Woman Declared "Not Depressed," Loses Benefits over Facebook Photo
Woman Declared "Not Depressed," Loses Benefits over Facebook Photo
Posted 11/20/2009 at 3:56pm
| by Pulkit Chandna
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Just recently an American man accused of robbery was exonerated after a Facebook status update posted at about the same time as the robbery became his alibi. But Nathalie Blanchard, a 29-year-old Canadian woman, witnessed a different side, a much darker side, of using Facebook. Her rather jaunty Facebook alter ego has cost her dearly.
This IBM employee has been on sick leave for the last year and a half after being diagnosed with major depression. As if her long-drawn battle with depression wasn't enough, her insurance company, Manulife, withdrew her monthly sick-leave benefits this fall, using her happy Facebook pics as a pretext. Pics of Blanchard partying and holidaying were enough to convince the insurance company that she was back to normal.
The fun she was having, or trying to have, was strictly therapeutic - just what the doctor ordered, says Blanchard. She is also miffed at Manulife's meddlesome ways: the insurance company accessed her photos despite the fact that she has chosen to limit her profile to only friends. "My client was diagnosed with a major depression. And there were pictures of her on Facebook, in a party or having a good time. It could be that she was just trying to escape," Blanchard's lawyer Tom Lavin told CBC News.
The insurance company admits using social networking sites to keep a tab on clients. But it claims that it does not terminate claims "solely based on information published on websites such as Facebook."
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dinny
November 08, 2010 at 10:25am
That's something I definitely never heard before and no, I am not sure about the insurance companies right of digging into people's online private profiles. It looks that having an online social life comes with a price. Aren't there privacy legal clauses for that? I know I have them on my Louisville insurance.
Hg Dragon
November 23, 2009 at 12:29pm
In "big picture" terms, I really don't see anything wrong with Insurance companies, employers, etc. using things like Social Networking sites for investigative reasons. This is no different than an insurance company hiring a private investigator to follow someone for insurance fraud investigations.You put up anything in somepalce as public as the Internet, don't be suprised when somthing comes back to bite you.
My problem lies with theinsurance company, from what it looks like, arbitrarily cutting off benefitsto this person without any kind of reason other than "Oh look, she's smiling in this photo! She must be fine!"All she needs is a couple of other doctors tosayshe's still depressed and she can end up with a lot more money than the insurance company would have paid out previously. "Emotional and psychological damages" and all that...
nekollx
November 23, 2009 at 12:42pm
Add to it it wasn't a "public" site as her profile was set to private and you have "invasion of privacy"
------------------------------
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habuza
November 23, 2009 at 11:11am
This is why I don't use social networking of any kind. In a digitally connected society I prefer to stay off the
grid.
opulent_rigs
November 21, 2009 at 12:25pm
will base its judgment on two key issues:
1. The legality of the insurance company's actions: gaining access to private photographs without consent.
2. The seriousness and the veracity of the woman's illness.
A different set of awards may follow from each of the two
And i don’t think psychiatry will be open for review in court i.e. whether it is a science or an art or whatever
Jono
November 21, 2009 at 1:37am
Apparently the cure for her depression was not going to work for over a year while still getting paid... *cough* Doctor I'm feeling a little depressed this morning can I get a note for work. What is this? middle school? What kind of doctor would insist their patient leave work for over a year for depression.. Maybe switch jobs, but yea, not everyone loves their job, it's life, grow up. Don't want to work? Fine. I have a cardboard box you can borrow. I hope she gets what's coming to her.
snapple00
November 22, 2009 at 2:55pm
I agree. Its kinda rediculous to simply not work at all and keep getting paid when she is physically able to do so. And for over a year? Hope she loses more money.
b.mcfallen
November 22, 2009 at 9:36pm
I agree with the fact that she shouldn't have been allowed to stop going to work and get paid is wrong. Being a sufferer of massive depression, I still go to work, even on the really bad days. This is a clear misuse of the system, but do the insurance companies really deserve to get away with getting private data? Also, pictures don't really mean a thing, everyone smiles for the camera!
zodi
November 20, 2009 at 9:37pm
Insurance companies like everyone else are out to save a buck. Why? They make money that way. An insurance company will do everything in its power to find something wrong with a claim. People who I know that work in the industry doing investigations are told exactly that. Find something. That is there job and they are rated on there performance. Whether its legitimate, insurance companies don't care. If it can get you off there payroll they will use it to revoke your claim.
