I didn't really want to get into that, but simply put it is paid leave that kicks in precisely because of the government incompetence in dealing with medical issues. In other words, you don't have to burn your own sick leave while waiting for OK City to actually look at your medical issues. I talked with several guys that were waiting for this exact thing. The problem is that there is an approval process in getting it, and Delta's bureaucracy is sometimes just as slow, so by the time you have burned almost all your personal sick leave you get this bennie. Don't get me wrong, it's much better than going down the short term/long term disability road, but it still takes too much time. I called my congressman and complained about the FAA's process and got my medical within about 2 weeks. Not saying that's what did it, but there was an interesting coincidence.