Yesterday I posted about recent Independent Medical Review (IMR) and Independent Bill Review (IBR) fee reductions, effective January 1, 2015. I’m following up on that post to address questions we’ve received about the consequence of these reductions.

First, a comparison chart showing how much some of the application fees have fallen since the introduction of IMRs and IBRs:

Second, and this is important, the actual Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) IBR form still states an old fee amount. The DWC Form IBR-1 (Effective 02/2014) instructions incorrectly states that the IBR application fee is $335.00. Ignore the old fee amount and only pay the correct current fee amount.

Next, the DWC announcement did not explicitly address the situation of providers who already paid the higher fees after 1/1/2015 but prior to this announcement. However, previous Newslines indicate that such providers will receive a refund of the fee paid in excess of the new fee schedule.

Finally, a reminder about how important it is to submit Second Bill Reviews (SBRs) to preserve the option to file IBRs. SBRs and IBRs are the only way to appeal incorrect payment, and you can’t file IBRs without first submitting SBRs.

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