Art Risser
by Art Risser
These are the first words the Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) usually hears when telling an applicant for a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Medical Certificate that he doesn’t meet the requirements in some way. At this point the AME has met his duty in the process and is not required to do anything more than submit the paperwork to the FAA in Oklahoma City. The bulk of the medical certificate process, following the AME’s examination, is performed there.
At this point the pilot, traffic controller, or student must decide how to proceed in the upcoming process with the FAA. Among his choices are doing it on his own (similar to doing an income tax appeal); asking the AME to assist (not all will do that and most rightfully charge for the added service); or hiring one of the fee-for-service companies which specialize in exactly this work.
As you might expect, there are only a few companies which have the knowledge and ability to place themselves between the FAA and the pilot as an advocate for the pilot. Even fewer are dedicated to only this process.
Most of these advocate companies will accept a new pilot/client no matter where in the appeal process they are with the FAA. Some potential clients make that initial contact immediately when they know they have a problem before even making an appointment with the AME. This is the best time to get started with seeking advice.
Other clients will wait until they have spent months going through the FAA process, been denied again, then seek assistance. Although a great deal of time has already passed with the pilot usually grounded, the client can still receive good benefit from the third party assistance.
Once accepted as a client, the advocate company will place themselves between the client and the FAA. It is very similar to how the professional income tax preparer interacts with his client and the Internal Revenue Service. Usually all communications to the FAA are from the advocate company. This eliminates the FAA receiving duplicate and sometimes conflicting or even damaging information into the client’s file at Oklahoma City. This is critical because once in the file, the information remains in your records forever.
Most of the advocate companies have access to sources inside the FAA, which are not usually published or readily available to the public. This is one of the most valuable resources they can bring to the table in handling your situation.
The basis for the decision to use a fee-for-service organization varies from person to person, but generally falls into one of three categories.
The first category is when the person feels overwhelmed in dealing with a federal government agency, such as the FAA. Although the FAA has done some work on making it a more friendly agency, it can still be tough to get the information you need.
The second category is the person whose time has greater value than the cost of hiring a third-party. This, again, is similar to the basis used in deciding to not complete your own income tax return. The learning curve is high and results can be harmful, particularly if you earn your living in aviation.
The third category includes those who just plain find the whole process frustrating and don’t want to deal with it. Again, this is due, at least in part, to the high learning curve.
Although there are other good reasons for obtaining help, these are among the most frequent.
When selecting an advocate for your interaction with the FAA, you’ll want to be sure to get a good feel for how each interacts with you. As with the selection of any professional, each of us has different criteria for the selection of an advocate.
Customer service is probably the most important. Does the type of service provided by the company being considered match up with your needs and your way of doing business? There are many ways to judge this, but you might include in your interview of the prospective advocate company how much the person to whom you are speaking knows about the process. Can they discuss the details and considerations of your problem, or do they simply take a message? Are telephone calls returned in a timely fashion? Are you able to speak directly to the person who deals with the FAA or does your contact with the company simply relay questions and answer back and forth? How often are you made aware of the progress of your appeal? Does the advocate company contact you or must you initiate the call to them for a status report?
A favorite question of nearly everyone seeking an advocate is: “How long will this process take?” Be ready for the answer because it is almost always going to be longer than what you think is reasonable. Dealing with any federal government agency is time consuming. In the case of the FAA, your prospective advocate can only give you time estimates based upon their experience because the FAA will not provide any time estimates for reviewing and responding to applications.
As an aside, it is important to understand the priority with which the FAA handles any appeals for medical certificates. First Class Medical Certificate applications are handled first, no matter where in the arrival sequence they appear. A response time here of just days or, at most, weeks, is not uncommon.
After the First Class applications are processed, the FAA moves on to the Second Class applications. The priority within this group is split into two categories: those whose primary income is through aviation, and those whose income is from other sources. The applications for professional aviators are usually processed first and the others second. For all Second Class applications, the response time can be from weeks to a month or two.
Finally, in the time available, the Third Class applications are processed. Since these are effectively on a “time available” basis, response time of three months or more can occur with 60 to 90 days being pretty typical.
Getting back to the interview process for prospective advocate companies, the cost of the service is important to each of us. There are several different methods of charging being used by different companies. Each has advantages depending upon your needs.
One of the most common methods of charging for services is where you pay, individually, for each level of service you need. This can be a benefit where you are fairly certain of your exact needs. If they are modest and straightforward, this can be the most cost-effective method for you, but if your decision basis proves faulty, this can be very expensive.
If your AME is available to assist you in the additional steps required for the issuance of your medical certificate, a common fee schedule ties to the cost of several office visits. This can vary widely depending upon whether or not the doctor is simply reviewing the records and documentation that you must gather, or if he actually does the legwork of obtaining the documentation. Note that your health insurance will typically not be responsible for these fees.
One of the least frequently seen charging methods is the “flat fee.” With this approach you pay a one-time fee, which includes all services offered by the advocate company. In evaluating this approach, be sure you know what comprises a “completed project.” It can range from a simple records review, up to a full project completion, which would include all appropriate appeals, waivers, special issuances, etc.
In most cases the costs involved with obtaining additional medical tests, ordering copies of medical records, requesting copies of your FAA files, etc, are in addition to what an advocate company receives in payment.
The FAA has some very good doctors and medical specialists in their regional flight surgeon’s offices, at the Oklahoma City processing center, and at the federal air surgeon’s office in Washington, D.C. You will not usually be able to speak with the FAA physicians for good reason. If the physicians spend all day on the telephone with pilots and controllers, they will never have the time to review the appeals. A very good source for information is at your regional flight surgeon’s office where you will find well-qualified people to respond to your questions and offer guidance on FAA standards and rules for medical certificates.
So, as you can see, there are many facets to choosing a method handling a denial or deferral to your application for a medical certificate from the FAA. If you select the fee-for-service advocate solution, it is imperative that you do your homework before writing that check. Be sure that you know exactly, or at least a pretty firm range, of what the cost(s) will be for the entire project and exactly what is included in the “project” definition.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Art Risser is President of ARMA Research, Inc., a consulting firm dedicated to assisting airmen with FAA medical issues. He may be reached at (920) 206-9000 and www.ARMAResearch.Com.
