Pleas for Adequate Compensation Dominate MLFS Hearing

OAKLAND, Calif. — The solution to concerns over abusive billing practices and low-quality medical-legal reports might just be more money. Doctors, executives from med-legal management firms and other observers said during a public "pre-rule-making hearing" held Wednesday that paltry reimbursement rates that haven’t been adjusted since 2006 could be the reason why some providers are finding creative ways to substantiate billing at $250 an hour, the highest rate allowed by California’s Medical-Legal Fee Schedule. Adjusting the hourly rate for 12 years of i...