Early Referral Services

(Available to groups with more than 35 plan members)

Our Early Referral Services program offers proactive disability management for plans that don’t have short-term disability coverage. It gives your plan members access to our adjudication and case management services during the period before a long-term disability. Early support helps encourage a disabled plan member towards an “ability” mindset, and makes the best use of your plan’s disability benefit dollars.

With Early Referral Services, your plan member’s absence will be handled by a single case manager who will remain involved during the period preceding long-term disability and into the disability period, if necessary. This allows consistent support for the plan member during a difficult time.

One of the case manager’s main goals is to help ensure the absent plan member receives appropriate and timely medical treatment needed for a return to work. Through early intervention, we can begin to manage the absence seamlessly soon after it has begun, and continue forward into the long-term disability period.

Integrated approach

Seamless management allows recommended disability plans and services, such as Medical Co-ordination and Vocational Rehabilitation Consulting, to begin early on in the absence when the opportunity for positive impact is greatest. This can help shorten, or even prevent, a long-term disability claim.

Implementing Early Referral Services means similar plans and services initiated during the long-term disability waiting period can continue forward into long-term disability without interruption or delay. This can help reduce disability periods and help your plan members get back to the regular routines of their lives more quickly.