Many of our members have contacted the NYSCA Insurance Committee after receiving notice from the NY Workers' Compensation Board to renew their authorization to treat injured workers. This was covered extensively at the NYSCA workers' compensation presentation at the Fall Convention and during our workers' compensation webinars.
The NYSCA Insurance Committee (The NIC) continues to receive numerous calls and emails from our members seeking assistance implementing the new workers' compensation requirements. Our webinars and Lunch and Learn presentations have been well attended. This article will be limited to workers' compensation cases, and offers some pearls which you may find beneficial. The new MVP program (effective 1/1/23) has been addressed in a separate article.
As you prepare for your holiday weekend, the NYSCA Insurance Committee (the NIC) would like to provide you with the following reminders and updates which encompasses three topics: Workers' Compensation, MVP, and Highpoint BlueCross Blue Shield of Western New York. More detailed information and news related to other insurance issues will be disseminated in the next several weeks.
Welcome to Spring! The NYSCA Insurance Committee (The NIC) would like to provide this summary update of recent insurance-related issues which may impact your practice. This edition is dedicated to Workers’ Compensation, and in particular the continuing rollout of the NYS Workers’ Compensation OnBoard Initiative and submission requirements.
The Chair has determined that the solicitation or receipt of payments from a third party for chiropractic or other health care treatment and services (including so-called "fitting fees" or "service fees") are prohibited by the Workers' Compensation Law, the Rules of the Board of Regents governing the professions, and the New York State Education Law governing the practice of medicine. The Chair has taken, and will continue to take, administrative action against any provider found violating the law.
Welcome to Summer!
As previously reported, the NYS WCB continues to develop and refine their CMS-1500 and OnBoard electronic communication initiatives. These initiatives are designed to submit claims and related documentation, enhance communication, and will allow access to information in a transparent, streamlined manner.
As you may have heard, The New York State Workers’ Compensation Board is in the process of developing a new business information system, OnBoard. OnBoard will be a Better System for a Better Board – providing an intuitive, user-friendly system, increased accuracy and quality, and paperless transactions to our system participants.
NYSCA has previously communicated that the revised January 1, 2020 New York Workers' Compensation Fee Schedule included reference to an updated Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Fee Schedule.
As some of you are aware, the availability of telemedicine services for New York's injured workers was set to expire on July 20th. The NYSCA workers' compensation committee contacted the WCB to ensure telemedicine would remain available for those injured workers who could not seek chiropractic care as a result of COVID-19.
The NYSCA recently hosted a live webinar with Carisk Clearinghouse on Thursday, June 25, 2020 at 8pm: "Workers' Compensation and Auto/No-Fault Made Easy: How to get paid faster."
A NYSCA member asks: A patient just called to make an appointment; however, they attended a protest a few days ago. Can I see them if they have not demonstrated Covid-19 symptoms?
As many of you are aware, we will be required to submit our workers' compensation claims and clinical documentation in an electronic format. Most (if not all) clearinghouses who work with commercial carriers and Medicare do not accept No Fault and Workers' Compensation Claims.
UnitedHealthcare recently published an update relative to COVID-19. Noted in the introductory paragraph of this notice:
During the COVID-19 crisis, telemedicine and telehealth services will allow you to continue to care for your patients from a distance. The NYSCA Insurance Committee continues to interact with various NYS offices, commercial carriers and TPAs to discuss and seek their guidelines relative to the application and coverage of telemedicine services for doctors of chiropractic.
NYSCA members have been asking, "Does the WC amendment allowing temporary performance of telemedicine services during Covid-19 extend to No Fault?"
Telemedicine and telehealth services are currently being reviewed and discussed by the state board for chiropractic. However, you may currently perform telemedicine for injured workers in need of timely help.
NYSCA Members have reported that a few workers compensation carriers have failed to properly update their fee schedules based on the January 1, 2020 update. As you know, these changes for parity were needed and overdue. The Workers Compensation Committee continues to act on your behalf to make necessary changes.
In order to increase health care provider participation in the workers' compensation system and improve injured workers' access to timely, quality medical care, the Workers' Compensation Board (Board) is supporting electronic submission of CMS-1500 forms, along with a medical narrative. The CMS-1500 streamlines medical billing and may reduce the paperwork requirements currently in the workers' compensation system.
