Position Paper: Workers’ Compensation/ No-fault Fee Schedule Proposed Update

On May 4, in a report issued by the New York State Assembly Labor and Insurance Committees regarding the proposed Workers Compensation fee schedule changes, the Assembly Majority clearly recommended that the new fee schedule not be adopted, as requested by both NYSCA and the Council. In support of their decision to oppose the new fee schedule, the report included specific references to testimony jointly offered by the NYSCA and the Council, who testified at a hearing in the fall, along with other specialty groups. The summary of our joint testimony is on pages 16-17 of the report.  Both Jason Brown, DC, of the NYSCA and Bryan Ludwig, DC, of the Council and testified and raised numerous concerns about the new fee schedule, in particular its proposed linkage to the Medicare fee schedule. The report also specifically cited the testimony of Dr. Brown, detailing many of his concerns and objections. Here is a link to the full report: http://assembly.state.ny.us/comm/Labor/20150504/index.pdf. This is very good news for the profession!

The New York State Assembly Labor and Insurance Committees report specifically raised concerns on the proposal by the state Workers' Compensation Board to link the state WC fee schedule to the Medicare Resource-Based Relative Value System (RBRVS).  The report in its conclusion opposed the conversion of the medical fee schedules for the state WC and No-Fault systems to the Medicare RBRVS. This is exactly what we had requested and we are grateful that the Assembly has agreed with our own conclusions.

The NYSCA and the Council wish to thank Dr. Brown, current NYSCA Secretary and incoming NYSCA Vice President, and Dr. Ludwig, Council District President for their stellar testimony at the Assembly Workers' Compensation Hearings last fall, and to their team of supporters, as well as the NYSCA Workers Compensation Committee.  Well done fellow chiropractors!!  This shows that when we work together collectively, we are a far more powerful force than when acting individually.

 

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