Bill Text: IN HB1485 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Worker's compensation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2011-03-31 - First reading: referred to Committee on Pensions and Labor [HB1485 Detail]
Download: Indiana-2011-HB1485-Introduced.html
Citations Affected: IC 22-3.
Synopsis: Worker's compensation. Sets limitations on the pecuniary
liability for a medical services facility for purposes of the worker's
compensation law. Prohibits a medical service facility from collecting
payment for medical care. Requires the worker's compensation board
to annually approve the most recent Medicare fee schedule, not later
than December 31 each year, to determine the pecuniary liability of a
medical services facility. Allows a medical services facility to request
an explanation from a billing review service if the medical services
facility's bill has been reduced as a result of the application of a
Medicare coding change. Requires an employer required to carry
worker's compensation insurance to pay an annual $2 filing fee. Makes
a technical correction. Removes an outdated reference.
Effective: July 1, 2011.
January 20, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on Employment, Labor and
Pensions.
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A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning labor
and safety.
(1) such charges as prevail as provided under
(2) medical services, treatment, or supplies furnished by a medical services facility as provided under IC 22-3-6-1(k)(2).
The employee and the employee's estate do not have liability to a health care provider for payment for services obtained under IC 22-3-3-4. The right to order payment for all services provided under IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6 is solely with the board. All claims by a health care provider for payment for services are against the employer and the employer's insurance carrier, if any, and must be made with the board under IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6. The worker's compensation board may withhold the approval of the fees of the attending physician in a
case until the attending physician files a report with the worker's
compensation board on the form prescribed by the board.
(1) medical service provider or a medical service provider's agent, servant, employee, assignee, employer, or independent contractor on behalf of the medical service provider; or
(2) medical services facility or a medical services facility provider's agent, servant, employee, assignee, employer, or independent contractor on behalf of the medical services facility provider;
may not knowingly collect or attempt to collect the payment of a charge for medical services or products covered under IC 22 from an employee or the employee's estate or family members.
(b) If after a hearing, the worker's compensation board finds that a medical service provider or a medical services facility has violated this section, the worker's compensation board may assess a civil penalty against the medical service provider in an amount that is at least one hundred dollars ($100) but less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each violation.
(c) The worker's compensation board may not assess a civil penalty against a medical service provider or a medical services facility for a violation of this section that is the result of a good faith error.
(1) The formation of a billing review standard, and any subsequent analysis or revision of the standard, must use data that is based on the medical service provider billing charges as submitted to the employer and the employer's insurance carrier from the same community. This subdivision does not apply when a unique or specialized service or product does not have sufficient comparative data to allow for a reasonable comparison.
(2) Data used to determine pecuniary liability must be compiled on or before June 30 and December 31 of each year.
(3) Billing review standards must be revised for prospective future payments of medical service provider bills to provide for payment of the charges at a rate not more than the charges made by eighty percent (80%) of the medical service providers during the prior six (6) months within the same community. The data used to perform the analysis and revision of the billing review standards may not be more than two (2) years old and must be periodically updated by a representative inflationary or deflationary factor. Reimbursement for these charges may not exceed the actual charge invoiced by the medical service provider.
(4) The billing review standard shall include the billing charges of all hospitals in the applicable community for the service or product.
(c) This subsection applies for charges for medical services, treatment, or supplies provided by a medical services facility. The pecuniary liability of an employer or an employer's insurance carrier for a specific service, treatment, or supply covered under worker's compensation is equal to one hundred fifty percent (150%) of the amount determined using the Medicare program reimbursement methodologies, models, and values or weights, including Medicare's coding, billing, and reporting payment policies approved by the workers' compensation board and in effect on the date a service is provided.
(1) the name of the billing review service used to make the reduction;
(2) the dollar amount of the reduction;
(3) the dollar amount of the medical service at the eightieth percentile; and
(4) in the case of a CPT or Medicare coding change, the basis upon which the change was made;
not later than thirty (30) days after the date of the request.
