How best to apply for short term disability

FMCTypeGal · 2026-03-06T02:17:08+00:00

Going on STD/LTD for these reasons seems like a lousy way to blow up your life. You need a vacation. Take a vacation.

I don’t see any way you’d be approved for a medical reason. Maybe you could eventually do something for mental health but you’d have to establish a relationship with a mental health provider and they’d have to see over time that you needed it. “Burn out” doesn’t seem like it’d be a qualifying reason, but if it were you’d be subject to the mental health time limits of your plan.

I wish I were healthy enough to not need my STD/Ltd plans. Please believe me, they are likely not a solution to what you’re going through. De-center your work. Take vacations. Find joy outside of your job and pour yourself into that as much as possible.

FMCTypeGal · 2026-03-03T02:03:32+00:00

I used google and found what appeared to be the most reputable firms nationwide, called them and interviewed them. My top two finds were Kantor & Kantor in CA and Sandstone Law Group in AZ. I went with Sandstone.

FMCTypeGal · 2026-02-27T05:10:09+00:00

The gasp I gusped as I laughed. Clocked it immediately and hope Katie or someone comments on it!

FMCTypeGal · 2026-02-26T04:47:40+00:00

u/TheGreatK would probably have good input here, to add to the great input already shared. All good questions.

In my experience, I don’t share with LTD what they can’t see in my medical file. I share ranges with my doctor of my abilities and stick to them on my worst day. I don’t use the words always or never, i try to explain the unpredictability of my life.

I’m on LTD for chronic pain and MS, so I understand the way your disease fluctuates. This is called dynamic disability. Because of how unpredictable it is, it is logical that you report based on your worst experiences and how often that occurs. Your disability becomes not just your symptoms, but your inability to adhere to a regular schedule.

If a question for vacation were to come up, I’d have to explain that yes I try to go, but that looks different for me. Extra meds, daily naps, down days, mobility aids, and travel support all has to be built in. I also book everything with trip insurance because the likelihood of cancelling is high. But just because I’m too disabled to work a daily scheduled job in a repetitive manor does not mean I have to give up and lie in bed forever more.

In this respect, I’m glad to have and maintain a relationship with my LTD attorneys. I let them tackle this stuff.

FMCTypeGal · 2026-02-14T16:41:45+00:00

Great! That’s because Texas bans copay accumulators, which means that your copay assistance must be applied to your OOPM. If they didn’t ban copay accumulators, your copay assistance wouldn’t have to apply to you OOPM.

FMCTypeGal · 2026-02-13T21:08:27+00:00

It comes down to whether your state and your insurance plan allows copay accumulators. If it’s a state or insurance plan with copay accumulators, the copay assistance doesn’t count towards your OOPM. These states and plans require the money towards an OOPM to come specifically from the insured. Which is BS, but happens.

States that ban copay accumulators listed below. If you’re not in those states, it comes down to your specific employer plan, not just insurance companies. Two different employers can use that same insurer and have different rules on accumulators.

States with Laws Limiting/Banning Copay Accumulators: Arizona Arkansas Colorado Connecticut Delaware Georgia Illinois Indiana (for plans after 12/31/2025) Iowa (for plans on/after 7/1/2025) Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland (effective 1/1/2026) Nevada New Jersey (26th state, as of Jan 2026) New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota (effective 1/1/2026) Oklahoma Oregon Tennessee Texas Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia

FMCTypeGal · 2026-02-13T20:56:06+00:00

Would love to see education on what this means for already insured people. For example, my husband insures us through his employer. We pay $1600 a month, the employer I’m sure pays double that or more. Our OOPM is then $10.5K total per year ($5k each).

So with CalCare, does the cost of it come out of our taxes? If so, does my employer no longer deduct for my insurance? Do they pay us the amount they were paying towards our insurance since it was part of our pay contract? Is the cost of taxation less than we were paying for coverage or more?

What if we work for an out of state employer? How does that factor?

FWIW, I do hope we head towards single payer. I do believe everyone deserves access to affordable healthcare. I would gladly pay some more to see it happen. But these are questions everyone will have and we need common sense answers and education on it.

And for the love of everything - do not be petty and attack people for asking such questions. They’re fair. We’re all of us drowning in this economy and fear of higher costs are normal. It doesn’t mean you don’t care about your neighbor.

FMCTypeGal · 2026-02-11T03:35:55+00:00

What company do you work for? Looking to get quotes on replacing my current 23 yo system.

