Is she cured or is the insurance company avoiding a claim?

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The story of the 29 year old Montreal woman who was on disability benefits from IBM is all over the news.

Is Nathalie Blanchard cheating or is she really disabled with depression? Is Manulife, her insurance company, being fair in stopping her disability benefits?

Blanchard may have been caught in the 24 month rule. Insurance companies routinely pay out disability benefits for the first 24 months of a claim; however, they work hard to eliminate benefits after that period is over. Blanchard wouldn’t be the first person to be cut-off for very little evidence of recovery.

People are learning that social media such as Twitter and Facebook can get you in trouble. However, having a social life does not mean someone with a disability is cured.

While winning So You Think You Can Dance might be evidence you are not confined to a wheelchair, most disabilities that keep people from work are not black and white.

Disabilities come in all shapes and sizes. Some are physical, some emotional and some mental. It is easy to see the walking disabilities. It is harder to detect depression that can be very disabling.

Only a trained and experienced professional can diagnose and treat depression. Even living with a depressed person can be difficult since the depressed person can appear “cured” at times and then relapse. “What’s wrong with her or him?” people ask without realizing the depressive illness has taken hold again.

Insurance companies spend there time trying to determine if claims are legitimate. If you die, they want to know if it was suicide or if the beneficiary had you murdered because they might be able to avoid payment. It’s a money business despite what the salesman says. Insurance companies make money by not paying out any more than they have to pay.

Many work environments are fast-paced, require multi-tasking and physical stamina. Dealing with the public in retail is physically and emotionally stressful and may be beyond the capability of someone with a disability. One person with depression might be able to cope with a job but another may not. Only the person and their doctor or therapist know for sure.

A disability may keep a person from working 7 hours a day but should they become shut-ins, forced to hide at home in case the insurance company has spies video taping them doing light gardening?

For people with disabilities, social media like Facebook and Twitter are a godsend. They can have friendships that are not dependent on being “up” all the time.

I’m still on Facebook and I still write on Facebook, I have nothing to hide, nothing at all,” Blanchard said.

“I’m not going to put pictures of myself crying on Facebook,” Blanchard said. MetroNews

Even depressed people who want friends will have to post birthday pictures, happy greetings and other signs of friendship if they expect to have a social network on Facebook.

Should that be held against them?

As for insurance companies, they routinely practice dirty tricks to save money. They have been known to cut off monthly cheques to see if the beneficiary is still alive, saving a phone call. They use neighbors to spy on people. They will force people off disability and back to work, only to see the person fired for poor performance which is a direct result of their disability. That nasty trick means the person will usually lose their disability benefit since you can’t get benefits if you are fired.