I was in to see one of my doctors today. We talked about a growing trend in the medical community. It seems doctors are growingly reluctant to do the paperwork for things like Disability Insurance Claims, Insurance Claims, Medicare, SSI, etc. The reason he gave is that the amount of paperwork over the years has simply multiplied for doctors. So, they are still providing the care but not helping patients, who are trying to pay for the care or help them by filling out the paper so their disability claims requirements are met, so they can collect from the claims with their insurance companies. He said that this is a growing trend, and it is going to continue to get tougher for patients to convince their doctors to do the paperwork for them. In this doctors opinion, some doctors feel that they have little choice. They either holistically stop filling out the papers for everyone, or they must leave their practice, because it is simply getting to be way too much for them to handle.

Has anyone else heard or experienced any of this before? I found it enlightening.

One doctor I saw had a sign in his office saying he charged $35 to fill out disability paperwork.

I'm in the medical field and have to fill out disability, FMLA, etc. all the time. It is very time consuming and I usually find myself having to stay after hours to do it or come in early to get it done uninterrupted. The problem is there is no way for a physician to bill for paperwork. The forms can be quite time consuming. I don't have an issue with a doctor charging to fill out the form. I do think it is a problem if they refuse all together to fill it out.

I know we're not to get into politics in here but that' the answer. The Saul Alinsky way of over whelming the system until it breaks. Forcing doctors out by making them do a lot of unwanted tiresome paperwork and I shutter to think what's going to replace them. In my opinion...

My doctor did not charge me for filling out the handicap parking request, but I would have gladly paid him a small fee for this service.

My APRN who was my PCP at the time supported me in filing for SSDI but would not do any paperwork. Not even a short memo that I could include with my reconsideration.

Asked my neuro for a letter, anything and he said to have my lawyer send him something......I told him I didn't have a lawyer ! He put in his office notes for that day that I had intractable pain and could not work for the forseeable (sp?) future.

During all this I happened to have an appointment with my gyn of 25+ years. She was very ticked off at all my doctors as see could see the mess I was in. She wrote a long letter to SSDI that I included with my reconsideration along with letters from former co-workers and my children.

Thankfully I was approved at the reconsideration stage.

I cannot tell you the agony I went through trying to get someone, anyone to help me with this.

Thanks for starting this thread

Debi from Georgia

The one doctor that I know of who is refusing to do the paperwork says that it is not her job to do so. That has to hurt their reputation among current & prospective patients. I'd think that those who do this are bound to lose many patients, because insurance lays at the very heart of the medical vocation.

My PCP has a stack of these partially filled out. They just add the info needed and off you go.

So easy compared to all the other stuff.

Take care.

Debi from Georgia

Interesting topic.

My PCP has been fine with filling out any paperwork. He also has the benefit of a large support staff to help with all tasks. I appreciate all he and his staff do for me.

I think these types of added tasks are more difficult for smaller practices, as the doctors are usually already pressed to the max. I don't mean to overly generalize, yet just an observation from different types of practice settings/styles.

Years ago, my disability insurer was trying to force me to take a low-ball settlement. A part of their game was to start asking for paperwork every 2 months, instead of annually. I typed a letter to my PCP, telling him of their tactics, apologizing for their harassment of him, and told him to bill them for his time. (If he billed them and they did not pay, at least theoretically, their bill would go to collections.)

I had copied the letter to the insurer when the paperwork was completed and returned. The insurer then placed a notice on all of their paperwork, stating they were not responsible for payment for the completion of any paperwork.

The insurer had also stopped playing that game, immediately thereafter.

I do believe the paperwork issue is becoming a bigger issue. Doctors I see have to steal time out of their schedule to finish appointments, as it is. I know my PCP goes in, often, on his day off, to finish up paperwork, etc.

I'd hope a doctor would bill for time to fill out paperwork before simply refusing to fill out paperwork. I know billing may create a hardship as well, yet at least the paperwork gets done and disability claims are kept up-to-date, etc.

I am looking forward to reading more posts on this topic.

Warmly,
DejaVu

I wonder if you have a long term relationship with same MD , they might be more inclined to fill out forms?
I would think some of it could be done by office staff, and MD would verify & add final details?

Hi Spike, all my doctor's (now) charge an extra fee of anywhere from $15-$50 to fill this paperwork out as it can be time intensive for them. The patient pays for this out of pocket, it's not something insurance will pay for. Hope that helps.