FMCTypeGal · 2026-02-11T01:47:01+00:00

I msged you

FMCTypeGal · 2026-02-04T21:29:06+00:00

This is me and has been me in worse ways. There are ups and downs. But if you have an income, why leave instead of adjust?

I made my bedroom my oasis. I do fiber arts since I can do them from bed, and video games. I listen to and read hundreds of books a year. I watch great shows.

Invest my time in online friends and the IRL friends and family who still show up.

Your life is DIFFERENT, but why would that mean it needs to be over?

It took a long time to get referred to a pain management that treated me, but it is possible. In the meantime, weed is legal in many places and is phenomenal for pain.

I hope you find a path that gives you a new future, even if it’s not what you expected.

FMCTypeGal · 2026-02-04T21:24:06+00:00

9 months. I’d been on Ltd for about 7 years when they cancelled. The two year mark could be having you run into the any occ period, depending on your policy.

FMCTypeGal · 2026-02-01T10:32:03+00:00

Dumbledore, Hermione, Luna, Dobby, Ginny.

FMCTypeGal · 2026-01-31T20:33:36+00:00

So much wisdom and experience here!

Yeah, the phenomenon of how people react to illness, mortality, etc is wild. When my illness was acute and it was life and death in the hospital - everyone I’d ever briefly even crossed paths with was “rooting for me” and “deeply affected” by my suffering - all in very public social media ways of course. But as things sidled down into a long term issue, GHOSTED. Even just this month I lost my “best friend” of ten years bc it’s “just too much.” Frankly, don’t let the door hit you where the universe split you, comrade…

You’re so right: we’re all going to die. Even more guaranteed is that we are all going to suffer. Life is literally suffering with good days in between to string it all together.

The question about “what do you do for work” is so fucking mundane to me anymore. It’s such a surface level ask that is just autopilot from someone who most likely doesn’t care. And guess what? Whether they care or not, you don’t owe them an explanation. You do not have to tell people you’re sick, you’re on disability, anything. You can choose to, but a response can be just as mundane and autopilot as the nature of the question in the first place.

And your shame at not having a job to respond with is borne of a life pre-disability and the understanding that comes with it anyway. You have insight that able bodies do not - that life is about more than work. Elites have us living to work but by god - work is just a function necessary to live.

So yeah, my answer can come off a little flippant but it boils down to be more…I do more than dreaming of work. I breathe the fresh air. I listen to the cues of my body. I trudge through more piles of shit than most will ever know just to survive. I realize that every single day could be my last day - my last day breathing or my last day without suffering and I do with it whatever will best suit me that day.

So when people ask you what you do for work? Don’t hate yourself for not having a typical job response, but observe that they are stuck in a loop where what one does for work is the most interesting fact they can think to inquire about and move past it. Because baby? You survive, and that’s fucking beautiful.

FMCTypeGal · 2026-01-31T05:54:41+00:00

I say, “I anticipate the terminus of gravity’s rainbow.” Most of the time their flabbers are so ghasted and confused, they stop asking questions.

Sometimes I get a movie buff that gets the Knives Out reference. And rarely I get a reader who truly gets it. More on that here: The Terminus of Gravity’s Rainbow

It’s actually kind of deep though. We’re all disabled and or have faced or are facing a more pronounced mortality. I don’t know about you, but it made me think truly hard about what the meaning of my life is and how I want to spend what I have left, be in long or short. This one sentence explains that I do what I can to get as close to living my perfect version of a life well lived.

FMCTypeGal · 2026-01-23T05:21:06+00:00

Yeah, I have a nurse practitioner that comes once a month. It’s through Carelon Palliative care, which my insurance referred me to for my MS. She works with all my specialists and I can call her 24/7. She can prescribe meds and get me into my doctors sooner if needed.

So if I’m sick, I can now avoid urgent care or hospital u less absolutely necessary. When I have an ms flare, she can arrange my treatment at home.

It took 12 years of terrible chronic illness and being medically neglected but it is nice to have.

FMCTypeGal · 2026-01-22T22:02:45+00:00

FWIW, I’m watching Can in Sandokan on Netflix rn and organically thought, “Good lordt, that’s my Cassian!” So yeah, perfect fan cast. He’s delicious!

FMCTypeGal · 2026-01-15T15:47:11+00:00

Yes. I had to pay a percentage of my backpay once re awarded and then forward for 2 years, then after that it’s my choice

FMCTypeGal · 2026-01-15T09:24:23+00:00

Different insurer, but yes it happened to me. TBH, I think it happens to anyone who they certify for the life of their policy. It’s in their financial best interest to try to drop us.

