Air ambulance vendors have prevailed in workers’ compensation litigation allowing them to be exempt from state adopted maximum fee schedules. Courts have found that federal law regulating air carriers preempts state law. The cost of an air ambulance transport is therefore uncontrolled, and unfettered. However, their may remain legal challenges to these fees based upon medical necessity.

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have for the first time determined how often emergency medical helicopters need to help save the lives of seriously injured people to be considered cost-effective compared with ground ambulances. The researchers found that if an additional 1.6 percent of seriously injured patients survive after being transported by helicopter from the scene of injury to a level-1 or level-2 trauma center, then such transport should be considered cost-effective. In other words, if 90 percent of seriously injured trauma victims survive with the help of ground transport, 91.6 need to survive with the help of helicopter transport for it to be considered cost-effective. The study, published online in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, does not address whether most helicopter transport actually meets the additional 1.6 percent survivorship threshold.

The study summarized in an article in Science Daily, comes at a time when finding ways to cut medical costs has become a national priority, and the overuse of helicopter transport has come under scrutiny. Previous studies have shown that, on average, over half of patients transported by helicopter have only minor, non-life threatening injuries. For these patients, transport by helicopter instead of ground ambulance is not likely to make a difference in outcomes, and the additional risk and cost of helicopter transport outweighs the benefit, the study’s lead author, M. Kit Delgado, MD, MS,said.

In 2010, there were an estimated 44,700 U.S. helicopter transports from injury scenes to level-1 and level-2 trauma centers, with an average cost of about $6,500 per transport. The total annual cost is around $290 million. (Level-1 and -2 trauma centers are hospitals equipped and staffed to provide the highest levels of surgical care to trauma patients; level-1 centers offer a broader array of readily available specialty care, and also are committed to research and teaching efforts.)

Yet emergency helicopter transport sits in a cost-efficiency conundrum: It is most needed in remote, rural areas where transport by ground can take far longer than by air. These areas also tend to have sparser populations and therefore fewer calls for aid, making it difficult to recoup the overhead costs of maintaining helicopter services, Delgado said. In some areas of the country, however, helicopters are automatically launched based on the 911 call. “Once ground responders and the helicopter arrive, sometimes they may find patients who are awake, talking and have stable vital signs,” Delgado said. “The challenge is getting helicopters to patients who need them in a rapid fashion so the flight team can intervene and make a difference, but also know based on certain criteria who isn’t sick enough to require air transport.”

There is mixed evidence in the literature about the degree to which helicopter transport reduces mortality. It is therefore uncertain whether the routine use of helicopter transport is cost-effective for most patients in the United States when ground transport is also feasible. The study found that the cost-effectiveness also depends on regional variation in the costs of air and ground transport and the percentage of patients who are flown that have minor injuries.

California’s State Average Weekly Wage (SAWW) rose less than 1 percent from $1,059.38 to $1,067.25 in the 12 months ending March 31, 2013, which the California Workers’ Compensation Institute (CWCI) reports will boost temporary total disability (TTD) rates for 2014 work injury claims, as well as other workers’ compensation benefits that are tied to changes in the SAWW.

California’s TTD maximum rate for 2013 job injuries is $1066.72 per week, but with the marginal increase in the SAWW, CWCI calculates that the maximum TTD rate will rise to $1,074.64 per week for claims with injury dates on or after January 1, 2014. State law also links the minimum weekly TTD rate to SAWW increases, so the CWCI calculates that the minimum rate will edge up a fraction from the current $160 per week to $161.19 for claims with 2014 dates of injury. The Institute has confirmed both the minimum and maximum TTD rates for 2014 injury claims with the California Division of Workers’ Compensation.

Beginning next January, other workers’ compensation benefits also will be bumped up by the recent increase in the SAWW, including TTD paid 2 years or more after injury, life pension and Permanent Total Disability payments for injuries on or after January 1, 2003, and installment payments on death claims.

Underpayment of benefits results in penalties, so CWCI encourages claims administrators to review changes in benefit rates with legal counsel to assure that adjustments are appropriate and accurate.

Among fibromyalgia patients taking either of two commonly prescribed drugs to reduce pain, 22 percent report substantial improvement while 21 percent had to quit the regimen due to unpleasant side effects, according to a new review in The Cochrane Library summarized by Science Daily. People with fibromyalgia suffer from chronic widespread pain, sleep problems and fatigue. The illness affects more than 5 million Americans, 80 percent of whom are women. The cause of fibromyalgia is unknown and currently there is no cure. Using a Quality of Life (QOL) scale for fibromyalgia, the studies reviewed reported QOL ratings lower than 15 on a scale of 0 to 100 even among patients on medications. The two medications often prescribed to treat fibromalgia are duloxetine, known by the brand name Cymbalta or milnacipran, commonly known as Savella.

“A frank discussion between the physician and patient about the potential benefits and harms of both drugs should occur,” noted the reviewers, led by Winfried Häuser, M.D. of Technische Universität München.

The authors reviewed 10 high-quality studies comprising more than 6,000 adults who received either duloxetine, milnacipran, or a placebo for up to six months. A substantial majority of study participants were middle-aged, white women.

“This is a very important study,” says Fred Wolfe, M.D. of the National Data Bank for Rheumatic Diseases. “There’s an enormous amount of advertising suggesting that these drugs really help, whereas the research data show that the improvement is really minimal.”

