Workers’ Compensation
PAYER RELATIONS
Workers’ Compensation
MSSNY’s Division of Socio-Medical Economics intercedes with the NYS Workers’ Compensation Board, the WC carriers, and self-insured plans on behalf of our member physicians and their patients.
MSSNY’s Committee on Workers’ Compensation & No-Fault Insurance continually strives to address the concerns of quality care for patients who sustain injuries as the result of work and/or auto related accidents. Through the Committee, MSSNY affirms its commitment to work with the WCB and its staff with respect to all aspects of care and treatment to the injured workers of NYS.
New Information regarding Workers’ Compensation Deposition Fees for Depos given on or after October 2018:
Update: December 2021
These can now be sent via email. The email itself will act as the cover letter and the rest of the process remains the same as above. The email address to send these to is: wcbclaimsfiling@wcb.ny.gov
When a depo is ordered, the standard direction provides “A medical witness is entitled to a witness fee pursuant to Part 301 of Title 12 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York. Within ten days of the completion of a witness’s deposition, the party responsible for such witness’s fee, if any, pursuant to the Workers’ Compensation Law and regulations, shall remit payment of the fee to the witness. The fee is to be awarded in like manner as a witness fee, awarded for attendance at a hearing, irrespective of the location where the deposition takes place (including telephone and video testimony). If the witness believes that the fee in excess of that set in Part 301 is warranted, such witness must submit a request to the Board within ten days of the deposition. The Board will review such request and issue a subsequent decision concerning whether an additional fee is warranted.”
This standard language has been used by the WCB for many years. When a claimant’s physician testifies, the fee must be paid within ten days. If the doctor is not timely paid, the doctor should send a letter to the carrier, saying “I was deposed on X date, directing that I be paid within 10 days of my testimony. I have not been paid to date. Please pay me within 10 days of this letter.”
If the carrier still does not pay within the demanded time frame, the doctor should send a letter to the Board, laying out the dates, saying “ I still have not been paid ”, and attach the letter that was sent to the carrier. The WC Board can issue an Administrative Determination directing payment of the standard fee under Regulation 301 (the Administrative Determination cannot provide for any requested extra fee— as the standard language above says, that has to be ordered by the WCLJ in the decision regarding the disputed issue for which testimony was taken).
If this process is followed, the WCB can then identify recalcitrant carriers, and penalize them. It is expected that this process could very quickly put an end to this practice, and more importantly, will get doctors paid timely.
For you ease in complying with the process, MSSNY has created to following templates for your use:
Template for WC DEPO REQUEST to the WC Carrier
Template for non payment WC DEPO fee to WCB