Obviously there is more to this story as a picture partying does not constitute a biblical miracle cure of depression. And for all of you who think its the boo hoo's remember that next time your in a plane, train or bus, when a low hits and the person noses said vehicle into something solid. Oh the best thing is they might not know there depressed.
WFUJay
November 21, 2009 at 5:51am
You obviously know how to spell. Please learn to use "there", "their", and "they're" in the correct context. "There" isn't used in every situation of the word....
iPodsMakeZombies
November 20, 2009 at 7:43pm
I wish people would stop making such stupid comments generalizing about a medical condition they have no formal training nor any wealth of knowledge in. I would trust the general consensus of medically trained scientists that depression is a serious condition that should be treated as such then the common moron who thinks that it's the "boo hoo's." It's sad today that people would rather trust their own prejudices then the people who are trained and educated in the particular field they are so ignorant about.
That said I think it's doubly sad that programs that specialize in medical care such as the one in this particular story would actually think that a facebook page is an accurate portrait of any person enough to be used to judge their mental health. I can't imagine how many ways that defies basic logic. Does anyone depict themselves accurately on any social networking profile? I think not.
It's probably just another cheap way to cut care to patients by holding anything and I mean ANYTHING against them in order to save money. Would they start treating a person for depression if their facebook page depicted them as being depressed and mopey? I think it's pretty obvious that if I made my profile REALLY depressing and then used that as proof of my depression to get the same care as this person was previously getting they would throw my case out or tell me "NOT WITHOUT AN EVALUATION FROM A TRAINED PROFESSIONAL THEY PREVIOUSLY SCREENED."
-Cheers
Tekzel
November 21, 2009 at 5:14am
Ohhhh yea, lets put all of our trust in a profession that has degenerated into prescription writers that get kickbacks from the pharaceutical industry to write said prescriptions, whether they are really needed or not. Or how about the doctors that get kickbacks from other doctors for all the "referrals" that likely aren't necessary, thereby milking the insurance industry, which in turn runs the price of insurance into horrific highs. Oh yea, folks like this lady is likely another reason for that. People who abuse their insurance. We all have to pay for that kind of stuff, with higher premiums or no insurance at all because we can't afford it.
I am not saying that all doctors are like this, but I firmly believe these kinds of things far more prevalent than any of them will let on. And no, I am not some kind of new age alternative medicine hippie. I believe in modern medicine, I just think that the doctors know where the big bucks are and are taking advantage of that knowledge.
Jono
November 21, 2009 at 2:16am
Formal training?? Pschology is a relatively new field of science. Is it ignorance to challenge theories unproven or to assume anyone with the title of "trained professional" is all knowing and without error.
LVmonkey
November 21, 2009 at 10:38am
Technically its an 'art' as oppossed to a science. - why you get a BA in Psychology. Psychiatry i believe is an 'art' as well... much like philosophy. however, Psychiatrists are able to prescribe drugs. Sigmond Froid (no sure how to spell his name at the moment) for example was a psychiatrist who at a penchant for prescribing now illegal narcotics for everything...wiki him some day.
festiva_man
November 20, 2009 at 8:39pm
I was on anti-depressants for 5 years and went through some intense therapy for four of those years. Depression is a serious thing. You should definitely understand that staying at home and not working is no way to deal with it. This woman clearly doesn't want to work and was abusing the system. For the past year and a half she has soaked up free money and now it stops....trust me she will be better off in the end. With all this being said this is more web 2.0 crap and it serves her right to post her information online.
fullur
November 20, 2009 at 8:30pm
Could you point me in the direction of some actual research on chemical depression? I have frequently heard about a consensus. But here is the thing, real science does not require "consensus." Real science requires proof. I am not saying they don't have it, but if they do I would like to see it.
Tenhawk
November 21, 2009 at 3:49am
While science does indeed require proof, it also operates heavily on consensus while the evidence is being analyzed... a process that can, historically, take centuries. We've gotten faster of late, but that's not always turning out to a be a good thing. Faster doesn't always mean we get the right answer faster, after all. Sometimes it just means you find the end of that short pier while on your long drive a bit quicker.
Also, there is a lot of evidence available on the biochemical imbalances that can lead to clinical depression... but to be honest, trying to read and understand it is enough to make ME clinically depressed.
LVmonkey
November 21, 2009 at 10:41am
a lot of evidence that 2+2=5 for certain values of 2. Just saying. Nothing is for certain and at the rate of diagnosis for depression, even the psychology mag's are screaming foul. Look up 'Psychology Today'. I read it semi-regularly... they are so certain that depression is nearly as promenient as the diagnosis' for it are, for example.
highsidednb
November 20, 2009 at 5:18pm
1) I destroyed my facebook account earlier today and I won't be going back. Stories like these only reinforce the fact that facebook is f***ed.
