Originally Posted by
ScorpioNC
Bink,
I work in the insurance field, so I thought I may be able to offer a valid opinion here. I know that what you really want to know is “will telling this doctor about my test cyp use ever come back to bite me in the butt?” Let me tell you up front that I don’t know the answer to that question, but I’ll give you some things to think about, especially when applying for insurance in the future.
First let me say that I seriously doubt the doctor or an insurance company would report you to the authorities, so I wouldn’t worry too much about that. I’ll approach this from an insurance point of view and the general idea of permanent records.
There are two things to consider when you disclose something to your doctor: the in-office medical files and your insurance company files.
When your doctor submits an insurance claim on your behalf, it includes the information for the tests and treatment that he/she provides to you and that you are asking the insurance company to pay for. Sure, they will submit a claim to the insurance company to pay for an EKG and any tests, but the doctor should not send the insurance company a note to say that you disclosed that you used test cyp. In your case, your situation has nothing to do with test cyp use, so there’s no reason for any treatment that would raise a red flag for an insurance company. Apparently they’ve given you the diagnosis (muscle tear), so from their point of view, this has nothing to do with test cyp.
Insurance companies report information to the Medical Information Bureau (MIB). It’s a like a credit reporting agency for insurers. When you apply for insurance, the new insurer checks your MB file. It’s going to contain any adverse medical information such as previously declined policy applications or other details discovered during underwriting. I do not believe that your current medical insurance company will report adverse conditions to the MIB. Although I’m not 100% sure, I think it’s just for adverse conditions discovered during the underwriting of new policies, but don’t quote me on that. I could ask one of the underwriters at my company, if you really want to know. The MIB file holds adverse health information as well as other information uncovered during underwriting such as risky hobbies (skydiving), risky occupations (professional stuntman), and risky behaviors (bad driving record). It would include test cyp use, I think, if an insurer finds out about it. These things can affect your ability to get life, health, disability, or long term care insurance, and generally affect the price you pay. You can request a copy of your MIB file for free. Just go to their website. Google search MIB.
Your doctor also maintains in-office files. At one time these were probably paper charts, and a note about the test cyp use would have gone there. Paper files may be archived for a long time, but we’d assume that eventually they would be shredded. (Well, let’s hope they get shredded and not just thrown away). These days, more and more doctors use electronic records. Mine does. These may never get destroyed, at least as long as you are a patient of that office. In your case, you went to the Emergency Room. I imagine the hospital keeps records for a long time, and they’re probably electronic. Handwritten notes may even be scanned in. If it made it into your file, it may stick around for a long time in some format. When I visit my doctor, she lists anything I'm currently taking. This shows up on the printed summary report that she gives me at the end of my visit. Even supplements I'm using are listed. They use the to determine interactions for anything they prescribe. If your doctor entered it in their system, it will be part of your permanent record with them. No doubt. This doesn't mean it will become part of your insurance file, however.
When you apply for insurance the insurer has the right to ask your doctor for an Applied Physician Statement for any red flags they have. They will probably not ask for your entire file. Usually they have a concern and they want to know the physician’s assessment and response. And maybe to see the test results performed concerning the issue. I suppose it’s possible that they could send your doctor a questionnaire that asked questions such as a known history of drug use, but I’ve never heard of a company doing that. And that’s a question for your primary care physician, not an ER doctor. My company (life insurance) will request physician statements if an issue comes up from the MIB, the physical exam/blood test we administer when you apply, or the health questions we ask YOU about your health history. If you’re applying for insurance and the company is interested in this problem you just had (the recent muscle tear that brought you to the ER) and they want to know more, they may ask the doctor for his records on the incident. If he provides full case notes and mentions your discussion about test cyp, then the new insurance company will know. They may then report it to the MIB, and it’s part of your file. Honestly, I think the only way the ER visit will be investigated is if you mention it on an insurance company’s health questionnaire, but you never know how things like this can turn up.
Regarding payment of insurance claims: Life Insurance companies are allowed under most US state laws to have a 2 year maximum suicide and contestability exclusion on their policies. This means that if you commit suicide within 2 years of policy issue, the policy won’t pay out. After 2 years, it pays, even for suicide. During the 2 year contestability period, if a claim is made and they can prove that you misrepresented yourself (lied on the application), they can contest the payout, and you will only get a refund of the premiums you paid, not the full benefit. So, if you say you don’t sky dive, and you pass away 6 months after policy issue in a sky diving accident, the company can question it. It doesn’t mean that they won’t pay out, but they can investigate and possibly challenge it. And seriously, why would you jump out of a perfectly good airplane, anyway?
I’m saying all this to say that if you lie about test cyp use and then you pass away from something related to that, your insurance company could challenge it. Keep in mind that, unlike my skydiving example, which is clear-cut, many causes of death could be related to test cyp use. If it looks suspicious, they may dig around, and if they find that ER record, then there’s proof of misrepresentation. But again, we’re talking about a 2 year contestability window.
Here’s what I would do, if you are concerned. Give it 6 months. Check your MIB file, it you think that’s necessary. See what’s reported. Call the hospital/ER/doctor to see if you can get a copy of your file. It’s worth a shot. I understand that it’s difficult to get doctors to give you your own records, which is completely crazy.
This was probably more information than you wanted. I’ll stop now….
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