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New NY workers’ comp medical guidelines are HERE – are you ready?

Posted on Jan 30, 2011

Injured New York workers need to be aware of major changes to the way that medical providers will be treating and billing for certain types of injuries from workplace accidents. If you’ve suffered a neck, mid or lower back, shoulder, or knee injury, the rules have changed.

The changes took place December 1, 2010, but we are finding that many injured workers are confused about the new medical guidelines. Workers who already receive medical treatment for an on-the-job knee, shoulder, back or neck injury are worried that they won’t be able to continue their treatment plan, and newly injured workers are facing a whole new ballgame.

Why change, why now? The New York Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) made these changes for several reasons. First, they wanted to get injured workers the medical care they need faster. There are approved treatments listed for various injuries that your medical provider can give you without pre-approval.

They also want to get you back to work faster, so they are requiring that you be reevaluated regularly to make sure you are responding well to treatment and to make sure that you still need treatment. Just note that if you aren’t responding fast enough – you may not be able to receive further treatments unless your doctor can get you a variance.

Lastly, the WCB is trying to speed up the process that gets your medical provider paid. However, we worry that a cookie-cutter approach to treating worker injuries will be good for doctors, but bad for workers.

Don’t wander through the confusing maze of New York workers’ compensation alone – please call our office today to discuss your situation for free.