Aetna Disability Insurance Reviews

My case manager at Aetna is ok but still unfavorable when it comes to their rules and regulations. I understand that he has to follow company procedures but some of those procedures are ridiculous. He wanted to discontinue payments because he couldn't read or understand doctor's signature. How is that my fault? What doctor's signature is recognizable? He said he couldn't get in contact with doctor's office so they couldn't approve payment. I called and fortunately was able to connect with the nurse. She called them and hopefully I will now be approved.

This is so very frustrating. Crying is an understatement. After I have been through so much, I don't need this type of aggregation. I can only use one side of my body but I really needed to write this review. I would really rather work than deal with this sort of issue. This is not the first, second or third time they have done this to me. It's draining and very inconvenient. If any employers are reviewing this, Aetna is a good company for health insurance but horrible for disability insurance.

Communications were always made difficult and they accused me of feigning, malingering and having a mental disorder. After 40 hours of forensic psychiatric examinations at Yale University, the exertion of which nearly killed me, Aetna agreed to pay. After that, almost every year, they said they had not received my update forms and threatened to cut off the benefits I was receiving. The only thing that kept them at bay was my "Mad Dog" attorney. I recently aged out of my coverage and it has been a relief.

I had a newborn with no income coming in for a whole month and on top of that was being readmitted to the hospital for loss of blood after I was discharged to go home with baby. Then when my dr extended my leave for another month, Jessica still did not answer my messages or calls months later and I’ve been calling all week to request a new case manager. They keep putting me back in the queue when I call and are saying, "High call volumes. We will call back and never do. Steve told me I would have to start all over in the queue or could get a call back. Anyways don't use this company. THEY NEED TO SHUT THIS DISASTER OF A COMPANY DOWN. I PAY INSURANCE EVERY WEEK LIKE CLOCKWORK. I WORK HARD FOR MY MONEY.

Soon after my assigned agent started giving me a hard time about my records threatening to end my payments, eventually she did at the end of October 2019, even with all my records. They terminated my claim leaving me with tons of bills to pay. Now I’m getting ready to have another surgery. I suffer with severe bilateral arthritis of the knees, depression, chronic back and neck pain with disc bulging, multilevel cervical spinal stenosis and spondylosis, carpal tunnel syndrome and a torn rotator cuff and was still denied. I also got married and had my name changed. Everyone else was able to change my name with no problem. I even went through my employer. I sent all the necessary paperwork and they still would not change my old name to my legal name.

They stated it had to come from the employer, which it did. I even sent the email correspondence with everything they asked for. Today I received a W2 form and guess what, it still has my maiden name. SMH. Some people just don’t comprehend and apparently the staff at Aetna belongs in that category. The agents and whoever does their reviews need to go back to training to better help understand what they are really there for! Please update your training and protocol because people have those policies to help them in their time of need. What’s the use of having it if you get the run around every month calling to find out why your payment hasn’t come yet. DO BETTER. WORST COMPANY EVER! TOO MUCH RED TAPE!

I had been suffering so long I had a level of 130. A level he had never seen that low on someone that wasn’t suffering with testicular cancer. So my depression was so bad and I had dealt with it so long I know had 2 problems to deal with. He started me on depression medication and taking testosterone shots to try and raise it up so hopefully I could function. I was obviously put on short term disability to try and get all my levels back to normal so I could function again. Finally after weeks of being out of work, taking ** for depression and taking testosterone shots I slowly started to feel more like myself.

Unfortunately the Short Term Disability form submitted only asked about my cognitive problems due to depression. Nothing was mentioned about my testosterone issues that was the major cause of my depression was not something mentioned on Aetna’s form. The form had only to do with the depression I was suffering and not the reason WHY I was dealing with depression. I will continue to have to take shots and report back to work after 4 weeks of suffering only because I couldn’t afford not to go back to work. The main reason for that is because Aetna had determined my depression wasn’t bad enough I guess and I didn’t receive a penny from Aetna on my claim.

I feel it’s my job so not another person has to go back to work sick because Aetna only looked at the cognitive issue. I’m will tell my story to as many people that I can in hopes they are not faced with the fear I have returning to work knowing I’m still walking that tight rope and could go off either way at any point. I have never been treated worse from a company that supposed to be there for you when you are at your worse. I asked that everyone from Aetna read this and know they are sending a man back into this world not much better than he was when the claim was originally filed. I’m still a broken man but have to try and function at a job so I can be paid.

Again my story will be told so no one has to do what I’m having to do to eat, pay my bills, and take care of my family. It’s something I’ll never forget and I think it will end up being something Aetna will never do to another person. Please make sure everyone at Aetna reads this from the boss to the bathroom cleaner. Because of the way I was done, in a lot of ways this is only getting started. Please pray that I will be able to work and keep my job as I continue to battle my problems.

Next the vocational rehabilitation. The person I was assigned never returned calls but would on a regular basis send emails as to needing different forms completed. Then you get contracted out to another firm to handle your vocational rehab. (A little history. I've been a merchant mariner for 30 years and all I really know.) They are completely unprepared for this occupation. Needless to say there are no light duty jobs in this field so their VOC team are helpless in my case. The subcontractor did try to help. But it was beyond the caseworker as to what my job duties even were. So I was threatened with denial for noncompliance several time.

(Weekly) You are forced to apply for your social security disability. (Which I did not want to do.) But again the threatened with denial for nonconformity. After 2 years to the date I was told I would be dropped and no longer receive benefits. I appealed and lo and behold I was denied in record time. The fastest thing they done since the start of this. Now fast forward I ended up going all the way to the hearing stage of social security (no surprise there) and was awarded back pay for the time I was out. Now when it really gets to be a nightmare Aetna contracts with a company called Allsup to help you deal with social security. Which is another joke. 1. You fill out all the forms. 2. You attend all the appointments. I'm really not sure what they do other than monitor what you Really do to report it to Aetna.

Either way they (Allsup) or Aetna sells your possible case to a lawyer in blocks of clients. Not sure how many clients to a block. And I assume it's done on a bid basis but again unsure. Just know the lawyer who purchased me told me on the phone he had got my case in block of cases he had purchased. Then explained to me. That at first view of my case. I did not have much of a case. And maybe I should relocate to a different state where my chances were better. (Why would moving make a difference????) And that he would get back to me in a few months after he completely reviewed my case. So I terminated him as my legal representation.

Now at the hearing I represent myself. AND Win. Now I find out that Aetna will be entitled to all my back Social security pay. I can't even collect the legal fees that a lawyer would get as I prepared my own case and did everything a lawyer would have done. Bottom line if you can plan any savings do so and stay away from the people. I would never deal with them again.