(f) Requests for reimbursement for medical services, treatment, or supplies provided to an employee by a medical services facility filed within thirty (30) days after the approval of the most recent Medicare fee schedule by the worker's compensation board as set forth in subsection (a) that were paid at the previous fee schedule must be resubmitted by the medical services facility in order to be recalculated in accordance with the current schedule of reimbursement.
(a) "Employer" includes the state and any political subdivision, any municipal corporation within the state, any individual or the legal representative of a deceased individual, firm, association, limited liability company, or corporation or the receiver or trustee of the same, using the services of another for pay. A parent corporation and its subsidiaries shall each be considered joint employers of the
corporation's, the parent's, or the subsidiaries' employees for purposes
of IC 22-3-2-6 and IC 22-3-3-31. Both a lessor and a lessee of
employees shall each be considered joint employers of the employees
provided by the lessor to the lessee for purposes of IC 22-3-2-6 and
IC 22-3-3-31. If the employer is insured, the term includes the
employer's insurer so far as applicable. However, the inclusion of an
employer's insurer within this definition does not allow an employer's
insurer to avoid payment for services rendered to an employee with the
approval of the employer. The term also includes an employer that
provides on-the-job training under the federal School to Work
Opportunities Act (20 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.) to the extent set forth in
IC 22-3-2-2.5. The term does not include a nonprofit corporation that
is recognized as tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code (as defined in IC 6-3-1-11(a)) to the extent the
corporation enters into an independent contractor agreement with a
person for the performance of youth coaching services on a part-time
basis.
(b) "Employee" means every person, including a minor, in the
service of another, under any contract of hire or apprenticeship, written
or implied, except one whose employment is both casual and not in the
usual course of the trade, business, occupation, or profession of the
employer.
(1) An executive officer elected or appointed and empowered in
accordance with the charter and bylaws of a corporation, other
than a municipal corporation or governmental subdivision or a
charitable, religious, educational, or other nonprofit corporation,
is an employee of the corporation under IC 22-3-2 through
IC 22-3-6. An officer of a corporation who is the sole officer of
the corporation is an employee of the corporation under IC 22-3-2
through IC 22-3-6, but may elect not to be an employee of the
corporation under IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6. If an officer
makes this election, the officer must serve written notice of the
election on the corporation's insurance carrier and the board. An
officer of a corporation who is the sole officer of the corporation
may not be considered to be excluded as an employee under
IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6 until the notice is received by the
insurance carrier and the board.
(2) An executive officer of a municipal corporation or other
governmental subdivision or of a charitable, religious,
educational, or other nonprofit corporation may, notwithstanding
any other provision of IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6, be brought
within the coverage of its insurance contract by the corporation by
specifically including the executive officer in the contract of
insurance. The election to bring the executive officer within the
coverage shall continue for the period the contract of insurance is
in effect, and during this period, the executive officers thus
brought within the coverage of the insurance contract are
employees of the corporation under IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6.
(3) Any reference to an employee who has been injured, when the
employee is dead, also includes the employee's legal
representatives, dependents, and other persons to whom
compensation may be payable.
(4) An owner of a sole proprietorship may elect to include the
owner as an employee under IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6 if the
owner is actually engaged in the proprietorship business. If the
owner makes this election, the owner must serve upon the owner's
insurance carrier and upon the board written notice of the
election. No owner of a sole proprietorship may be considered an
employee under IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6 until the notice has
been received. If the owner of a sole proprietorship is an
independent contractor in the construction trades and does not
make the election provided under this subdivision, the owner
must obtain an affidavit of exemption under IC 22-3-2-14.5.
(5) A partner in a partnership may elect to include the partner as
an employee under IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6 if the partner is
actually engaged in the partnership business. If a partner makes
this election, the partner must serve upon the partner's insurance
carrier and upon the board written notice of the election. No
partner may be considered an employee under IC 22-3-2 through
IC 22-3-6 until the notice has been received. If a partner in a
partnership is an independent contractor in the construction trades
and does not make the election provided under this subdivision,
the partner must obtain an affidavit of exemption under
IC 22-3-2-14.5.
(6) Real estate professionals are not employees under IC 22-3-2
through IC 22-3-6 if:
(A) they are licensed real estate agents;
(B) substantially all their remuneration is directly related to
sales volume and not the number of hours worked; and
(C) they have written agreements with real estate brokers
stating that they are not to be treated as employees for tax
purposes.
