Wide Array of Interest Groups Pushing for New Medical Fee Schedule

By Michael Whiteley, Eastern Bureau ChiefNew York's unions, trial lawyers and medical providers launched a joint push last week to boost medical fees for the first time since 1994, saying the State Workers' Compensation Board (SWCB) has repeatedly broken its pledge to draft a new schedule as part of the state's 2007 workers' compensation reforms.New York AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes said in a letter sent to SWCB Chairman Robert Beloten last Thursday that New York's reimbursement rates are among the lowest in the nation. He warned New York risks a further loss of doctors w...