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For more on this topic, go to www.dentaleconomics.com and search using the following key words: disability, disability insurance, disability benefits, Jim Biesterfelt.
When Scott Calev, DDS, graduated from dental school nearly 30 years ago, a career-ending disability was never on his radar screen. He built a successful practice in Phoenix, Ariz., which eventually evolved into providing care at a reduced fee for lowincome single mothers, grandparents raising grandkids, and the children. "I felt that I was filling a very important need," Dr. Calev says.
For almost a decade, he even neglected to buy disability insurance until a good friend in the insurance business learned that Dr. Calev had no disability coverage. "He insisted that I buy a small policy, which I did," Dr. Calev recalls. "Then I bought another policy through the American Dental Association."
Worst-case scenario
Years later, Dr. Calev noticed progressive achiness and swelling in his joints. In 1993, he was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. "At that point, I couldn't qualify medically to increase my disability insurance, but I didn't worry about it at the time because I planned to keep working," he says.
Medications enabled Dr. Calev to...