However, the plan Governor Quinn announced last week doesn’t share the pain at all.  Rather, it places more pain on the backs of patients by slashing payments for injured workers’ medical care. The cuts are excessive and unwarranted. This is not reform.

Supporters of the Governor’s proposed cuts say that Illinois pays more than it should for treating injured workers. This simply isn’t true. Our fee schedule is based on what is required to treat cases that are often medically complicated, not to mention the mounds of extra paperwork they almost always require. For workers’ compensation cases, doctors often contend with human resource departments, insurers, and legal inquiries in addition to the time we  make for the patient. To make matters worse, reimbursement gets delayed whenever an employer contests whether an employee was injured on the job.

Let’s not forget that because of other poor public policy decisions, Illinois is a very expensive place to practice medicine, period. Our medical liability insurance premiums rank among the highest in the nation – I could move to any of our neighboring states and pay far less for coverage. The amount Illinois reimburses for treating Medicaid patients ranks among the lowest in the nation, and it takes 6 to 9 months for the state to pay for health care services provided to state employees.

All of these anti-medicine policies weigh heavily on the backs of medical practices and have made Illinois an unfriendly place for doctors. Gutting workers’ compensation reimbursements would only further the erosion of medical care here.

Illinois doctors understand the concerns of the business community and are willing to be a part of the dialogue to reform our system. Many doctors are small business owners and see both sides of this issue. We understand that a good solution will require concessions from all stakeholders.  What was proposed last week isn’t a solution, though – it is simply a new problem.

Sincerely,

Steven M. Malkin, MD, FACP
President, Illinois State Medical Society