Liberty Mutual IBR Noncompliance: Unfair and Odious
After 124 days and 13 phone calls, Liberty Mutual fails to pay a $195 IBR fee ordered by Maximus.
Employers need to take heed of this unlawful tale and make sure that Liberty Mutual’s dismissive treatment of a single provider is not indicative of how Liberty Mutual treats, or mistreats, injured workers.
The painful details described below fit into a pattern that should be troubling to every stakeholder.
Endless $195 IBR Filing Fee Saga With Liberty Mutual
On December 14th of last year, MAXIMUS Federal Services concluded in its Independent Bill Review (IBR) that Liberty Mutual inappropriately denied a provider payment for Psychological Testing. As a result, MAXIMUS ordered Liberty Mutual to pay the provider both the $553 owed for the services and the $195 for the IBR filing fee cost.
Despite 124 days filled with endless phone calls, waiting, voicemails, more waiting, and some oppressive stone-walling by Liberty Mutual, DaisyBill’s client continues to wait for Liberty Mutual to reimburse the $195 IBR filing fee payment.
The obligation of Liberty Mutual to pay the IBR fee is not in dispute and Liberty Mutual is legally bound to timely pay. So what is the hold up here?
This current example of failure to pay not only flaunts the law that requires payment when ordered, it also forms part of a history of noncompliance -- a history that suggests that many claims administrators think payment of the $195 IBR fee is entirely optional. DaisyBill has documented this disgraceful pattern time and time again.
The unfortunate reality is that there is no recourse for providers when claims administrators fail to reimburse the IBR fee as ordered. And this is not the only instance where claims administrators suffer no consequences for payment non-compliance. What does it say about a system when laws can be treated as mere suggestions and promises to pay for services--made by employers to injured workers and made by claims administrators to providers--are routinely broken? How can we expect providers to treat injured workers when the process to collect payment is so tortured and the system is so profoundly unfair to providers?
Below, we lay out the arduous history of Liberty Mutual’s failure to pay the IBR fee in question, with plentiful demonstrations of willful ignorance, seeming subterfuge, and/or plain incompetence.
Action |
Total Count |
DaisyBill Left Voicemail for Liberty Mutual |
7 |
Liberty Mutual Left Voicemail for DaisyBill |
3 |
DaisyBill and Liberty Speak (Conversation) |
3 |
Total Actions to Collect $195 (and counting) |
13 |
From IBR Decision to $0 Payment
As indicated below, DaisyBill’s Compliance Team left 7 voicemails and had 3 conversations while attempting to recover the $195.00 IBR fee from Liberty Mutual.
Date |
Action |
Notes |
1/31/19 |
DaisyBill Left Voicemail for Liberty Mutual #1 |
$553 payment received for services upheld by IBR decision, but payment does not include reimbursement of the $195 IBR filing fee.
DaisyBill Compliance Associate leaves a voicemail with Adjuster explaining that an additional $195 is due. |
2/4/19 |
DaisyBill Left Voicemail for Liberty Mutual #2 |
Voicemail left for adjuster explaining $195 IBR fee due and asks for a response. |
2/6/19 |
Conversation #1 |
DaisyBill requests to speak with the adjuster’s supervisor but is denied access and told the supervisor will contact DaisyBill as soon as possible. |
2/7/19 |
Liberty Mutual Left Voicemail for DaisyBill #1 |
Adjuster leaves a voicemail to report reviewing the account and states a check will be issued that day which DaisyBill should receive shortly. |
|
3/1/19 |
DaisyBill Left Voicemail for Liberty Mutual #3 |
One month later no payment received.
DaisyBill leaves a voicemail for the adjuster inquiring about the status of $195 IBR filing fee payment. |
3/5/19 |
DaisyBill Left Voicemail for Liberty Mutual #4 |
Voicemail left for Liberty Mutual inquiring about the status of $195 check and requests a response. |
3/6/19 |
Conversation #2 |
Adjuster incorrectly tells DaisyBill that IBR $195 payment requires PRIOR authorization for the “bulk payment.” (Filing fees do not require authorization nor are they a part of the bulk payment).
The adjuster makes excuses and reports she will check with her supervisor and follow up with us in the next week. |
3/12/19 |
Liberty Mutual Left Voicemail for DaisyBill #2 |
Voicemail received from adjuster asking for tax ID and address of the provider.
NOTE: This is another stall tactic. In January 2019, Liberty Mutual sent the $553 payment for services, and Liberty Mutual regularly sends payments to this Provider. |
|
3/12/19 |
DaisyBill Left Voicemail for Liberty Mutual #5 |
DaisyBill leaves voicemail offering to provide the required information. |
3/18/19 |
DaisyBill Left Voicemail for Liberty Mutual #6 |
DaisyBill calls adjuster again after a week of waiting and leaves another voicemail offering to provide the required information and requests a return call. |
3/19/19 |
Liberty Mutual Left Voicemail for DaisyBill #3 |
Adjuster for Liberty Mutual leaves a voicemail stating that $195 IBR filing fee has been paid with a check issued on 3/14/2019, but message fails to provide verifiable check information. |
4/3/19 |
DaisyBill Left Voicemail for Liberty Mutual #7 |
No check receipt.
DaisyBill leaves a voicemail for the adjuster requesting verification that the $195 check was sent. |
4/4/19 |
Conversation #3 |
Adjuster provides check information for a check that was not sent to the mailing address provided by DaisyBill.
Adjuster says stop pay will take 3 days and a new check will require another 5 days; tells DaisyBill to check back in 10 days. |
4/16/2019 |
DaisyBill client continues to wait for reimbursement of the $195 IBR filing fee. |
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