Adopting Medicare Fee Schedules : Considerations for the California Workers' Compensation Program

In response to rapidly increasing medical costs in the California workers' compensation program, the California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation is recommending that the current fee schedule that determines the amount health care providers are paid be linked to Medicare fee schedules. This study examines issues arising from the differences between the two types of fee schedules, modifications that may be needed to tailor the Medicare fee schedules to California's injured workers, and the implications of automatic annual updates to the schedules.