California Division of Workers’ Compensation Posts Report on Independent Bill Review
By Lonce Lamonte and Newsline from the CA DIR's Division of Workers' Compensation - January 19, 2021
The Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and its Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) posted a progress report on the department’s Independent Bill Review (IBR) program. IBR is a process used to resolve billing disputes for medical treatment and medical-legal services provided to injured workers.
The 2020 Independent Bill Review (IBR) Report: Analysis of 2018-2019 Application Filings summarizes the activity of an essential component of Senate Bill 863, providing an evaluation of the program during the previous two calendar years. The report accounts for all applications filed to dispute payments not resolved through Second Bill Review during this time period.
Highlights of the report include:
· The number of IBR applications received averaged 139 filings per month.
· Seven of 10 decided cases resulted in additional payment for the provider.
· Over $3.8 million was awarded in overturned case decisions.
“We hope the findings of this report will encourage health care providers to consider using IBR for some of their payment disputes,” said DWC Administrative Director George Parisotto.
The progress report is posted on the DIR website.
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Lonce Lamonte, editor, lonce@adjustercom.com, and the California Division of Workers' Compensation | 
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