New law in Micronesia eases disability claims process

From the Saipan Tribune in Micronesia:

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial has signed into law a bill that eases the process of claiming disability retirement benefits.

Under the new law, a person who wants to claim disability retirement benefits no longer needs to be evaluated by a vocational rehabilitation counselor. But the law includes a requirement of evaluation by two physicians, one of whom is a specialist in the area of the disability being evaluated.

“Although I believe the inclusion of a vocational rehabilitation counselor is still necessary and more foolproof than excluding one, the requirement of a specialized physician is sufficient to deter excessive abuse by claimants,” the governor said in his message to the Legislature.

Proponents of the bill say the previous requirements were too difficult to meet, as counselors at the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation lack medical and psychiatric expertise or credentials to issue disability certifications. This situation, they add, has created a hardship for OVR, for the retirees, and for the Retirement Fund.

The proponents also maintain that the two-physician requirement is enough to protect against abuses and fraud.Fitial had vetoed a previous version of the bill, which he said allowed for potential abuses by claimants and threatened the assets of the NMI Retirement Fund. The Legislature amended the language of the bill and sent the legislation back to the governor.

“[D]rastically lowering the standards and requirements to be declared permanently disabled.would have resulted in the certification of an increased number of disabled retirees, and thereby increasing the liability of the NMIRF,” Fitial explained on the earlier version of the bill.

“The legislation neither required an examination of a claimant by a physician specializing in the field of the disability being evaluated, nor did it require the examination by a vocational rehabilitation counselor. Ultimately, NMIRF could have been compensating claimants who are not truly permanently disabled,” he added.