(7) A person is an independent contractor in the construction
trades and not an employee under IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6 if
the person is an independent contractor under the guidelines of
the United States Internal Revenue Service.
(8) An owner-operator that provides a motor vehicle and the
services of a driver under a written contract that is subject to
IC 8-2.1-24-23, 45 IAC 16-1-13, or 49 CFR 376 to a motor carrier
is not an employee of the motor carrier for purposes of IC 22-3-2
through IC 22-3-6. The owner-operator may elect to be covered
and have the owner-operator's drivers covered under a worker's
compensation insurance policy or authorized self-insurance that
insures the motor carrier if the owner-operator pays the premiums
as requested by the motor carrier. An election by an
owner-operator under this subdivision does not terminate the
independent contractor status of the owner-operator for any
purpose other than the purpose of this subdivision.
(9) A member or manager in a limited liability company may elect
to include the member or manager as an employee under
IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6 if the member or manager is actually
engaged in the limited liability company business. If a member or
manager makes this election, the member or manager must serve
upon the member's or manager's insurance carrier and upon the
board written notice of the election. A member or manager may
not be considered an employee under IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6
until the notice has been received.
(10) An unpaid participant under the federal School to Work
Opportunities Act (20 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.) is an employee to the
extent set forth in IC 22-3-2-2.5.
(11) A person who enters into an independent contractor
agreement with a nonprofit corporation that is recognized as tax
exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (as
defined in IC 6-3-1-11(a)) to perform youth coaching services on
a part-time basis is not an employee for purposes of IC 22-3-2
through IC 22-3-6.
(c) "Minor" means an individual who has not reached seventeen
(17) years of age.
(1) Unless otherwise provided in this subsection, a minor
employee shall be considered as being of full age for all purposes
of IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6.
(2) If the employee is a minor who, at the time of the accident, is
employed, required, suffered, or permitted to work in violation of
IC 20-33-3-35, the amount of compensation and death benefits,
as provided in IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6, shall be double the
amount which would otherwise be recoverable. The insurance
carrier shall be liable on its policy for one-half (1/2) of the
compensation or benefits that may be payable on account of the
injury or death of the minor, and the employer shall be liable for
the other one-half (1/2) of the compensation or benefits. If the
employee is a minor who is not less than sixteen (16) years of age
and who has not reached seventeen (17) years of age and who at
the time of the accident is employed, suffered, or permitted to
work at any occupation which is not prohibited by law, this
subdivision does not apply.
(3) A minor employee who, at the time of the accident, is a
student performing services for an employer as part of an
approved program under IC 20-37-2-7 shall be considered a
full-time employee for the purpose of computing compensation
for permanent impairment under IC 22-3-3-10. The average
weekly wages for such a student shall be calculated as provided
in subsection (d)(4).
(4) The rights and remedies granted in this subsection to a minor
under IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6 on account of personal injury
or death by accident shall exclude all rights and remedies of the
minor, the minor's parents, or the minor's personal
representatives, dependents, or next of kin at common law,
statutory or otherwise, on account of the injury or death. This
subsection does not apply to minors who have reached seventeen
(17) years of age.
(d) "Average weekly wages" means the earnings of the injured
employee in the employment in which the employee was working at the
time of the injury during the period of fifty-two (52) weeks
immediately preceding the date of injury, divided by fifty-two (52),
except as follows:
(1) If the injured employee lost seven (7) or more calendar days
during this period, although not in the same week, then the
earnings for the remainder of the fifty-two (52) weeks shall be
divided by the number of weeks and parts thereof remaining after
the time lost has been deducted.
(2) Where the employment prior to the injury extended over a
period of less than fifty-two (52) weeks, the method of dividing
the earnings during that period by the number of weeks and parts
thereof during which the employee earned wages shall be
followed, if results just and fair to both parties will be obtained.
