Last month, the Florida Legislature’s most sweeping changes to the state Personal Injury Protection statute took effect, and they promise to have an impact on every medical provider who treats patients for injuries suffered in auto accidents. That’s why it is imperative that you be proactive and aggressive in getting fully informed on what those changes mean for your business, your patients and your bottom line.Beginning in September, the Boca Raton-based law firm of Ellis, Ged & Bodden, P.A., will host free, informative and interactive seminars and webinars to equip medical professionals with all the tools and information they need to effectively manage their PIP patient load in light of the new requirements. If you
can’t make it to one of these events, do yourself and your patients a favor and find a similar course to meet your educational needs. It’s that important.
Among the changes medical providers must be aware of:
• Florida drivers no longer are eligible to seek reimbursement for their full $10,000 PIP coverage for any verifiable injury suffered in an auto accident. Only those injuries diagnosed as requiring “emergency”
treatment qualify for full coverage under the new law, and only a medical doctor, dentist, nurse practitioner or physician assistant can diagnose such injuries.
All non-emergency injuries, such as whiplash and back pain – among the most common – are eligible for a maximum of just $2,500 in medical treatment.
• Accident victims must seek treatment within 14 days to qualify for coverage.
• Massage therapy and acupuncture visits are no longer covered.
• A glitch that some fear leaves a six month eligibility gap potentially allows insurers to stiff certain medical providers, such as doctors, chiropractors, medical schools and dentists, for legitimate PIP-related treatment costs between July 1, 2012, and Jan. 1, 2013.
These are just the highlights, or lowlights depending on how you view them, of the law’s expected impact. There’s much, much more to come, and because these changes have huge consequences
for medical professionals, Ellis, Ged & Bodden feels it is imperative to launch a comprehensive, statewide educational tour for our medical provider clients and anyone else who wants to participate in
the town hall-style meetings, legislative updates and webinars.
Beginning next month, the campaign will hit the road, hosting town hall meetings and legislative updates in South Florida, Clearwater, Naples, Sarasota, Tallahassee, Jacksonville and other cities across Florida to make it more convenient and accessible to everyone who needs it. The gatherings are free and will have the professionals from Ellis, Ged & Bodden serving as panelists to discuss key points of the changing laws, hand out educational material and answer any questions.
One of the cornerstones of this informational campaign is a series of interactive webinars that will allow Ellis, Ged & Bodden’s team of professionals to provide a legislative update on PIP, get providers’ feedback and answer their questions from the comfort and convenience of their computer terminals.
The webinars’ highlights will include summary of how the PIP statute has changed for medical providers, when the changes go into effect, the new fee schedule for insurers, the status of PIP related case law, the deadlines for revising or appealing a rejected bill and the penalties for health care providers if insurance fraud is found.
Florida’s laws affecting medical providers, especially under the Personal Injury Protection system, are constantly evolving. And with each change, the requirements become more complicated and more difficult to keep track of. Ellis, Ged & Bodden was actively involved in the legislative wrangling over PIP reform and fought to protect medical providers’ interests throughout the 2012 session, so we’re ready and equipped to gauge how those changes affect doctors, hospitals, MRI facilities and other providers. Call (561) 995-1966 with any questions or to get a schedule of our educational tour and webinars.
