Avoiding being sent home for Sleep Apnea

This scam is really screwing drivers. Thankfully the company I am with does not play this game and lets drivers use their own doctors for certification. Many of these companies,especially the larger companies are in bed with these medical facilities and especially hospitals and in time I am sure some numbers will show up on kickbacks or perks the companies get for using them. If I was looking for work, I would just avoid any company that wants you to go to their doctors.

 

Are you union? I have heard that the various unions are trying to avoid this and protect their drivers and kudos to them for doing so.

 

I might be wrong, but this is what I am told. You can only get a DOT physical from a doctor that is certified to give DOT physical. There was a day were we could keep the forms in the office and give them to the driver to take to his family MD. If my understanding is correct, all DOT physicals must now be done by a doc certified to do DOT. Am I wrong?

 

Not wrong. You're correct. Only DOT certified doctors can perform DOT physicals.

 

So that could be the real problem in using your own doctor. Our experience is that fewer and fewer doctors will do DOT physicals because if the driver has a medical issue while driving, they could be drawn into a potential law as they are the one that "certified" the driver. Now the medical card needs to be taken to your state DMV and "hooks" them together. Drivers and Companies do fight, but nothing is affecting us as much as the lawyers and the Government.

 

You are rarely, if ever sent home for sleep apnea if you agree to use a mask while sleeping. Many drivers that have initially #####ed about using one find they DO get a better nights sleep while using it.

 

I think you have a misunderstanding. Yes, the Doctor must be DOT approved to issue you a DOT physical. However, there is NO REQUIREMENT within the DOT physical to have a sleep apnea test (At least not in Florida - at this time). If your company wants to ADD that requirement I suppose there is nothing from preventing them from doing so. I also suppose that they can mandate what Dr. you go to for the test, much the same way they tell you where to go for your drug testing.

I am no lawyer but I have the feeling that if the company mandates you to take that test they should be paying for it. On the other hand, they also know that if you want the job badly enough you will pay for it and not make an issue out of it. I do know that if you have to pay for it you can certainly use it as a tax deduction for the year and if you end up having to purchase a Bi-pap machine that (and all the necessary renewal supplies as time goes on) will be deductible as well. You can even deduct the mileage you drove to/from the test as a work expense. Not that these deductions make up for the cash outlay, but at least it can maybe take some of the sting out of it.