Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 3, September 1, 2024
RELATES TO: KRS Chapter 342
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
342.035 requires the executive director of
the Office of Workers' Claims to promulgate administrative regulations to adopt
a schedule of fees for the purpose of regulating charges by medical providers
and other health care professionals for testimony presented and medical reports
furnished in the litigation of a claim by an injured employee against the
employer.
Section 1. Applicability.
This administrative regulation shall apply to charges by medical providers and
other health care professionals for testimony presented and medical reports
furnished in the litigation of a workers' compensation claim before an
administrative law judge.
Section
2. Charges for Medical Reports.
(1) Physicians may charge not more than their
usual and customary fee up to a maximum of $200 for completion of a Form 107 or
Form 108. Forms 107 and 108 are incorporated by reference in 803 KAR
25:011.
(2) Medical providers and
other health care professionals may charge not more than their usual and
customary fee up to a maximum of seventy-five (75) dollars per page, with a
maximum up to but not to exceed $200, for the completion of a narrative report
containing brief findings resulting from physical or psychological examination,
summary of testing performed, diagnosis, records reviewed, impairment rating as
determined under the latest available edition of the "Guides to the Evaluation
of Permanent Impairment" published by the American Medical Association with
appropriate references to the chapter and page number involved, restrictions
and limitations noted, if any, and whether the condition is the result of the
arousal of a preexisting dormant disabling condition.
Section 3. Charges for Depositions.
(1) Medical providers or other health care
professionals may charge a maximum fee not to exceed their usual and customary
fee for testimony, but in no event to exceed a maximum fee of $250 for the
first one-half (1/2) hour of testimony, and a maximum fee of $100 for each
one-quarter (1/4) hour increment thereafter. These time periods shall include
consultation, if any, with attorneys for the parties immediately preceding the
deposition but not the time spent reviewing records or otherwise preparing for
the deposition.
(2) A party or
attorney scheduling a deposition shall notify the medical provider or other
health care professional to be deposed of the cancellation of the deposition as
soon as practicable after occurrence of an event giving rise to the
cancellation. In the event that notice is given to the medical provider or
health care professional less than forty-eight (48) hours prior to the time
scheduled for the deposition, the medical provider or health care professional
may charge a cancellation fee not to exceed $125.
(3) In the event that inclement weather
causes the cancellation of a scheduled deposition, a cancellation fee shall not
be charged. A cancellation fee may be assessed, however, if the party relying
upon inclement weather as grounds for cancellation of a deposition cannot show
that a National Weather Service travel advisory was in effect or other
indication that severe weather conditions made travel to the deposition site
unduly hazardous.
Section
4. Access to Records; Certification and Mailing.
(1) A party who is authorized to review
records of a medical provider and requests a review pursuant to
KRS
342.035(7) shall submit a
written request to the medical provider, describing the records to be reviewed,
not less than three(3) days in advance of the date on which the review is to
take place.
(2) Charges for copies
of medical records in a workers' compensation case shall not exceed fifty (50)
cents per page plus the actual cost of postage if the records are to be mailed.
If a party requests certified copies of medical records, the fee charged by the
medical provider for a certification of records shall not exceed a maximum of
ten (10) dollars.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS Chapter 13A,
342.035(4)