Where by reason of the shortness of the time during which the
employee has been in the employment of the employee's employer
or of the casual nature or terms of the employment it is
impracticable to compute the average weekly wages, as defined
in this subsection, regard shall be had to the average weekly
amount which during the fifty-two (52) weeks previous to the
injury was being earned by a person in the same grade employed
at the same work by the same employer or, if there is no person so
employed, by a person in the same grade employed in the same
class of employment in the same district.
(3) Wherever allowances of any character made to an employee
in lieu of wages are a specified part of the wage contract, they
shall be deemed a part of the employee's earnings.
(4) In computing the average weekly wages to be used in
calculating an award for permanent impairment under
IC 22-3-3-10 for a student employee in an approved training
program under IC 20-37-2-7, the following formula shall be used.
Calculate the product of:
(A) the student employee's hourly wage rate; multiplied by
(B) forty (40) hours.
The result obtained is the amount of the average weekly wages for
the student employee.
(e) "Injury" and "personal injury" mean only injury by accident
arising out of and in the course of the employment and do not include
a disease in any form except as it results from the injury.
(f) "Billing review service" refers to a person or an entity that
reviews a medical service provider's or a medical services facility's
bills or statements for the purpose of determining pecuniary liability.
The term includes an employer's worker's compensation insurance
carrier if the insurance carrier performs such a review.
(g) "Billing review standard" means the data used by a billing
review service to determine pecuniary liability.
(h) "Community" means a geographic service area based on ZIP
code districts defined by the United States Postal Service according to
the following groupings:
(1) The geographic service area served by ZIP codes with the first
three (3) digits 463 and 464.
(2) The geographic service area served by ZIP codes with the first
three (3) digits 465 and 466.
(3) The geographic service area served by ZIP codes with the first
three (3) digits 467 and 468.
(4) The geographic service area served by ZIP codes with the first
three (3) digits 469 and 479.
(5) The geographic service area served by ZIP codes with the first
three (3) digits 460, 461 (except 46107), and 473.
(6) The geographic service area served by the 46107 ZIP code and ZIP codes with the first three (3) digits 462.
(7) The geographic service area served by ZIP codes with the first three (3) digits 470, 471, 472, 474, and 478.
(8) The geographic service area served by ZIP codes with the first three (3) digits 475, 476, and 477.
(i) "Medical service provider" refers to a person or an entity that provides medical services, treatment, or supplies to an employee under IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6. The term does not include a medical services facility.
(j) "Medical services facility" means a hospital, clinic, surgery center, nursing home, rehabilitation center, or other health care facility that provides medical services, treatment, or supplies under IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6.
(1) in a defined community, that are equal to or less than the charges made by medical service providers at the eightieth percentile in the same community for like services or products; and
(2) for purposes of coding, billing, reporting, and reimbursement of medical services, treatment, or supplies, a medical services facility shall apply the Medicare program reimbursement methodologies, models, and values or weights, including Medicare's coding, billing, and reporting payment policies approved by the workers' compensation board and in effect on the date a service is provided.
employer that provides on-the-job training under the federal School to
Work Opportunities Act (20 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.) to the extent set forth
under section 2.5 of this chapter. If the employer is insured, the term
includes the employer's insurer so far as applicable. However, the
inclusion of an employer's insurer within this definition does not allow
an employer's insurer to avoid payment for services rendered to an
employee with the approval of the employer. The term does not include
a nonprofit corporation that is recognized as tax exempt under Section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (as defined in IC 6-3-1-11(a))
to the extent the corporation enters into an independent contractor
agreement with a person for the performance of youth coaching
services on a part-time basis.
(b) As used in this chapter, "employee" means every person,
including a minor, in the service of another, under any contract of hire
or apprenticeship written or implied, except one whose employment is
both casual and not in the usual course of the trade, business,
occupation, or profession of the employer. For purposes of this chapter
the following apply:
(1) Any reference to an employee who has suffered disablement,
when the employee is dead, also includes the employee's legal
representative, dependents, and other persons to whom
compensation may be payable.
