THE GOVERNMENT ORDERS YOU TO BE MEDICALLY EXAMINED BY THE PERSON BEHIND THE MASK. SHOULD YOU TRUST THEM?

The scene is repeated dozens if not hundreds of times per day across the country. You yourself may have experienced it or know someone who has.
You have applied for benefits from the United States government.
These can be social security disability benefits, or perhaps federal worker's compensation benefits as you were injured on your federal job.
You submit your medical reports from your trusted family doctor to the government.
All appears well.
But the government is not so sure. The government wants more medical information.
But not from your own treating doctor.
No, they want it from one of their own doctors. A "for hire" doctor the government pays to examine you and give his opinion of your medical status.
The government sends you a formal notice that you must appear for an examination by their doctor. This government doctor, based on his one time examination of you, will very likely hold the final decision as to whether or not you will receive or be denied your needed benefits or even, further medical care.
The failure to appear for that exam can be used by the government to delay or even deny your needed benefits.
You do not know who this doctor is, you have never met him.
His office very commonly appears to be a temporary office with no medical equipment and no medical staff present. The examination itself commonly takes only a few minutes regardless of the extent of your injury, disease or past medical history. Under some circumstances the government will forbid you any right to have anyone else present in the room with their doctor for his exam. More often than not the government doctor will refuse to give you a copy of his examination report despite your request.

Despite all these misgivings and uneasiness, thousands and thousands of Americans routinely trust and accept these government "for hire" doctors as medically competent and legitimate.

The fact is that under current federal benefits programs laws, Americans have very little choice of whether or not they must attend and be examined by these government doctors. The failure to show for the exam will very likely result in the end of their benefits. But should you blindly trust the government and give them full faith that they are placing your health and well-being in the hands of a fully competent medical provider?

Absolutely not.

For example, in the past two months alone, I have come across more than once not only questionable doctors on the government payroll, but doctor's whose entire ability to practice medicine appears at issue.
In a recent claim the federal government ordered a claimant to be examined by their doctor to see if the claimant should be continue to receive federal medical benefits for his severe medical condition; a condition already fully accepted by the government. The government doctor was paid by the United States taxpayer for his examination and for his report. The government doctor, not surprisingly, found that after his one time exam, the claimant's government benefits should be ended. While the doctor remains on the government payroll, the claimant's government benefits are terminated. Upon my review of this government doctor, my suspicions as to his medical competence and ethics were confirmed. In fact this government doctor has multiple federal indictments against him for:

Mail Fraud
Making False Claims Against the United States
Making False Statements Relating to Health Care Matters
and Health Care Fraud.

Neither the doctor nor the United States disclosed this known information to the claimant prior to or even after his examination. Apparently, despite multiple indictments for fraud against the United States, the doctor currently remains fully licensed in Texas and on the government payroll.

In another claim just reviewed, the government ordered another civilian to be examined by one of the government's doctors. Once again the government used their "for hire" doctor to terminate the claimant's much needed medical care and benefits. Once again, no disclosure was made to the claimant by the government or the doctor, that the doctor was actually on five years probation with restricted medical and surgical practice limitations in Florida and Colorado. As far as can be seen this doctor also remains on the government payroll and practicing medicine.

Americans who are applying for federal benefits, such as social security disability, federal workers' compensation or federal medical disability retirement are required to submit to examinations by the government's choice of physician; as often and wherever the government deems necessary. However the caveat is that the regulations generally require that the government physician be medically qualified and competent. Whether or not these government "for hire" physicians actually are medically qualified or medical competent appears to be of less and less concern of the government and will likely not be disclosed to the claimant.

It is up to you the claimant to investigate and find out if the doctor that the government is ordering you to see, is indeed medically competent and qualified. The vast majority of the government doctor's are qualified and competent. But should you blindly trust and put full faith in that assumption? That could be very foolish and could result in direct harm to you and your federla benefits claim.