Medical Treatment
The employer is required to pay for all reasonable and necessary medical treatment due to a work-related injury.
The Illinois legislature sets the amount the providers will be reimbursed for each treatment type, which varies by geographical region. That's called the medical fee schedule. Many medical providers like it because the fee schedule usually pays a higher rate than private insurance would, and is certainly much higher than Medicare or State Aid reimbursement rates. However, some medical providers refuse to treat workers' compensation patients due to the uncertainty of when, or if, they will ever get that higher payment for their services. The employer may also be liable to cover future medical care beyond the end of your case. The most common time this happens is when a worker is either Medicare eligible or has a reasonable anticipation of being eligible within a certain time-frame. That is because Medicare doesn't want the taxpayer carrying the burden of medical treatment that another entity is liable for. Whether a worker may be entitled to lifetime medical outside Medicare's involvement really depends on the circumstances of the case and need for future care. |
Did you know? It is illegal for medical providers to send you to collections over an unpaid work comp medical bill as long as the case is ongoing - even if the case is disputed. |