Q&A – Gender Neutral Disability Insurance for OHSU Resident

Question

Hi Justin – I am a resident at OHSU and got your name from a handful of colleagues who told me you helped them evaluate their disability insurance options. However, one of my attendings stressed the importance of getting a policy that doesn’t charge me more simply for being a female. Do you know what she meant?

Answer

Happy to help. Yes, I know what she is referencing. Disability insurance is usually priced on gender-specific rates, and females pay more for disability insurance. However, some physicians occasionally have access to insurance options that are “gender-neutral” and therefore don’t charge females more than males. This can result in a significant amount of cost savings for female physicians.

If we were to go back to 2010, there were many companies offering policies to residents with a specialty-specific definition of disability and contractually guaranteed gender-neutral pricing. Unfortunately, all those programs except for one are no longer available. The one option remaining is the Guaranteed Standard Issue (GSI) program for OHSU residents and fellows.

The unusual thing about a GSI program is it is only offered through the one advisor who was selected to be responsible for the GSI plan at the teaching hospital. If a resident is talking with anyone besides that one advisor, they might not even know that the gender-neutral GSI option exists. If you want to know the specific details of the GSI disability insurance policy you are eligible for as a resident at OHSU, just let me know and we can schedule a time to review the details of the program.