FROM: Barbara Hannah, Chief Counsel
SUBJECT: 2025 Medical Advisor Panel and Hearing Officer Panel
RECOMMENDATION:
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Approve and adopt the 2025 Medical Advisor Panel and Hearing Officer Panel.
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BACKGROUND:
Annually, the Board reviews, considers and determines the members of the Hearing Officer panel and Medical Advisor panel for the upcoming calendar year.
Medical Advisors
Medical Advisors (MAs) are essential to the overall review and determination of disability retirement applications. Their recommendations are crucial to the determination of the Board to grant or deny a member's disability retirement application. Therefore, it is important to have a panel of MAs that give accurate advice to the Board based upon the review and analysis of medical evidence. The current panel consists of Shoaib Naqvi, M.D., Lance Mohr, M.D., and Jeffrey Wainstein, M.D. Staff agrees that all MAs are knowledgeable on medical issues and provide clear explanations regarding medical conditions.
Hearing Officers
Similar to the role of the medical advisor, a hearing officer is essential to the overall disability retirement process. Specifically, hearing officers preside over administrative reviews of the Board's initial determination of a member's application. Hearing officers may also be assigned to preside over benefit appeals, as defined in Benefits Policy No. 025 (Requests and Appeals for Pension Benefits). The hearing officer is an impartial adjudicator who weighs the evidence and provides a recommendation. The proposed panel for 2025 consists of seven hearing officers.
Staff recommends approving the 2025 Medical Advisor Panel and Hearing Officer Panel listed in Exhibit A.
BUDGET IMPACT:
Costs for this item are included in the current year administrative budget.
STRATEGIC PLANNING GOAL/OBJECTIVE:
Operational Excellence & Efficiency
STAFF CONTACT:
Barbara Hannah
David Lantzer
ATTACHMENTS:
Exhibit A: 2025 Medical Advisor and Hearing Officer Pa...
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