Disability

About Insurance

Women who have recently had a baby or surgery, and will be out of work for a period of time due to these reasons, may be eligible for New York State Disability (NYSD). Most employers are required by state law to provide for payment of Disability Benefits.

Steps to Take

To file for Disability Benefits, you may obtain the necessary forms from your employer's Human Resources Department or Personnel Office. Bring these forms to our office one week before your due date or surgery date. Please do not give these forms to your doctor; you may leave them for the Disability Secretary at the Front Desk.

As a general rule, disability forms should not be completed/submitted prior to your becoming disabled (having surgery, delivering your baby) due to a risk of denial by the insurance company. A denial may delay the receipt of your payment, and may require you to resubmit your forms. However, should you receive a letter of denial, please contact our office so that we may work with your insurance company and resubmit your forms, if necessary.

Filling Out the Forms

It is important that you fill out the portion indicated for "Claimant Information." - Part A. If you are given a standard DB-450 disability form, question #7 must be answered, or your disability claim may be delayed. Download and print a copy of the DB-450 , if you need one.

For pregnant patients, once you have delivered your baby, you should receive a supplementary form from your insurance company. Please bring or send that form to our office so we can update the information we have already given them (i.e. actual delivery date and type of delivery). Additionally, if you had a baby boy and he had a circumcision, please call or send a note to our office with his full name, insurance company including contract number and the name of the subscriber on the contract. Please make sure you have contacted the insurance company and added the baby to your contract. Most insurance companies require that your baby is added to the contract within 30 days. If this is not done, you may be responsible for the baby's bill and any payments denied.

Other Information

In the event your disability needs to be extended, a note from your doctor will be mailed to you, which you must then forward to your employer. You need to be aware that if your insurance company does not agree with our medical opinion for the extension, you may not be paid.

Please note, your sick time is not considered to be part of your disability. Physicians can not give an excuse for sick time extensions.

The insurance company typically covers:

• Six weeks for a normal vaginal delivery
• Six to eight weeks for a cesarean section delivery (Some companies do not pay the eight weeks for the cesarean section.)

If your company employs over 50 full-time employees you may want to inquire as to your rights under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

If you have any questions, you may call our office and ask to speak with the secretary who handles Disability insurance. We are here to help.