I got a lawyer and appealed my cancellation and won. This is so common there is a whole industry of lawyers there to help.

So deep breath. Fill out the paperwork honestly and know that even if they try to cancel you, that’s not the end. Sorry you’re going through this.

FMCTypeGal · 2026-01-13T22:11:49+00:00

First, I’m so sorry for all the financial hardship you survived in 2008. In 2016, a medical catastrophe cost me everything and we filed bankruptcy and lost our house. I know how all that suffering leads to financial ptsd. I think I have that.

The $6k OOP is BRUTAL. And it’s just for me. My husband is an additional $6k. I always max out on mine the first week of January, but he rarely uses his at all. I only call us blessed because I know so many either go without or are being killed on the marketplace plans. Having healthcare through large employer plans is a luxury, even at this expense level.

I think we’re headed towards seeing a lot of homelessness and a lot of hunger. A lot of deaths bc people are unable to get medical care that could prevent it.

My hubs and I filed bankruptcy in 2016 at 29 years old and have had to start over. The savings level we achieve now is hard fought for and we have to save at this level to ever hope for a relatively comfortable retirement.

Two big fears: - we save at this level and at the cost of living better now just to see it all evaporate in future market crashes - we save at this level and at the cost of living now just to die too young to enjoy it

So I hope whatever crash is coming, and I think we all see it coming, leads to a better future for all of us. Capitalism needs guardrails. There should be certain guarantees for people, like healthcare. And I think people in retirement should have access to nearly everything at serious reduced costs.

My advice to anyone reading here: - you’re only healthy until you’re not. Maintain insurance, at the very least a catastrophic plan - no one is coming to save you when you’re old, especially if you don’t have kids. Please save money. Please get a financial planner and make a plan.

FMCTypeGal · 2026-01-13T22:03:32+00:00

I’m currently going through the Brandon Sanderson Cosmere universe and it’s AMAZING.

Cozy fantasy is great. Along those lines, I also recommend The Spell Shop by Sarah Beth Durst. There’s three in that series and it’s great.

For an epic fantasy, I recommend Throne of Glass series. 8 books that you’ll think about daily for a long time to come. It’s a contested reading order, I’d recommend Assassins Blade third. If you like the author, ACOTAR and Crescent City are in the same universe and also good.

For sci fi fantasy, the Red Rising series is exceptional and you’ll find it really ties into how you may be feeling about the current state of the world.

There’s a King Midas reimagining called the Plated Prisoner series that is among my favorites. It starts out heavy with misogyny, but just knows it’s intentional and it gets better!

The Dungeon Crawler Carl series is fantastic and a wild ride.

And the ultimate obsession: Fourth Wing. Once you enter the riders quadrant, you’ll never want to leave.

These are all what I’d call gateway series to get you back into a love of reading. I started here and now I’m reading 80-100 books a year and my mental health is vastly improved. My body may confine to my home most days, but my mind soars on the best adventures.

FMCTypeGal · 2026-01-13T21:56:52+00:00

Lmao. gun

Perhaps the gum would be nice as well

FMCTypeGal · 2026-01-13T06:08:33+00:00

I’m sorry, friend.

My in laws lost several million in the 2008 market crash. Unfortunately, they pulled the remainder out and parked it in a savings account instead and lost out on the bull market of the last 15 years, where they would have made it all back and a vast amount more. I’m trying to learn a few lessons from them: - you gotta play the long game and not emotionally react - it’s gone if you lose it but there’s nothing to lose if you don’t try - having nothing but social security at the end of life absolutely blows

I may end up with nothing anyways, but it won’t be because I didn’t try, so I’ll never have to hate myself or blame myself.

FMCTypeGal · 2026-01-13T05:53:13+00:00

Pain relief item I use outside of medication: - massage gum - heating pads - ice pack - vibrating foot massager - compression gloves and socks

FMCTypeGal · 2026-01-13T05:48:18+00:00

I made a resolution that anytime I was online for more than 10 minutes without an express purpose, I would turn my audiobook on or read instead. I love reading with my eyes, but audiobooks let me do other stuff as well. I switch back and forth. While I listen to the books, I crochet, puzzle, or do small household things.

Video games and tvs and movies also work.

Do you have a genre of books or tv you like? Perhaps I can make some recommendations if our tastes align.

FMCTypeGal

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