The Center for Disease Control has recently and quietly removed controversial treatment information from its website pertaining to the treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). Specifically, the long standing recommendation that became a de facto standard of care by doctors throughout the country: increased exercise and psychotherapy in the form of cognitive behavioral therapy. As medical research has shown there was no clinical evidence to support these treatments as an effective way to combat CFS, and the CDC appears to finally acknowledge this.

Although the suggestion of exercise might seem like a relatively benign treatment recommendation, according to a 2015 medical study one of the main issues with CFS is a relapse of symptoms triggered by overexertion a medical, which in some cases leaves a person feeling worse than they had before. The treatment option prescribed by doctors was literally making patients sicker. Whereas, the suggestion for cognitive behavioral therapy harkens back to a time when many medical professionals considered CFS a psychological manifestation of the belief by an individual that they were sick as opposed to a legitimate medical condition. As more studies have demonstrated this is not the case and that CFS patients are believed to suffer from immunological, neurological and other systemic dysfunctions that result in a CFS patient being unable to generate energy efficiently if they push beyond their limited capacities.

As anybody who suffers from CFS and that files a claim for short or long term disability benefits knows, the insurance industry tends to review claims due to CFS under the same archaic lens that has permeated medicine. Disability insurance carriers will attack claims for CFS as being purely subjective, unverifiable, and lacking in objective evidence to support restrictions and limitations. The insurance industry certainly knows that if a large number of doctors do not take CFS seriously then they will have a much easier time denying claims for disability benefits based on the condition. However, this is not to say that the disability insurance carriers have not paid attention to the condition as it is becoming more and more common to see time limitations in disability policies for payment for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (by name) or for conditions deemed by the insurance company to be based on “self-reported symptoms.” These limitations are written to limit a disability insurance carrier’s liability to pay benefits. Unfortunately, the odds are stacked by many who suffer from CFS- from their medical care to claims for disability benefits.

More so than many other disabling medical conditions, presenting a claim for benefits based on CFS requires detailed medical documentation by your doctors in order to present the strongest possible case to an insurance company. Often doctors will run a battery of tests to rule out other conditions, which can help formulate the proper diagnosis. It is important to note that although there are many conditions that cause fatigue, such as Epstein Barr Virus, CFS is a separate diagnosis with unique symptoms to those unfortunate to suffer its effects. In turn it is crucial that a disability insurance carrier does not evaluate your claim based on treatment options and test results to a condition similar to CFS but decidedly not CFS.

If you have a claim for disability benefits due to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and you have questions or concerns regarding your claim or disability insurance policy please do not hesitate to contact our office to discuss how we can assist you in securing your benefits.