Quote from: michelle666 on November 08, 2011, 09:55:07 PM
Thanks for checking! I had a feeling that they didn't. It is nice that they do cover therapy and the leave after surgery though. The 13 weeks leave at full pay and 13 at half pay is going to help a lot. I was planning on saving money to get me through the recovery period, which would make me put surgery off for an extra year.
yup. Make sure you sit down with your HR concerning your Disability Insurance too. Get to know your disability contract very intimately before going out on leave. I would also heavily suggest to call your disability carrier directly and talk to them before the procedure is even done.
When I was with Liberty Mutual I cannot tell you how many times the HR did not know their contract that they put together with us. Some things I would ask your disability provider:
1. The contract covers disability leave for sexual reassignment surgery correct?
2. Are there any special provisional requirements to make myself eligible for disability after the surgery or is there anything I should know about that could hinder the approval process of the claim?
3. Is the disability contract valid if my surgery was done out of the country? (if you are getting it done out of the country)...if this is the case make sure you communicate with your foreign doctor about sending your medical records promptly to your disability provider.
4. Make sure you know your length of time at your job, make sure your fulltime status is known and understood and make sure your 13 weeks full pay and 13 weeks half pay will apply to you.
About step number 4, your time out will be determined by your job occupation activity level. If you worked in a factory doing heavy machinery, your time out will be longer. If you sit all day with occasional walking (Sedentary) then your time out will be much shorter. 13 weeks full and 13 weeks half simply means this is the maximum amount of time as provided in the contract that your disability company will pay for. 26 weeks is for those who had MAJOR surgery with a Heavy Job occupation (such as a Quintiple Heart Bypass Surgery and a rotator cuff surgery done on the same person in the same time). The maximum is also for those who have stage four cancer where they know that the heavy chemo treatments and therapy will put them out of work (and possibly terminal).
If you have a Sedentary job position where you do occasional walking, your time out of work is typically Five to Eight week for SRS. If you think you need more time out then your disability carrier will need medical documentation from doctors to medically prove you are unable to meet your job requirements. The longest I had approved anyone for SRS was 12 weeks because she had Vaginal Prolapse, meaning her bladder pushed its way into the vaginal wall and obstructed her urine. Under those circumstances, then 12 weeks is granted (she had medical documentation to prove the complications).
Remember....26 weeks of disability access does not mean you will get 26 weeks. 26 weeks is for worse case scenarios and very serious surgery where recovery time is VERY long to the point where long term disability may be needed.