Page 4 - SFHN FEBRUARY 2021 FINAL

Updating or Investing
Pediatric Specialists
Now in Doral
The most advanced pediatric
specialty care is now in the heart of
Doral, just across from CityPlace.
KIDZ Medical, a multispecialty
pediatric practice, can provide
your children with state-of-the-art
medical care and you, the parent, with peace of
mind. Our medical team can see your kids for cardiology,
nephrology, gastroenterology, pulmonary medicine,
travel medicine and much more.
Medical Staff in Doral:
Abdulwahab Aldousany, MD - Pediatric Cardiology
Mariselis Rosa-Sanchez, MD - Pediatric Nephrology
Sheila Perez-Colon, MD - Pediatric Endocrinologist
Kunjana Mavunda, MD - Pediatric Pulmonology &
Travel Medicine
Mario Tano, MD - Pediatric Gastroenterology
Aymin Delgado-Borrego, MD - Pediatric Gastroenterology
Neeraj Raghunath, MD - Pediatric Gastroenterology
If you would like to discuss your child’s care, please
contact Isabel Viera Gonzalez, Office Manager.
K K I I Z Z
Medical
Providing care to infants, children
and moms since 1988
3785 NW 82nd Ave, Suite 307, Doral, FL 33166, 305-556-4263
4 February 2021
in Disability Policies Key to
Protecting Future Earnings
BY VANESSA ORR most difficult insurances to
get approved. “These poli-
While no one expects cies require extensive med-
to become disabled, ical underwriting along with
whether through illness financial underwriting,”
or injury, it happens all Caldwell ex plained of the
too often, which is why need for a medical appoint-
it’s important for wage ment, phone interview, and
earners to carry disability two years of tax returns,
insurance. This is espe- among other obstacles.
cially true for medical “While a trip to the chiro-
professionals, who stand practor might seem benign,
to lose a substantial Wes Caldwell it could result with a full
amount of income as the back waiver on their cover-
result of a disability. age,” he added. “Coun seling
“Doctors, as a profession, are probably for mental health issues can result in a
more aware of the need for disability full-out decline.”
insurance than most other professions, To this end, Danna-Gracey has negoti-
so most have some level of coverage,” ated programs with carriers to bypass
said Wes Caldwell, disability and bene-
these underwriting requirements and to
fits specialist at Danna-Gracey, the make it easier to obtain coverage.
largest independent medical malpractice
Caldwell also works with those who
insurance agency in Florida. “The prob- already have coverage to make sure that
lem is that those who are making higher when they have a claim, it is processed
incomes are likely the most underin- correctly to avoid payment delays.
sured professionals out there.” “A lot of physicians avoid getting dis-
Just like individuals in other fields, ability policies because they believe that
doctors may avoid getting this insurance it will be difficult to get carriers to pay
or not carry enough insurance because their claims,” he said. “For anything
they don’t believe that they will become else, like an auto accident, you can call
disabled. But the fact is, the chances of someone to help you, but disability
becoming disabled during one's earning doesn’t work that way. The carrier sends
years is about three times that of a pre- a packet of forms that needs to be filled
mature death. out, during a time when the disabled
“When you’re talking about a surgeon, person is not at their best to address it.”
it doesn’t take much to rob them of their To date, Danna-Gracey’s clients have
ability to perform surgery; something received more than $20 million in dis-
like a hand injury, or being unable to ability benefits.
stand for a long period of time, or a For those who do have policies,
tremor pretty much takes them out of Caldwell recommends reviewing cover-
their specialty,” said Caldwell. age amounts every three to four years,
“Most of these doctors, especially sur- especially as the individual begins to
geons, are living on all of their income; earn more money. This is an especially
they spend most of their money,” he opportune time to review coverage, he
added. “If they are unable to generate an adds, citing COVID-19 concerns.
income, and only have 30 percent of “With more and more healthcare pro-
their income covered, they may be able fessionals dealing with issues as a result
to make it, but a lot of things will go of COVID-19, it’s important to note that
away.” disability policies have not excluded it as
Considering that a specialist might a covered illness,” he said. “We are actu-
earn more than $15 million over the ally seeing more awareness of this type
course of his or her career, it’s important of insurance now because of the pan-
to protect those assets. demic; doctors are being exposed to
“If you owned a $15 million office something that could take them out,
building, you wouldn’t insure just one which is making it more of a reality for
floor—you would insure the whole them.”
thing,” said Caldwell. “For a 45-year-old Along with financial security, disabili-
physician making $750,000 a year who ty insurance can also provide peace of
plans to work until age 65, it’s the same
mind.
thing.” ity coverage allows one to focus on
“Having the proper amount of disabil-
He added that many doctors are not
aware that, regardless of the level of
recovery from the illness or injury that
income, disability insurance can cover
took them out of practice," said
close to 100 percent of net income due
to the tax treatment of disability bene-
fits. Caldwell.
For more information, contact Wes
He adds that one challenge for physi- Caldwell at wes@dannagracey.com
cians is finding the time to obtain the
or (888) 284-4198
coverage because disability is one of or visit www.dannagracey.com.
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