IMEs Aren't Really Independent, Commissioner Says

Insurers should stop using the term “independent medical examinations” when the physician is actually hired by the carrier or employer, the West Virginia insurance commissioner said in a bulletin. “It has come to the commissioner’s attention that there are oftentimes questions regarding the objectivity of the examination and that the use of the term 'independent medical examination' may lead to confusion or misunderstanding by claimants, especially pro se claimants,” Commissioner James Dodrill said in the bulletin. Dodrill did not say if a specific i...