(2) An owner of a sole proprietorship may elect to include the
owner as an employee under this chapter if the owner is actually
engaged in the proprietorship business. If the owner makes this
election, the owner must serve upon the owner's insurance carrier
and upon the board written notice of the election. No owner of a
sole proprietorship may be considered an employee under this
chapter unless the notice has been received. If the owner of a sole
proprietorship is an independent contractor in the construction
trades and does not make the election provided under this
subdivision, the owner must obtain an affidavit a certificate of
exemption under section 34.5 of this chapter.
(3) A partner in a partnership may elect to include the partner as
an employee under this chapter if the partner is actually engaged
in the partnership business. If a partner makes this election, the
partner must serve upon the partner's insurance carrier and upon
the board written notice of the election. No partner may be
considered an employee under this chapter until the notice has
been received. If a partner in a partnership is an independent
contractor in the construction trades and does not make the
election provided under this subdivision, the partner must obtain
an affidavit a certificate of exemption under section 34.5 of this
chapter.
(4) Real estate professionals are not employees under this chapter
if:
(A) they are licensed real estate agents;
(B) substantially all their remuneration is directly related to
sales volume and not the number of hours worked; and
(C) they have written agreements with real estate brokers
stating that they are not to be treated as employees for tax
purposes.
(5) A person is an independent contractor in the construction
trades and not an employee under this chapter if the person is an
independent contractor under the guidelines of the United States
Internal Revenue Service.
(6) An owner-operator that provides a motor vehicle and the
services of a driver under a written contract that is subject to
IC 8-2.1-24-23, 45 IAC 16-1-13, or 49 CFR 376, to a motor
carrier is not an employee of the motor carrier for purposes of this
chapter. The owner-operator may elect to be covered and have the
owner-operator's drivers covered under a worker's compensation
insurance policy or authorized self-insurance that insures the
motor carrier if the owner-operator pays the premiums as
requested by the motor carrier. An election by an owner-operator
under this subdivision does not terminate the independent
contractor status of the owner-operator for any purpose other than
the purpose of this subdivision.
(7) An unpaid participant under the federal School to Work
Opportunities Act (20 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.) is an employee to the
extent set forth under section 2.5 of this chapter.
(8) A person who enters into an independent contractor agreement
with a nonprofit corporation that is recognized as tax exempt
under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (as defined
in IC 6-3-1-11(a)) to perform youth coaching services on a
part-time basis is not an employee for purposes of this chapter.
(9) An officer of a corporation who is the sole officer of the
corporation is an employee of the corporation under this chapter.
An officer of a corporation who is the sole officer of the
corporation may elect not to be an employee of the corporation
under this chapter. If an officer makes this election, the officer
must serve written notice of the election on the corporation's
insurance carrier and the board. An officer of a corporation who
is the sole officer of the corporation may not be considered to be
excluded as an employee under this chapter until the notice is
received by the insurance carrier and the board.
(c) As used in this chapter, "minor" means an individual who has
not reached seventeen (17) years of age. A minor employee shall be
considered as being of full age for all purposes of this chapter.
However, if the employee is a minor who, at the time of the last
exposure, is employed, required, suffered, or permitted to work in
violation of the child labor laws of this state, the amount of
compensation and death benefits, as provided in this chapter, shall be
double the amount which would otherwise be recoverable. The
insurance carrier shall be liable on its policy for one-half (1/2) of the
compensation or benefits that may be payable on account of the
disability or death of the minor, and the employer shall be wholly liable
for the other one-half (1/2) of the compensation or benefits. If the
employee is a minor who is not less than sixteen (16) years of age and
who has not reached seventeen (17) years of age, and who at the time
of the last exposure is employed, suffered, or permitted to work at any
occupation which is not prohibited by law, the provisions of this
subsection prescribing double the amount otherwise recoverable do not
apply. The rights and remedies granted to a minor under this chapter on
account of disease shall exclude all rights and remedies of the minor,
the minor's parents, the minor's personal representatives, dependents,
or next of kin at common law, statutory or otherwise, on account of any
disease.
(d) This chapter does not apply to casual laborers as defined in
subsection (b), nor to farm or agricultural employees, nor to household
employees, nor to railroad employees engaged in train service as
engineers, firemen, conductors, brakemen, flagmen, baggagemen, or
foremen in charge of yard engines and helpers assigned thereto, nor to
their employers with respect to these employees. Also, this chapter
does not apply to employees or their employers with respect to
employments in which the laws of the United States provide for
compensation or liability for injury to the health, disability, or death by
reason of diseases suffered by these employees.
