Independent Insurance Exams

Male: How the snow fold system keeps evolving and every stage represented with new challenges. Female: I feel like it deteriorating more than it is evolving. Male: You know, it is funny because doing working around in business when they came up with the system and I think, looking back, the goal was to eliminate lawsuits and to help people who have been anger from that quite of accidents, provide these benefits, help them get well so that they can move on with their lives and not litigate. So they set the standard that you know, what is consider a serious injury? What qualifies you for compensation for paying the suffering? But somewhere along the way, it is got away from itself and I think it is working against the self now. What do you think about this whole independent Medical Exam System? Female: Well, the problem is that these insurance companies are spending millions and millions of dollars not to pay from the medical coverage for people who are injured in accidents. And the laws are designed, in fact in New York, it is a law. You have to have bodily injury on a policy so when you go and buy a insurance policy, you have to have coverage so that if anybody gets hurt in your vehicle or by your vehicle, they are entitle to medical coverage through your insurance policy. And these insurance companies are taking millions of dollars from us to be sure that they are going to pay and then they spend millions of dollars not to pay by making an injured person go through one of their independent medical exams. Male: I think ultimately, you got to remember this a million times that an insurance company is a business. Female: Absolutely. Male: They want to make money, they want to save money. They do not want to make sure, in my opinion, that everybody gets exactly where through entitled to, I just think that the nature of the beast is through save money. Female: Absolutely, they care much more about saving money than they care about [Voice Overlap] Male: I would say the biggest problem that we deal with on a daily basis involved these independent medicals exam. They called independent medical exams. I call them insurance medical exams. Female: Sure, these doctors are paid by the insurance companies. Male: And many of these doctors do not have strong practices, some do but then again if you have a strong practice, why do you need the business from the insurance company? I do not know that it is that profitable, have you ever done independent medical exam? Female: I have done them a few times. I have done them many years ago and I was offered the opportunity to them. They paid very well. They paid much more than what they would pay for an injured person to come to my office for and exam. Male: Which is? Female: $100 -- $80 or something for the exam and now they probably pay about 2-250 maybe depending on different specialist. Male: But there has been somebody who has been involved in an accident who comes to you for treatment, what does the insurance company pay for you to treat them? Female: Pretty much nothing. The sick thing is about this whole system is that the doctor fees are mandated by a fee schedule and which you know and those fees have not change in 14 to 15 years. Do you know what your insurance rates have done in 14 to 15 years? It is so anti consuming. Male: How can you prior for this thing by allow it to happen? Female: It is not just the Cairo Practice, this is all that the hospitals, orthopedist, all medical doctors, physical therapist, are fees have remain the same in 14 years and the insurance rates keep going up. Not only does it aggravate me as a health care provider that these people, but it aggravates me as a consumer. My insurance rates go up exponentially year after year and as a provider of these people, my rates have not been changed. Male: What you said to it is they are going to pay $33. Female: $33 every 15 years, yes. Male: If it is been how much time with the patient/ Female: First examination, there in my office over an hour, well over an hour between the paper work. The extensive pa