Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway signed a December 14, 2015 Declaratory Ruling of the North Carolina Industrial Commission order Sept. 18 affirming a reform to align workers' compensation medical costs with the national average, Workerscompensation.com reported.
Here are the key details to know:
1. Session Law 2013-410, Section 33 instructed the Industrial Commission to change its medical fee schedule to tie its medical fee schedule to reimbursement rates to Medicare values.
2. Since the Medicare-based medical fee schedule started April 1, 2015, the average workers' compensation insurance rates decreased by 8.3 percent 2016 and 21.5 percent in 2017.
3. The Court of Appeals ruled ASC provisions of the workers' compensation fee schedule "were promulgated in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act and are valid retroactively and prospectively."