Services not covered by fee schedules add to rising medical costs: Report

Services not covered by fee schedules add to rising medical costs: ReportA growing share of medical spending is on services without fee-schedule rates, a trend that likely contributed to rising medical payments, according to a report released Tuesday by the Workers Compensation Research Institute. “Missing fee schedule rates may also create additional costs, particularly by increasing disputes over reimbursement for these services. Price growth for medical services was the primary driver. While some of the increase was fueled by inflation, another driver was services without fee schedule rates, including certain nonhospital professional service categories and durable medical equipment. Nonhospital professional services without fee schedule rates accounted for 4.8% of total payments and only 1.7% of services, WCRI reported.