Boston Workers Compensation Lawyer Blog
A problem that is becoming more common for injured workers in Massachusetts is finding a competent doctor who will accept worker’s compensation insurance and the medicalreimbursement rates that Massachusetts’ workers’ compensation insurers are obligated to pay. To better understand why not all doctors are willing to accept patients who have been injured on the job, one must have a grasp of how health insurance plans are written, the amount of money a workers’ compensation insurer is obligated to pay a doctor, and why it is not always in the best financial interest of a doctor to accept workers’ compensation insurance.
First, all health insurance policies have an exclusion for work-related injuries. That means that if you are injured during the course of your employment, your health insurance policy will not pay for any medical treatment that is determined to be made necessary by your work injury. The only exception to this rule is a situation where you are injured at work and your employer’s workers’ compensation insurer has denied payment for your medical treatment. The workers’ compensation insurer’s denial will then trigger your health insurer’s obligation to pay for the medical treatment so long as it is determined to be treatment that is reasonable and necessary. In this situation, your health insurer will likely then file a lien on your workers’ compensation claim if you decide to retain an attorney and file a claim at the Department of Industrial Accidents seeking to compel the workers’ compensation insurer to pay for your medical treatment. All medical treatment made necessary by a work related injury should be billed to your employer’s workers’ compensation insurer. Continue reading
