Insurance Fraud Advocacy: Taming the workers-comp monster in California

Crooked providers, lien setup bleed comp system

If you need more proof the workers-comp system in California is a mess, look no further than the report this week that indicted and convicted medical providers filed more than $600 million in liens against workers-comp claims.

The lien system in the state continues to be fertile ground for fraud. Designed as a safety net to ensure injured workers get treated, it’s now a slush fund for crooked medical providers and lawyers.

Fraud and abuse are rife in Southern California, where medical rings are targeting just-retired workers, says one insurance exec who wrote us this week. Runners hang out at Social Security offices and other venues frequented by retirees. They entice the retirees to file claims by offering free medical care and a windfall to supplement retirement income. The retirees are brought to lawyers’ offices, signed up and then shuttled off to medical offices for “treatment.”

The number of worker “injuries” occurring on the last day of the job is rising, this exec says.

Legislation to help weed some of these abusive providers out of the system is cruising through the California legislature. The bill would ban providers who’ve been kicked out of Medicare and Medicaid for over-billing. The bill sponsor says there’s evidence that crooked docs banned from government health plans have turned to workers comp to ply their trade.

The sponsor also says his legislation will target lawyers who sign up comp clients, but never actually interview them, then file claims for them in distant cities and ultimately settle the cases for their fees — often without the workers’ knowledge.

The legislation is a good idea, but much more needs to be done. Workers compensation in California is a huge, complex multi-faceted program. There are no easy answers on how insurers, employers, policymakers and others can hit that sweet spot of minimizing fraud while making sure injured workers get the treatment they deserve. But finding a better way than the lien system might be a good start.