Key Takeaway
New April 2019 Workers Compensation fee schedule changes affecting NY no-fault insurance: chiropractic billing limits, eliminated ROM/MTT/PFT, reduced EMG costs, and PT rate increases.
The text of the amendments.
Some good things have come from the new Workers Compensation Fee Schedule Changes.
First, chiropractors cannot leave their fee schedule. Perhaps nothing was more cumbersome than seeing creative chiropractic billing.
Second, ROM/MTT/PFT are dead. I guess the computerized ROM was part of the initial comprehensive visit after all. Bad joke.
Third, Manipulation Under Anesthesia is gone. I wish this billing machine went away sooner and would be exempt from the 18 month regulator holiday.
Fourth, the pricing of EMG/NCVs are about 50% of what they are currently. More importantly, the surface EMGs and every type of name for them (CPT/neurometer/PFNCS) are gone. Good to see these billing magnets de-polarized.
Fifth, various physical medicine modality providers are getting pay raises. While this will adversely effect paid premium dollar, it makes sense if only because major medical compensates at or near $100 per diem for physical therapy. A good physical therapy facility is worth every dollar of this pay raise. What is problematic here is that no-fault does not contain any co-pays or “real” deductibles, which causes product over-utilization. This in turn causes the proliferation of “heat and stim” clinics. The deletion of the 180-day/12 session rule from proposed Ground Rule 2 will only exacerbate the over utilization of resources that are endemic in the no-fault system.
Sixth, the 8 unit rule (and associated per diem unit rules) is distinct for each provider from what I read. Assuming each unit represents 15 minutes of care, I seriously challenge someone to tell me that an EIP really received 16 units of treatment per diem. The winners here will be the providers, the lawyers representing the providers, the defense counsel who will perform the time-based treatment EUO per patient, the IME doctors who will be needed to cut off treatment earlier and the RICO firms who will use mail fraud and health care fraud as the predicate acts in support of the substantive and inchoate racketeering allegations.
Seventh, I believe there are myriad other fee-coding changes, which I have not studied nor held side-by-side to the current fee schedule.
My biggest concern here is that allowing a pay raise without resource allotment (i.e treatment guidelines) will probably cause average claim pay outs to exceed $20k assuming current treatment trends continue. The comments from WCB place this potential inferno into DFS’ lap.
The 18 month holiday regulation: “any such increases shall not be effective for no-fault until eighteen months after the effective date of the increases established by the chair.” 11 NYCRR § 68.1
Please note that 68.1(b) expired, and DFS may be working on new implementing regulations. Sta tuned.
Related Articles
- Understanding medical billing and down-coding practices in New York no-fault insurance claims
- Fee schedule defense requirements and competent evidence standards
- Chiropractor rate limitations and acupuncture prima facie defense
- Cross-border medical fee schedule applications between New York and New Jersey
- New York No-Fault Insurance Law
Legal Update (February 2026): The fee schedules and reimbursement rates discussed in this 2019 post have likely been subject to multiple revisions since publication. Practitioners should verify current fee schedule provisions, billing codes, and reimbursement rates with the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board and Insurance Department, as these schedules are periodically updated to reflect economic conditions and regulatory changes.
