WCC Cuts Fee Schedule Rates for 20 CPT Codes, Including Office Visits

After slashing medical fees by 30% across the board in 2011, the state Workers’ Compensation Commission has voted unanimously to raise fee schedule rates for office visits and several other evaluation and management procedures to the Medicare reimbursement level. The changes, which took effect July 16, apply to 20 CPT codes and vary significantly among the state’s four geographic regions. For example, the percentage increase for the most commonly used code for an outpatient office visit, CPT 99213, ranges from 10.9% for Chicago’s Cook County to 22.5% for East St. Louis.&nbs...