WMC Explains Benefit of Medical Fee Schedule
MADISON – Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) – the combined state chamber and manufacturers’ association – released a new video on Thursday highlighting the inclusion of a Worker’s Compensation Fee Schedule for hospital charges in the recently passed Wisconsin State Budget, a significant legislative victory for WMC and its nearly 4,000 member businesses, as well as Wisconsin’s broader business community.
A workers’ compensation fee schedule has been a top legislative priority for years. For too long, Wisconsin’s business community has suffered from unreasonably high workers’ compensation medical costs, which have made the state’s employers less competitive. The newly enacted fee schedule for hospital charges is a significant step in controlling medical expenses in the state.
Under the new law, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) will divide Wisconsin into five regions based on geography and the similarity of commercial market prices. Within each of the five regions, DWD will establish the fee schedule for each procedure at the 75th percentile of group health/self-insured payments to hospitals for that procedure, plus 20%.
“The new fee schedule could result in significant savings for employers, as workers’ compensation medical charges are typically much higher than those for group health,” said WMC Executive Vice President of Government Relations Scott Manley.
DWD will establish the fee schedule for each of the five geographical regions in the state by July 1, 2027, and the schedule will take effect upon publication.
“Like any negotiation, we didn’t get everything we wanted,” said Manley. The current fee schedule only applies to hospital charges; it should also apply to all workers’ compensation medical payments. Regardless, the fee schedule that was passed into law is an excellent step in the right direction — it’s a foundation we can build upon and expand in the future.”
Watch the full Two-Minute Drill here.
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