Cavey and Barrett Blog

Disability Battle Taps Integration | St. Petersburg Disability Claim Appeal Attorney

Employers across the country are looking to integrate their disability and leave programs with health management efforts to lower health care costs, and create a more productive workforce. By integrating short and long term disability, family medical and other leave programs with medical, behavioral health, disease management and wellness programs, employees are better able to recognize an at-risk employee before they file a disability claim. Disability and medical programs that are integrated have been shown to result in shorter leaves, quicker return to work rates, and fewer employees moving from short term disability to long term disability. Tom Perry, President of the Integrated Benefits Institute says that “Employers have begun to realize that having a healthy and productive workforce is part and parcel to their business strategy and business success, whereas for so long employers just saw benefits as a cost of doing business or an attraction and retention strategy. The mindset has really become: If we invest in employee health, not only will employees be healthier but they won't be absent from work and they will be more productive while at work.” Therefor saving employers money. A 2007 internal analysis of CIGNA's medical and disability claims found that employees with disability claims made up only 5% of the employee population yet represented 37% of employee medical costs.

Answering these broad-based questions isn't easy. Help is a phone call away. You can contact Nancy Cavey, an experienced long-term disability attorney at 727-894-3188.