NCCI Study on Effect of Fee Schedules
NCCI is one of my favorite companies. They recently produced a great study on fee schedules.
They have always been very nice to me and oh, so helpful at any of their meetings and conferences that I have attended over the years; and their phone assistance is great. Similar to WCIRB (California) and WCRI (independent research company), the research produced by NCCI is always insightful and the best when it comes to Workers Comp medical costs.
The newest study by NCCI can be found here.(PDF file) I may be viewing the term “physician impact fees” incorrectly. However, fee schedules have and always will reduce costs when compared to paying a Usual and Customary rate. The key findings from the NCCI study were:
- Large discounts off the WC physician fee schedule maximum allowable reimbursements do not ensure low prices
- WC MARs not only limit payments, they may also become common WC prices—the median WC price is always at or very near the fee schedule
- Surgery has higher fee schedules than Evaluation and Management relative to Group Health payments
- Similar WC discounts do not necessarily imply similar prices relative to Group Health:
- In some states, even after large discounts off the state physician fee schedule, the prices for some services may remain high relative to Group Health payments
- In other states, a smaller discount may produce prices more in line with Group Health payments
Instead of me opining on the study, please feel free to comment on the study or email me at [email protected] . I will add more comments on the study this week or the next.
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