Treatment with drugs alone “should be discouraged,” the reviewers added. Instead, the review authors recommend a multi-faceted treatment approach including medications for those who find them helpful, exercises to improve mobility and psychological counseling to improve coping skills. “The medical field does poorly with the treatment of fibromyalgia in general,” says Brian Walitt, M.D., M.P.H., a co-author of the review and an expert in pain syndromes at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. “Chasing [a cure] with medicine doesn’t seem to work.The people who seem to me to do best sort of figure it out on their own by thinking about things, getting to know themselves, and making changes in their lives to accommodate who they’ve become,” concludes Walitt.

The only other medication approved for fibromyalgia treatment in the U.S. is the anti-convulsant pregabalin, known by the brand name Lyrica. The Cochrane Library plans to publish a review of its effectiveness later this year.

Intensive neuroscientific research is needed to reveal the underlying causes of fibromyalgia and other pain syndromes, say the researchers. In the meantime, combinations of various medications as well as combinations of drug and non-drug treatments may offer better symptom control for sufferers.

United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced that Roberto J. Velasquez, a San Diego area clinical psychologist, was sentenced for perpetrating a multi-year fraud scheme where he falsified medical certifications to the federal government. Chief District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz sentenced Velasquez to serve 21 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release and ordered Velasquez to pay more than $1.5 million in restitution to the Social Security Administration.

According to court documents, Velasquez masterminded a scheme whereby he falsely certified that dozens of patients were disabled, when in fact they were not. To further the fraud, Velasquez made up patient histories, fabricated test results, suggested symptoms and complaints that did not exist, intentionally underestimated patient scores on standardized tests, and lied about the length of time he had been seeing the patients. In exchange for each false report, Velasquez charged his patients a $200 kickback.

In his plea agreement, Velasquez admitted that he falsified two different types of disability reports. First, Velasquez falsified Medical Certification for Disability Exception Forms (Forms N-648), which are used by the Department of Homeland Security during the naturalization process. Velasquez’s false certifications allowed certain immigrants to avoid taking the English language and Civics portions of the U.S. citizenship exam. Based on the fraudulent N-648 forms, the Department of Homeland Security granted disability exemptions to approximately 50 immigrants who were not actually disabled.

Velasquez also admitted that he submitted fraudulent medical reports to the Social Security Administration, falsely certifying that certain patients were eligible for disability benefits when he knew they were not. Beginning in 2006, and continuing up to the date of Velasquez’s arrest in April 2012, the Social Security Administration paid out at least $1.5 million in unwarranted disability benefits based on Velasquez’s false certifications. Velasquez also admitted that approximately 33% of his patient files contained fabrications, false statements, and false certifications of disability.

The fraud was uncovered through an undercover operation conducted jointly by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security Investigations, and the Office of Inspector General, Social Security Administration. The investigation revealed Velasquez’s disregard for federal disability requirements. He coached his patients who were attempting to skirt the citizenship requirements, instructing them to use poor English during their interviews and not mention that they had a college education. Velasquez also lied about the length of time he had been treating his patients, in order to create a “track record” that would satisfy reviewers at the Social Security Administration, where he had previously worked as a consultant.

A WCAB panel in the case of Crispin Mendez-Correa v Vevoda Dairy elaborated on the elements necessary to hold an applicant personally liable for payment of his own self procured medical expenses for treatment outside of an MPN. The panel concluded that although the employer is not responsible for payment of the treatment, similarly the applicant is not personally liable for the treatment either unless he “intended” at the time to treat at his own expense.

This was an admitted injury claim that occurred in Humbolt County. Applicant obtained treatment within the MPN until he was MMI. Applicant then moved to Southern California where he obtained an attorney who designated Khalid Ahmed, M.D., as primary treating physician notwithstanding defendant’s objection that the doctor was not in defendant’s MPN. Numerous other non-MPN providers subsequently filed treatment, medical legal and other liens in the case. There was no evidence at trial that applicant chose to go outside of the MPN “at his own expense” instead of using the employer provided care. Indeed, the record did not reflect why he went outside the MPN except that his attorney sent him to a non MPN physician. He was ultimately awarded 7% permanent disability and future medical care.

With respect to the treatment liens, the WCJ stated that “the applicant, in designating Dr. Khalid Ahmed as his non-MPN PTP, obtained self-procured medical treatment outside defendant’s MPN at his own expense under Labor Code section 4605.” The WCAB panel agreed that the employer was not responsible, but reversed indicating “that the WCJ incorrectly concluded that any and all medical treatment obtained outside of a properly noticed MPN is necessarily self-procured by the injured worker at his own expense pursuant to section 4605. The WCAB panel concluded “that is not the law.”

When a provider treats an industrially injured worker and takes certain actions such as submitting reports and billing statements to the employers’ insurance carrier, accepting payment from that carrier and/or seeking to obtain payment by filing a lien claim, the WCAB obtains exclusive jurisdiction over the payment dispute. Regardless of whether a lien claim is filed, the injured worker is only liable for medical treatment of an industrial injury that he or she intended to self-procure at his or her own expense pursuant to section 4605. The Appeals Board is authorized by section 4903 to “hear and determine any issue growing out of a controversy as to whether or not the physician was supplied by the employer or chosen by the employee at his own expense.” However, the authority to determine if a bill is the injured worker’s obligation under section 4605 is not the same as exercising jurisdiction under section 4903 to allow and determine a lien against compensation.

“If applicant intentionally self-procured medical treatment pursuant to section 4605 he would be personally liable under that section for the cost of the treatment, and the Appeals Board would have no jurisdiction to determine its reasonable value or to hold defendant liable for it as part of the applicant’s workers’ compensation.” .. “However, in this case there is no evidence that applicant intended to self-procure medical treatment from any lien claimants at his own expense pursuant to section 4605 following his move to Southern California.”