Workers' Compensation Discussion Forums

In Massachusetts, what is the initial dollar amount in medical bills that an employer can pay out of pocket before turning bills in to the insurance carrier?

If it's work comp and a work injury, should be a work comp claim made by them or you can call your State and make your own claim. The isnurance should be paying.

http://www.mass.gov/dia/

In some states it is illegal for the employer to pay any medical benefits. In other states there is no dollar amount that you are limited to, but it generally isn't a good idea for the employer to pay the bills. You should contact your State Workers' Compensation Bureau to make sure that it isn't illegal in Massachusetts.

You also need to contact your insurance carrier. They may have certain requirements that you must follow in order not to jeopardize your coverage.

Sometimes a very minor appearing injury can require a lot more treatment than first thought. In that case, it makes it harder for your insurance carrier to control medical treatment and costs. If you pay the bills, the medical provider may not provide necessary medical records to the carrier. If the medical provider bills the carrier also, they could get paid double, once from you and once from the carrier.

I know a lot of employers want to keep their experience mods low by paying the bills themselves but many times this backfires.

I agree you must coordinate this with your carrier. In addition to the issues cited above, working with the carrier could make the whole process a lot simpler for you. For example, our carrier pays all the bills, then sends us 1 bill per quarter for our $1000 deductible per claim.