Last Updated on December 31, 2009
The New Year is always a time of reflection, resolutions, and an insight as to how quickly time passes by. It seemed like yesterday that we were all amazed that we were entering the “Twenty-First Century”. In a span of a single year, circumstances change; people and perceptions become altered; friends and co-workers seemingly become transformed into strangers; and medical conditions which yesterday appeared irrelevant, contained or able to be endured, suddenly take on a life of its own.
Medical conditions are a reality which cannot be ignored. Then, of course, there is the problem of a medical condition, its impact upon one’s life, one’s employment, and one’s ability or inability to have an acceptable “quality of life” — as distinct from being able to convey a description of a medical condition in order to qualify for FERS & CSRS disability retirement benefits. It is in the describing of a medical condition, and the practical impact upon one’s employment, which is the key to Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS & CSRS. There is a distinction between the reality of a medical condition, and the ability to describe it to an impervious and implaccable agency — the Office of Personnel Management. Many think that, because one suffers from a medical condition, that it is enough to become eligible for disability retirement benefits. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
I am federal employee with 21 months of service. I am currently under treeatment for OSA (Severe optructive sleep apnea) and I have requested/granted reasonable accomodations through a 4/10 work schedule. My health insurance is through medicare (I am 68 years old) and I have access to federal health insurance through my employer. Questions:
1) When can I apply for disability retirement.
2) Should I switch health insurance from medicare to federal employer coverage?