Many injured employees don’t understand the difference between there employer sponsored group health insurance and their workers compensation medical benefits when they are hurt at work. This can be especially true of federal workers compensation claimants as there are few doctors that accept OWCP as a form of payment or truly understand the OWCP.
Federal workers comp will pay for any medical treatments and costs associated with an accepted work-related medical condition to a federal employee. However, federal doctors can be very difficult to find. Many doctors don’t understand the differences between state and federal law when it comes to workers compensation medical billing. While it is not necessarily difficult, it can be confusing and it is usually much different than operating under the laws in their own state.
These differences can make it hard to find a physician that understands how to best help federal employees that are injured on the job. Many doctors can treat the injury, but their understanding of the billing system keeps them from taking on federal OWCP patients.
In fact, once you are in the doctor’s office and they discover you are a federal workers compensation patient, they may tell you that they can only treat you under your regular health insurance. Many injured workers give the doctor their insurance information and proceed to get the treatment, and this may be the best decision because the end goal is to get the most out of your recovery and the best results and residuals possible. If you have already selected this doctor based on credentials/reputation, it may be worth it to let the OWCP chips fall and pursue the health care out of your own pocket.
However, if this doctor is not interested in working with the federal workers compensation representatives and submitting bills to the OWCP, it may pose a big issue in the process of filing a new claim, getting monetary benefits, and having the work injury medical bills paid.
Using a federal doctor can be the answer. FedDoctor.com tries to help federal employees nationwide understand the differences between the state and federal workers composition systems. We want every federal employee to be able to find a top quality local physician that can help them recover from their injury as well as help them with the paperwork required by the OWCP to get all of the other benefits they are entitled to.
Tell your friends and co-workers to use FedDoctor and let your union know that this is a place that supports the federal workforce. It is free to use and if we don’t have a doctor listed in your area, submit your info to us and let us know you are looking. When we find someone there, we will let you know.
Whether you need an impairment ratings for a schedule award claim, a total knee replacement operation, or maybe just a few visits with a physical therapist, FedDoctor wants to help you get on your way back to recovery.
Tags: federal doctor, federal workers comp doctor, federal workers compensation doctor, owcp doctor, schedule award doctor