2) To the poster below, please, go home. Your mother is calling. Your immaturity will not be tolerated.
Tekzel
November 20, 2009 at 5:48pm
I am home, that wasn't my mother, and I don't think I was being immature at all, nor do I care what you will or will not tolerate.
Thanks, please play again.
Tekzel
November 20, 2009 at 4:47pm
Out of work for a year and a half, sucking up insurance, because you have the boo-hoos? Bullshit, take some pills, pull up your big girl pants and get back to the job. Kids today!
nekollx
November 20, 2009 at 4:58pm
Clinical Depression (you know the kind Doctor's get involved with) are due to chemical imbalances and have been known to lead to suicide.
This is not "boo hoos"
------------------------------
Coming soon to Lulu.com --Tokusatsu Heroes--
Five teenagers, one alien ghost, a robot, and the fate of the world.
Jono
November 21, 2009 at 2:22am
oh god.. since when was suicide considered a symptom.. err i guess i mean thoughts of suicide. chemical imbalance..
nekollx
November 23, 2009 at 9:25am
Let's hope you never find out, cause if you do I'll be the first one to riducule you.
------------------------------
Coming soon to Lulu.com --Tokusatsu Heroes--
Five teenagers, one alien ghost, a robot, and the fate of the world.
Neufeldt2002
November 20, 2009 at 10:03pm
As one person who has been diagnosed with Bi-Polar (Manic Depression) and S.A.D. Seasonal affective disorder, I can say that a year and a half is excessive. With proper medication one can return to a normal life within 6 months. There are extreme cases of depression, but those cases either end in suicide or such debilitating depression that nothing cheers them up. Nothing, no happy pictures, no partying, nothing. My money would be on the "she tried to scam the system, and got caught" way of thinking. Just my opinion though.
I wanted a signature, but all I got was this ________
LVmonkey
November 21, 2009 at 10:48am
As a person who was with my fiance for about 9 years, who later was diagnosed with bi-polar, borderline personality disorder and OCD (just to start, at least) i was informed several times that it takes, on average a good 8 years to get both a proper diagnosis and be issued the proper medication for the disorder...at least for bi polar. I was told this several times by professionals in the field... i mean locally workign psychiatrists and accredited councilors. 8 years.
Interestingly enough I was told that one of the problems that lengthens the time frame is with the medication taking time to introduce into the persons system so that you can properly tell its effects - which were measured in months for each particular drug.
If yours was figured out within a year and a half you were luckier than she was... and i was... she is now my ex of about 2 years. Life is quite a bit less stressful without her. I hear her's is not goign so well, however, 2 years in.
Neufeldt2002
November 21, 2009 at 2:07pm
Yes I was lucky. The more mental problems one has, the harder it is to balance the medications. According to the story she was depressed, 6 months is ample time to get the right doses. It takes 6 weeks to regulate the meds for the body. Even if the first meds did not work for her at first, within 6 months a compatent(sp?) psychiatrist should be able to get you to a point of returning to work. Unless there is other medical problems. I still stand by my original opinion, based on the story only saying it was depression, and nothing else.
I wanted a signature, but all I got was this ________
the_Troll
November 20, 2009 at 7:20pm
We live in a world were people expect to be taken care off. How sad. Now, I'm depressed. Hmm, maybe I can start collecting.
Vegan
November 20, 2009 at 6:31pm
That's still no reason to be on sick leave for a year and a half and still getting paid. What kind of crazy world do we live in when you can not go to work for 18 months and still be considered an employee?
aviaggio
November 21, 2009 at 11:01am
It's called "nearly every other first world country other than the US". Y'know, where citizens of said countries are all guaranteed medical coverage, sick leave pay, and unlimited unemployment benefits? Gosh darn it those wacky socialists! How dare they take care of their tax-paying citizens so well! The US way is soooo much better -- people unnecessarily dying because they don't have health insurance, families with children living in cars and mile long homeless tent villages because of layoffs and home foreclosures. Yes, yes indeed, SO much better, isn't it?
Caboose
November 21, 2009 at 11:36am
Up here in Canuckistan, Unemployment isn't unlimited. It does end at some point. I've almost had to go on unemployment, but I was lucky enough to find a job before having to go on UI.
-= I don't want to be dead, I want to be alive! Or... a cowboy! =-
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