Gp's letter

Hi Everyone,

Found this thread and thought it was most applicable to my question...

I realise it is up to APRA but was wondering if having borderline type 2 diabetes qualifies as a life threatening illness/diease? I had gestational diabetes and then at my six week check up had the glucose tolerance test and got the results that I was 'NOT diabetic but do have impaired glucose tolerance'.

Has anyone else successfully accessed their superannuation with this health reasoning?

Cheers

Thanks sooo much Carrie...

You are so helpful and really appreciated for your kinds words of advice....

It probably will be CantWait, the three basis for release are that the treatment is necessary to (i) treat a life threatening illness or injury; or (ii) alleviate acute, or chronic pain; or (iii) alleviate an acute, or chronic mental disturbance. The life threatening illness is the one most commonly used, but pain is there as an option too.

Why don't you take it with you to your surgeons appt tomorrow, they will have much more experience with what's ok than your GP would.

Good luck :-) - Carrie

Hi Carrie,

Do you think that my letter to APRA from my GP will suffice? See below:-

"She is suffering from chronic recurrent low back pain as well as pain on her ankles and knees as a result of being significantly overweight with a BMI of 37.7. I believe that losing weight to get her BMI to normal will significantly alleviate her pain. One of the treatments recommended is bariatric surgery. This treatment is not readily available through the public health system.

Please approve early release of ______'s superannuation benefits so that she can access appropriate treatment for the aforementioned condition."

Do you think APRA will approve this letter from my GP?

I have an appointment with my surgeon tomorrow.

Your response is appreciated.

Thanks...

Thanks Carrie, your a star!
I will go to my GP yet again and get her to do another one.

thanks again. xxx

Hi Mari,

No I don't think that will be enough, it has to say that you are "suffering from a life threatening disease ( Obesity) which is not readily available though the public health system" Have a look at the APRA website, you can download the forms and see the guidelines. Why don't you let your GP read the surgeons letter so they can see how it should be done.

Here's a link to the APRA site:
http://www.apra.gov.au/superannuation/early-release-of-superannuation-benefits.cfm

Here's the information brochure:
http://www.apra.gov.au/Superannuation/upload/APRA-ROB-Brochure-v5-15-Dec-2008.pdf

Here's the guidelines for your Dr:
http://www.apra.gov.au/Superannuation/upload/SA_ROB_MED_032009_temp.pdf

Here's the form you need:
http://www.apra.gov.au/Superannuation/upload/APRA-ROB-Form-Medical-or-dental-23-Dec-2008.pdf

Cheers - Carrie :-)

can someone please help me. Im hopefully getting the operation done late march so I want to get the ball rolling and apply to APRA for early release of my super. I want to do it now seeing Christmas is around the corner and there are probably going to be expected delays with the holiday season.
So I got my surgeon's letter which seems really good but my GP was not really that helpful.
This is pretty much what she wrote on the letter;

To Whom it may concern;
(Name) has PCOS, Insulin resistance and impaired fasting glycaemia.
Her BMI is 41.7
She has been referred for (operation type)
The weight loss from this procedure will reduce her risk factors for mobidity and increase her life expectancy.

Can someone please tell me if they think APRA will approve with this letter or should I go back to my GP and get her to use the template thats on this website?

Please help. Thanks.

Oh no, no Honey,

I'm very sorry if I came across like that. I just started to worry that, by sending out a letter that is really my Drs - not mine, I may be doing the wrong thing and could upset him.
Gawd life's complicated isn't it, LOL.

Big hugs - Carrie

Thanks so much to all for the info. I will also tell my doctor to do the same and write it out according to my apra sheet and relevant to my medical history.

Carrie, I understand where you were coming from. Sorry if I offended you in anyway by asking the same as the others. Fully understood.

Well all I need now is my appt's on Tues and Weds then I will be submitting.
Best of luck to all :)

I did the same as you loving just took the words from the website and had no issues

What I did was I took the form APRA sent me in included exactly what the Dr letter had to contain. She used that as a template. You could use the one from the surgeon as a template as they write them all the time. As long as it contains this.....

"your name / dependant's name is suffering from a life threatening disease ( Obesity) which is not readily available though the public health system"
"please approve early release of *your name or hubby name if your using his super* superannuation benefits so they / their dependants can access appropriate treatment for the aforementioned condition."
I got this the apra forms section 6 subsection 2.



I hope this helps.

Hi All,

I PM'd this letter to Sandy Lou because she had particular problems getting one from her Dr. I have PM'd it a couple of others who have asked since, but I am uncomfortable about just sending it out willy-nilly, it is not my letter, it is a template provided by my surgeon for use by my Dr.

I am sure that most surgeons would provide something similar, and most Dr's should be able to work from the APRA list of requirements. I can't imagine that APRA wouldn't notice if thay started getting a whole lot of identical letters.

Sandy Lou, Peezles, Rowena & Honey Beez, I would be grateful if you kept this letter for your own use.

If someone is actually having problems getting their Dr to provide a letter, PM me.

Cheers - Carrie

Hi there......I am going to sound like yet another echo, but can I please also ask for a draft of this letter. I am seeing Dr. Durmesh next Tues and my GP Wednesday morning. Would be great to explain to my GP what exactly is required to be able to access my super through apra to pay for the surgery. I think he is a little confused with the whole thing... Cheers Ladies and Best wishes. :)..... I am new to this site and not sure if you can PM me or need my email if you dont mind giving me a copy....Just let me know if its ok and you need my email.... Thanks so much...

and me too please :)

Thanks heaps =)

No probs, I'll do it now. :-)

-Carrie

Carrie, any chance you could please pm that to me too?

Thankyou Carrie, that's fantastic! Very much appreciated.

Hi SandyLou,

I've just PM'd you a copy of what my Dr wrote. My surgeon gave me a template for him to follow.

Cheers - Carrie

Hi, I've gotten all the paperwork ready and my surgeon said he will write the appropriate letter but I'm worried about my GP. He's just in a medical centre and doesn't speak english very well, my referral was dismal. I would like to write the letter for him and see if he could copy it or just sign it. Does anyone have a copy of their letter? or an idea of the wording he should use?

Thanks