Gov. DeSantis Vetoes No-fault Repeal Legislation

Today marks a big win for Chiropractors, the Florida Chiropractic Association, and other medical providers that treat patients as a result of a motor vehicle accident. Legislation was presented earlier this year which would have completely changed how the personal injury protection (“PIP”) industry would impact medical providers. The legislation is known as Senate Bill 54 (“SB 54”).

SB 54 was sought to end the requirement that Floridians purchase $10,000 in PIP coverage and would instead require mandatory bodily injury (“MBI”) coverage that would pay out up to $25,000 for a crash-related injury or death. This would have meant that for each case before a provider would be paid by the patient’s car insurance coverage, fault would have to be determined through litigation which would have increased the time it would have taken providers to be paid. In today’s landscape providers are able to bill the patient’s PIP coverage for the initial $10,000, and be paid 80% of the billed charges immediately, and if this law would have passed each treating provider would have had to either bill the patient’s health insurance, or treat patients on letters of protection.

In Governor DeSantis’s veto letter he wrote, “While the PIP system has flaws and Florida law regarding bad faith is deficient SB 54 does not adequately address the current issues facing Florida drivers and may have unintended consequences that would negatively impact both the market and consumers.”

Due to the potential repercussions this legislation would have had on an entire industry it is very important for all medical providers today to continue and evolve with the changing landscape. Although providers can take a breather today, because the battle is now over, they must begin to think about how their practices would have been impacted if they could have only billed patient’s health insurance or treated patients on letters of protection. Many providers that I have spoken with were not sure what they would have done, and one piece of advice I always give is that now is the time to start thinking ahead to the future. Meaning, if this law were to present itself again you all have to ask yourself would your practice be able to survive not being paid for months or years? Providers need to start considering how they can better evolve to provide better care to their patients while still being able to survive in the event PIP is repealed in the future.

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3 Simple Tips for Ensuring Proper Documentation in PI Cases

personal injury

personal injuryBy: Zach Simpson

What follows is a very common scenario that helps demonstrate why proper documentation is essential in all personal injury cases, and what steps can be taken to ensure proper documentation occurs from the very beginning. Typically, following a car accident or slip and fall, a patient will present to the ER with complaints of “neck pain” only. However, the next day the patient might wake up with mid-back, and low back pain that radiates down the right leg, in addition to the original neck pain. The pain does not go away and gets worse, so they decide to make an appointment to come see their chiropractor.

The Problem Starts Here

When a new patient comes in for the first time, he or she typically starts the visit by completing a detailed history form. One of the first prompts is, “please tell us what hurts,” and there is a diagram that accompanies this question where the patient is asked to, “circle the areas that hurt.” More than likely the patient then puts or circles “neck, mid back, low back, and right leg.” The next question that typically follows the diagram asks, “When did your pain begin?” The patient then puts “4 days ago following my car wreck.” The potential problem for the treating chiropractor starts here. When the note is dictated it will more than likely read something to the effect of “New patient presents with history of neck, thoracic, and lumbar pain with radicular complaints, all of which began immediately after an MVA 4 days ago.”Continue reading

New Tens Unit Licensure Exemption Florida

tens unit

tens unitBy: Michael Silverman

Did you know? With the passage and recent implementation of Florida’s Senate Bill 1742 there is a new exemption in place for the otherwise required Home Medical Equipment (“HME”) license for providing TENS units to patients.

More specifically, as of July 1, 2020 MDs, DOs and DCs are now exempt from that HME licensure requirement so long as such licensed healthcare practitioners are engaged in the sale or rent of such electro stimulation equipment to their patients in the course of their practice.Continue reading

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Payments for “Physical Therapy Modalities & Services” Are Not Reimbursable When Rendered by a Massage Therapist in Florida

massage therapy and pip

massage therapy and pipBy: Zach Simpson

You may not be aware that the Third DCA ruled earlier this year that “Physical Therapy Modalities & Services” such as electrical muscle stimulation, ultrasound, heat, ice, and traction are not reimbursable under PIP when rendered by a massage therapist in any practice setting. Pointing in part to a law that took effect January 1, 2013 an appeals court sided with Geico General Insurance Co. in a dispute about paying for physical-therapy services provided by massage therapists to auto-accident victims.

Case Details

The Miami-Dade County case involved bills for three patients sent by Beacon Healthcare Center, Inc., under the state’s personal injury protection, or PIP, insurance system.

Physical therapy and physical therapy modalities (i.e. electrical muscle stimulation, ultrasound, heat, ice, and traction) were prescribed for auto accident patients by Beacon’s treating physician and medical director which were performed by massage therapists rather than physical therapists. Neither a licensed physician nor a physical therapist directly supervised the care performed by the massage therapists. However, when Beacon billed GEICO they noted that the supervising physician, and not the massage therapists, provided treatment.  The billing statements also indicated that the massage therapists performed physical therapy modalities under the direct supervision of the medical director, whose only responsibility was to review patient files monthly. Geico General Insurance Company denied payment, which led to Beacon filing a suit in Circuit Court.Continue reading

Webinar | Adding DME to Your Chiropractic Practice

adding DME to your chiropractic practiceAttorney Mike Silverman of the Florida Healthcare Law Firm will be co-hosting with Board of Certification Credentialing Director Matt Gruskin for a special presentation exclusively focused on the the topic of adding durable medical equipment (DME) to a chiropractic office. As attendees may know, adding DME is a great way to impact a supplier’s revenue, but most importantly is a fantastic mechanism to provide more complete patient care and satisfaction.

During this “lunch n’ learn” Mike & Matt will break down the steps necessary for a chiropractic office to provide DME to its customers, be it cash paying, commercially insured, or Medicare patients alike.

April 16 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Free

Direct Primary Care Agreements and the Relationship with Chiropractic Medicare Covered and Non-Covered Services

chiropractic medicareBy: Susan St. John
As many chiropractors are likely aware, they cannot “opt-out” of Medicare. Even if a chiropractor has not enrolled to be a Medicare provider, a Medicare beneficiary may require the chiropractor to submit a claim to or bill the Medicare program on his/her behalf for chiropractic services rendered. For chiropractic services to be covered by Medicare, the patient must have a condition necessitating treatment and manipulative services rendered must have a direct therapeutic relationship to the patient’s condition. The manipulative services must provide a reasonable expectation of recovery or improvement of function. Further, the Medicare patient’s condition must be acute and not a chronic subluxation without objective clinical improvement anticipated. Manipulative treatment beyond treating the acute phase, that is, a chronic condition, is considered maintenance therapy and is not covered. Thus, a chiropractor needs to carefully consider at what point a Medicare beneficiary’s treatment becomes palliative or maintenance therapy which would not be covered and thoroughly explain this to the patient. The chiropractor has a duty to let the patient know when treatment is no longer curative or therapeutic, but rather maintenance therapy.Continue reading