(e) As used in this chapter, "disablement" means the event of
becoming disabled from earning full wages at the work in which the
employee was engaged when last exposed to the hazards of the
occupational disease by the employer from whom the employee claims
compensation or equal wages in other suitable employment, and
"disability" means the state of being so incapacitated.
(f) For the purposes of this chapter, no compensation shall be
payable for or on account of any occupational diseases unless
disablement, as defined in subsection (e), occurs within two (2) years
after the last day of the last exposure to the hazards of the disease
except for the following:
(1) In all cases of occupational diseases caused by the inhalation
of silica dust or coal dust, no compensation shall be payable
unless disablement, as defined in subsection (e), occurs within
three (3) years after the last day of the last exposure to the hazards
of the disease.
(2) In all cases of occupational disease caused by the exposure to
radiation, no compensation shall be payable unless disablement,
as defined in subsection (e), occurs within two (2) years from the
date on which the employee had knowledge of the nature of the
employee's occupational disease or, by exercise of reasonable
diligence, should have known of the existence of such disease and
its causal relationship to the employee's employment.
(3) In all cases of occupational diseases caused by the inhalation
of asbestos dust, no compensation shall be payable unless
disablement, as defined in subsection (e), occurs within three (3)
years after the last day of the last exposure to the hazards of the
disease if the last day of the last exposure was before July 1, 1985.
(4) In all cases of occupational disease caused by the inhalation
of asbestos dust in which the last date of the last exposure occurs
on or after July 1, 1985, and before July 1, 1988, no compensation
shall be payable unless disablement, as defined in subsection (e),
occurs within twenty (20) years after the last day of the last
exposure.
(5) In all cases of occupational disease caused by the inhalation
of asbestos dust in which the last date of the last exposure occurs
on or after July 1, 1988, no compensation shall be payable unless
disablement (as defined in subsection (e)) occurs within
thirty-five (35) years after the last day of the last exposure.
(g) For the purposes of this chapter, no compensation shall be
payable for or on account of death resulting from any occupational
disease unless death occurs within two (2) years after the date of
disablement. However, this subsection does not bar compensation for
death:
(1) where death occurs during the pendency of a claim filed by an
employee within two (2) years after the date of disablement and
which claim has not resulted in a decision or has resulted in a
decision which is in process of review or appeal; or
(2) where, by agreement filed or decision rendered, a
compensable period of disability has been fixed and death occurs
within two (2) years after the end of such fixed period, but in no
event later than three hundred (300) weeks after the date of
disablement.
(h) As used in this chapter, "billing review service" refers to a
person or an entity that reviews a medical service provider's or a
medical services facility's bills or statements for the purpose of
determining pecuniary liability. The term includes an employer's
worker's compensation insurance carrier if the insurance carrier
performs such a review.
(i) As used in this chapter, "billing review standard" means the data
used by a billing review service to determine pecuniary liability.
(j) As used in this chapter, "community" means a geographic service
area based on ZIP code districts defined by the United States Postal
Service according to the following groupings:
(1) The geographic service area served by ZIP codes with the first
three (3) digits 463 and 464.
(2) The geographic service area served by ZIP codes with the first
three (3) digits 465 and 466.
(3) The geographic service area served by ZIP codes with the first
three (3) digits 467 and 468.
(4) The geographic service area served by ZIP codes with the first
three (3) digits 469 and 479.
(5) The geographic service area served by ZIP codes with the first
three (3) digits 460, 461 (except 46107), and 473.
(6) The geographic service area served by the 46107 ZIP code and
ZIP codes with the first three (3) digits 462.
(7) The geographic service area served by ZIP codes with the first
three (3) digits 470, 471, 472, 474, and 478.
(8) The geographic service area served by ZIP codes with the first
three (3) digits 475, 476, and 477.
