settlement/medical

[aloha]

my settlement said that i am 25 percent dfisabled and they are offering $50,000. attorney advising to leave medical open to pay for meds, dr. suggested closing medical. attorney said my private insurance and/or medicare will not cover anything claimed under wc. the wc dr. said no further surgery needed; however, a year prior he said that i needed either one or two surgeries, if not now, sometime in the future. btw, i had neck fusion (titanium/screws) and carpal tunnel surgery. dr. determined that i have something touching nerve and that's where the pain is coming from. so that would have been surgery one, to remove whatever. the second surgery was to be done on the level above prior surgery. sorry for such a long story. bottom line, in the future should i require another surgery what is the best way to accomplish; medical open, wc pays(?) or close medical and see if my private insurance will? i hope i did this correctly. i've never done anything like this before. in advance, thank you.

[1171]

it may depend on how easy your comp carrier is to deal with.
have there been problems?
generally you want to avoid expensive surprises down the road and a denial by your future health coverage could make for a costly mistake.
seriously consider your atty advice to take the sure thing now.

[aloha]

(05-04-2012 05:07 PM)1171 Wrote:  it may depend on how easy your comp carrier is to deal with.
have there been problems?
generally you want to avoid expensive surprises down the road and a denial by your future health coverage could make for a costly mistake.
seriously consider your atty advice to take the sure thing now.

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my surgery was in 2004. in the past, it can take six months for approvals. several other attoreys including mine said even if i keep medical open, they still might approve anything down the road. i have private insurance as well as medicare. i want to be able to see a dr. when the need arises. currently, im in pain but have nowhere to go if my private insurance and medicare wont cover anything that was claimed under wc. so where can i go or do? im stuck.if i close medical, itll b another $9000. wow.my attorney suggested going for permanent total but that may take three years. appeal after that, another three. help! im so delighted for a quick response. appreciate it. youve given more consideration than anyone here. thanks!

[1171]

if you settle out your future medical treatment from workers comp, medicare would like you to put the treatment portion in a set aside agreement. they will not provide treatment for your comp injury until the set aside amount is depleted.