The Illinois Workers Compensation Medical Fee Schedule adopted new Medicare Medical Severity codes for hospital inpatient services. The new MS-DRG codes are now part of the Illinois Medical Fee Schedule as of June 30,2009.
Medicare changed its inpatient codes from the DRG (Diagnosis Related Group) to the MS-DRG (Medical Severity-Diagnosis Related Group) to account for degrees of severity in medical treatment and the Illinois Workers Compensation Commission has now followed suit with modifications to adopt the changes. This will only affect workers compensation treatment for hospital inpatient services.
To allow transition time for the industry to adopt the new payment protocols, the Workers’ Compensation Medical Fee Advisory Board and the Commission have asked providers and payers to follow a July 31, 2009 effective date.
For all prior dates of treatment, the inpatient fee schedule uses the older DRG codes. Providers and payers should work to translate these bills using the CMS crosswalk, Grouper Version 24.0.
No separate right currently exists for medical providers to assert a claim for payment of related medical bills at the Illinois Workers Compensation Commission. However, the law does provide for interest payments and penalties on non payment of injury related medical invoices.
To enforce payment of medical bills for workers compensation, providers will require the assistance of an Illinois workers compensation attorney to file an application on behalf of the patient. For more information or assistance, contact our office.
Chicago Workers Compensation Attorney -- 7-05-09