(k) As used in this chapter, "medical service provider" refers to a
person or an entity that provides medical services, treatment, or
supplies to an employee under this chapter. The term does not include
a medical services facility.
(l) As used in this chapter, "medical services facility" means a
hospital, clinic, surgery center, nursing home, rehabilitation center,
or other health care facility that provides medical services,
treatment, or supplies under this chapter.
(l) (m) As used in this chapter, "pecuniary liability" means the
responsibility of an employer or the employer's insurance carrier for the
payment of the charges for each specific service or product for human
medical treatment provided under this chapter:
(1) in a defined community, that are equal to or less than the charges made by medical service providers at the eightieth percentile in the same community for like services or products; and
(2) for purposes of coding, billing, reporting, and reimbursement of medical services, treatment, or supplies, a medical services facility shall apply the Medicare program reimbursement methodologies, models, and values or weights, including Medicare's coding, billing, and reporting payment policies approved by the workers' compensation board and in effect on the date a service is provided.
(1) medical service provider or a medical service provider's agent, servant, employee, assignee, employer, or independent contractor on behalf of the medical service provider; or
(2) medical services facility or a medical services facility's agent, servant, employee, assignee, employer, or independent contractor on behalf of the medical services facility;
may not knowingly collect or attempt to collect the payment of a charge for medical services or products covered under IC 22 from an employee or the employee's estate or family members.
(b) If after a hearing, the worker's compensation board finds that a medical service provider or a medical services facility has violated this section, the worker's compensation board may assess a civil penalty against the medical service provider or the medical services facility in an amount that is at least one hundred dollars ($100) but less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each violation.
(c) The worker's compensation board may not assess a civil penalty against a medical service provider or a medical services facility for a violation of this section that is the result of a good faith error.
(1) The formation of a billing review standard, and any subsequent analysis or revision of the standard, must use data that is based on the medical service provider billing charges as submitted to the employer and the employer's insurance carrier from the same community. This subdivision does not apply when a unique or specialized service or product does not have sufficient comparative data to allow for a reasonable comparison.
(2) Data used to determine pecuniary liability must be compiled on or before June 30 and December 31 of each year.
(3) Billing review standards must be revised for prospective future payments of medical service provider bills to provide for payment of the charges at a rate not more than the charges made by eighty percent (80%) of the medical service providers during the prior six (6) months within the same community. The data used to perform the analysis and revision of the billing review standards may not be more than two (2) years old and must be periodically updated by a representative inflationary or deflationary factor. Reimbursement for these charges may not exceed the actual charge invoiced by the medical service provider.
(4) The billing review standard shall include the billing charges of all hospitals in the applicable community for the service or product.
(c) This subsection applies for charges for medical services, treatment, or supplies provided by a medical services facility. The pecuniary liability of an employer or an employer's insurance carrier for a specific service, treatment, or supply covered under worker's compensation is equal to one hundred fifty percent (150%) of the amount determined using the Medicare program reimbursement methodologies, models, and values or weights, including Medicare's coding, billing, and reporting payment policies approved by the workers' compensation board and in effect on the date a service is provided.
(1) the name of the billing review service used to make the
reduction;
(2) the dollar amount of the reduction;
(3) the dollar amount of the medical service at the eightieth
percentile; and
(4) in the case of a CPT or Medicare coding change, the basis
upon which the change was made;
not later than thirty (30) days after the date of the request.
(c) (e) If, after a hearing, the worker's compensation board finds that
a billing review service used a billing review standard that did not
comply with subsection (a)(1) (b)(1) through (a)(4) (b)(4) in
determining the pecuniary liability of an employer or an employer's
insurance carrier for a health care provider's charge for services or
products covered under occupational disease compensation, the
worker's compensation board may assess a civil penalty against the
billing review service in an amount not less than one hundred dollars
($100) and not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(f) Requests for reimbursement for medical services, treatment,
or supplies provided to an employee by a medical services facility
filed within thirty (30) days after the approval of the most recent
Medicare fee schedule by the worker's compensation board as set
forth in subsection (a) that were paid at the previous fee schedule
must be resubmitted by the medical services facility in order to be
recalculated in accordance with the current schedule of
reimbursement.