Welcome to our Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency Disability Insurance Map!

Our goal is to build a resource for medical students, residents, and fellows in PM&R that raises awareness of what PM&R residency programs offer a Guaranteed Standard Issue Disability Insurance (GSI) policy. This map was updated for the 2022-2023 academic year. 2023-2024 is in the pipeline.

A GSI policy is important for any resident with a pre-existing condition, whether that be autoimmune, musculoskeletal, etc, as it protects their future ability to be a high-income earner.

Want to learn more? Check out the bottom of the page!

Why is Disability Insurance Important?
In today’s healthcare environment the majority of medical students are graduating with an average of 200k-250k of student loan debt! The wealth of many of these physicians come from their future ability to earn a high income. If you get disabled and are unable or partially able to work, your debt payments don’t pause that’s compounded by the home, auto, among other loans that physicians accrue.

It has been cited that up to 1 in 7 physicians experience a disability in their lifetime, whether that be temporary, partial, or completely unable to perform their clinical duties.

How Do I Get an Individual Disability Insurance Policy?
When applying for life or disability insurance, medical underwriting is performed to evaluate the level of risk the insurance company is taking by issuing you insurance. During the medical underwriting, the applicant can undergo basic blood work, urine screen, and the insurance company requests all prior medical records.

This is the part where people with pre-existing conditions run into trouble. Insurers never cover pre-existing conditions, especially if they are serious or are associated with high morbidity and mortality later in life. Applicants with these pre-existing conditions who apply on the private market are denied or there an exclusion clause is placed so that the policy holder can not file a claim on any disability related to that pre-exisiting condition.

Women have higher monthly premiums then men, as women have to endure the childbearing process. The insurance companies stopped offering unisex rates that was historically the best way for women to obtain lower rates.  

What’s So Special About a GSI Policy?
A GSI policy is one that does not require the applicant/future beneficiary to undergo medical underwriting. Any resident or fellow at an institution that offers a GSI policy can apply and be enrolled. The only criteria for disqualification is a prior denial.

The premiums are also more similar to the previous unisex rates. Women, even if they are completely healthy, are often able to obtain a lower rate than if they were purchase a policy on the private market.

What’s the Difference Between a GSI Policy & the Policy My Employer Offers to All Employees?
A GSI policy is an individual policy, compared to the employer sponsored policies are group disability insurance (DI) policies. This means your GSI policy is portable and will travel with you if you decide to leave the institution you are employed by at the time you purchase the policy. This is in contrast to a employer-sponsored group disability insurance policy that will only provide coverage during the time you are an employee.

Another major difference is that for a individual (GSI) plan, the benefit you receive while disabled is NOT taxed as annual income. Unlike employer-sponsored group DI policies, where you are subject to the annual income tax on the benefit you receive while disabled.

Individual disability insurance policies (GSI included) are 100% controlled by the beneficiary, and have the option to purchase ‘riders’ that are like add-ons that raise the monthly premium but can offer major benefits in the case the policy is used.