, which usually meant dealing with some very unpleasant (read: rude and abusive) Cigna employees.

I know that the USA doesn't have public health - unfortunately - but why can't US insurance companies be less adversarial? Why can't they pay claims without going through all the games of denial - so that only the most persistent of people get reimbursed?

I am not afraid to talk to people who work for our new health insurance. In fact, the people I have dealt with are absolutely lovely. One woman has been trying different avenues to allow us to get the continuation - going out of her way to help us! I have never had that happen to me in the United States - in dealing with health insurers. I actually dread every time I have to speak with Cigna, because I know it will be stressful, and it usually means more of my time to "justify" to them why they should pay my claim.

I have been reading about Cigna, which includes Cigna forums online. Apparently, the morale at Cigna is at an all-time low. Several employees said they have to perform the jobs of 2 or more people. One person said their insurance benefits were poor. It doesn't seem surprising to me that employees would have low morale - for all the reasons stated and because they are encouraged to hang up their ethics before entering the place of work. How satisfying can it be to constantly say "no" to people - which possibly means going against their own better judgment or nature? The more you deny claims the more you advance in the organization... does this sound right, moral or good?

The Health Insurance industry in the US needs an overhaul. Perhaps they could learn something from Australian insurers?

CIGNA and Catch 22

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.

"That's some catch, that catch-22," he observed.

"It's the best there is," Doc Daneeka agreed.

CIGNA has its own Catch 22. Leaving aside a lot of extraneous, distracting, and basically irrelevant stuff, CIGNA's case against Judi is that it doesn't believe her doctor's statement that Judi is not able to work. The only way to prove that she can't work is to try to. If she tried to work and then got sick, she would have already lost her coverage by CIGNA anyway because she would no longer be eligible because she is working! It's as beautiful (and obscene) as Catch 22.

Tim

CIGNA and morality

Judi's post says a number of things that need to be said about her specific case. Driving back tonight, I was pondering how to communicate the true awfulness of CIGNA's actions in her case. CIGNA benefits from hiding in plain sight - there are so many cases of this sort that only the most egregious get the deserved attention from the media. I'd like all CIGNA case workers to act as though each case would be on the front page of the New York Times. It's a variant of the old adage that one should act as if the whole world is watching. I think CIGNA's actions in her case fail this test.

We are in the process of appealing (again).

Tim

U.S. INSURANCE COMPANIES SHOULD BE ASHAMED

I feel a need to talk about private (or company-sponsored) disability insurance. Disability insurance is something an individual signs up and pays for, with the understanding that if they become disabled, i.e., unable to work, then their insurance provider will pay a percentage of their salary at disability until they are able to work again. Most people depend upon this income, and the income they receive from SSDI (social security) to live.

I went on disability in the summer of 1998. Not working was incredibly difficult for me, because I enjoyed work and I derived self-esteem and a sense of identity from my job. It is obvious to Tim and I that I cannot work - my mental health won't allow for it. In past posts, I have discussed my MPD/DID and some of the symptoms I get. Some of my symptoms I prefer not to talk about here because they are of a more private and sensitive nature. However, some of my symptoms are consistent with most “mentally ill” people, e.g., difficulty concentrating, problems with interpersonal relationships, the inability to deal with various environmental stimulants (noise, talking, music, heat, crowds, etc.). With trauma survivors, there is also the chance of becoming triggered by an event or a person. When triggered, a person could have any type of originally adaptive, but possibly, negative response (e.g., crying, hiding, dissociating (spacing out), anger, hostility, etc.).

Since I was diagnosed in 1997, my life has changed. I had already suffered from depression, so I was used to the excessive sleeping and isolation. At one point, I tried to do too much and ended up in the hospital from a “breakdown” of sorts. What occurred is that one of my child alters attempted suicide by overdosing on prescription medicine (with a wine chaser). This might seem unbelievable to most readers of this blog, but I still have the note written in a child's hand saying “Judi go bye bye”. Even more strangely, I watched this event from somewhere up by my dining room's ceiling. Fortunately, I had helper parts of me who thought to call my psychiatrist, and an ambulance arrived at my door. I hardly remember the stomach pumping at the hospital, but I recall enough to know that I don't want to ever experience it again. As I write this, my mind darts to all the things that need more explanation, but I am not inclined to get into that much detail here.

Returning to the purpose of this entry, disability insurance in the United States is a huge and corrupt scam. I read an excellent article recently:

“Practices in Health care and Disability Insurance: Delay, Diminish, Deny, Blame”
by Peter Phillips and Bridget Thornton
(I can send you a pdf copy by email if you'd like to read this article.)

This article explains how the insurance industry has become so corrupt and why the disabled population - people who have the least energy or ability, but often the greatest need - are put through hell in attempts to get what is rightfully owed to them. Cigna Healthcare terminated my disability insurance benefits effective last summer. Since that time, Tim and I have been appealing their decision, currently working on a new appeal since the last appeal was denied. My doctor has stated that I am unable to work and why. Cigna, however, has chosen to follow the assessment of two doctors who do not know me, and are obviously quite ignorant about DID. Cigna is also basing most of its decision to terminate my insurance on this blog! For example, because they read that I was able to attend and enjoy an opera with Zoe and Tim, that I must be able to have sustained concentration over a period of time. An opera? I'd bet that any number of mental hospitals would love to have opera available to their patients to enjoy and relax with. So a three hour light opera proves that I am able to work - what are they thinking? This is just one small and silly example of their reasoning.... it goes on and on.

I heard that Cigna, among other insurance companies, was mentioned in Michael Moore's film, Sicko. Apparently, the staff who pay claims are awarded for how many claims they deny. The more claims denied, the better the advancement and compensation. I know this has to be true, because as a former HR professional and on behalf of employees, I had to fight Cigna on several occasions to get claims paid that should never have been denied in the first place. Now, since I have been sick, I have had to do the same for my own claims. I still haven't been paid for my last claim submissions, and it has been months. The last Explanation of Benefits I received was ridiculous. They denied most of my doctor visits because my provider's number was not listed (or something like that). Well, duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, she's here in Australia! Wouldn't you expect the international claims people to figure out that the provider numbers might be different in a country other than the US? I am certain that they just made up ridiculous reasons to deny my claims, hoping that I would get tired of fighting them. Unfortunately, that's what many people do. They give up and give in to the insurance companies - mostly because they are intimidated by insurance or rude and abusive claims people, or they are too sick or tired (or tired of caring for a sick loved one), to keep fighting.

Something has to change. I am tired of fighting, but I also can't give in because I really can't work now and I am entitled to the insurance payments.

I want to work. I like work. I would like the better income that work provides me.

Since Cigna has been monitoring this blog, they will probably say that what I have just written indicates my ability for sustained and coherent thought thereby proving that I am capable of maintaining employment. I never said I was stupid, I just told them that some days I can't go outside, talk to other people, or answer the telephone. Hmmmmm, why would that interfere with a job do you think?

Hopefully more ranting and raving to come....
Judi

Sad Kermit

Can a green frog sing the blues?