The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) announced Oct. 1 that insurers in Canada are progressively retiring the use of their existing company-specific forms for disability claims and moving to one, harmonized form to be used across the country.
They say insurers will accept the new form immediately but add that some, along with some plan sponsors, may need up to a year to integrate the use of the new form and upload it across all websites.
Five years of collaboration
The result of five years of collaboration between insurers, governments and medical associations, the CLHIA says previously the multiple disability forms in use across the industry were reduced to four. “Now insurers have gone a step further by introducing one harmonized medical form,” they state in the association’s announcement.
The same form will be used to initiate both short and long-term disability claims. It contains questions about treatment, response to treatment, hospitalization, specialists’ referrals, clinical findings and observations, restrictions and limitations, prognosis and return-to-work plans.
The announcement about the change included endorsements from the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), Ontario Medical Association (OMA), the BC College of Family Physicians (BCCFP) and the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP).
Dr. Amanda MacDonald Green, physician administrative burden advisor for Doctors Nova Scotia points out that the province has already integrated the CLHIA’s standardized forms in the physicians’ medical record systems. “Just one disability form will make it easier for Nova Scotia physicians who complete more than 7,500 disability forms in a year for our patients.”
The Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ) meanwhile adds that the announcement is a strong signal that employers must follow suit.
