Forty-three states use a Medical Fee Schedule to standardize and regulate the costs associated with workers compensation medical care. There are two types of fee schedules used in the workers’ compensation industry: Relative Value Scale (RVS), and Usual, Customary, and Reasonable (UCR).
Relative...
Forty-three states use a Medical Fee Schedule to standardize and regulate the costs associated with workers compensation medical care. There are two types of fee schedules used in the workers’ compensation industry: Relative Value Scale (RVS), and Usual, Customary, and Reasonable (UCR).
Relative Value Scale
The RVS schedule is based on what services “should” cost relative to the resources of time, equipment, and expenses required to deliver medical services. The most common RVS schedule is Medicare’s Resource-Based RVS, or RBRVS. Many states use the RBRVS as their starting point, or base value. This is the most common fee schedule – used by 35 states and Washington DC.
Usual, Customary and Reasonable
The UCR schedule is based on what medical providers “typically” charge for medical services. References tables developed by independent data analytic service companies are used to determine, or aggregate, the values. One of the most common reference tables is the Relative Values for Physicians (RVP) table.
