Physical Therapists Take MPN Complaints to DWC

By Greg Jones
State: California
Topic: Top
- Popular with: Legal
- 8 shares

A trade group for physical therapists in California is asking the Division of Workers’ Compens…

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4 Comments (2 Replies)

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Randy Bugg Dec 21, 2018 a 8:12 am PST

Chiro and Accupuncture are defined within the LC as PTP's. PT's are not and as such really shouldn't be listed in the MPN at all. What's next, expanding MPN's to include every van equiped with an x-ray machine?

Dec 26, 2018 a 5:32 pm PST

Agree. Is it likely the reason providers don't take WC patients is that it pays less than 50% of the fee schedule? Could it be the reason that these providers are still listed is to give the appearance of a MPN will real freedom of choice?

Lee Chesterfield Dec 21, 2018 a 10:12 am PST

It is important for injured workers to have access to names of PT and chiropractors in their MPN. Not all physical therapy facilities are the same in these MPN's and there is a wide variance between the quality of these services.

I know at one time One Call was just calling the injured worker and notifying them of the PT or Chiro appointment they had set up for them. If the injured worker called back and asked for a list of other providers in the MPN in the area they could get some names. I doubt most injured workers would know this is an option.

Paul Gaspar Dec 21, 2018 a 10:12 am PST

If defendants won't comply with the settlement and the state won't enforce the rules, iPTCA will use the court system via the WINNING lawsuit settlement dispute resolution mechanism. It's obvious who will have to pay for that (HINT: NOT Mexico).

Signed, Paul D. Gaspar, DPT
On behalf of the WINNING iPTCA Board

Wayne Whalen Dec 22, 2018 a 10:12 am PST

I agree with Paul Gaspar. Did the legislature and employers really intend to have HALF of every dollar paid for PT or Chiro go to a middleman who is not licensed as a carrier, not an MPN per the regs and apparently outside any purview of the DWC to regulate? Patients have a right to some say in which provider they see under the increasingly sparse choices they have in the MPN's. For PT's we are reaching a point where the only options listed are "One Call" and USHW. Is that really what employers want for their injured workers? The provider willing to take the fewest scraps? If the carriers want to abdicate their responsibilities to manage claims let THEM pay for it, don't take it out of the pockets of the providers who are trying to do a good job. The fact is that under the shift to a medicare fee based schedule, physical medicine reimbursement has increased 26% in recent years. Not ONE PENNY of that additional money is going to the providers- it is all going to One Call. Wayne Whalen DC

Lee Chesterfield Dec 23, 2018 a 11:12 am PST

Can someone also please get them to also remove the medical providers who do not take work comp patients on their MPN's? Some of these MPN's are a total joke when MOST of the providers listed do not take WC patients.