Board Increases Payment Rates for Medical and Dental Expenses

At its meeting on August 27, 2004, the three-member Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board voted unanimously to increase the medical and dental treatment reimbursement rates, effective for all bills with dates of service on or after July 1, 2004.

The Board set the following rates for dental and medical expenses:

• Dental Expenses: Pay 75 percent of the amount billed for dental expenses (which is about 25 percent higher than the current rate).
• Medical Expenses: Pay at the Medicare rate plus 20 percent for services covered by Medicare.
• Pay at 75 percent of the billed amount for services not covered by Medicare.
• Pay for durable medical equipment (DME) at the Medicare DME rate, except for prosthetics, eyeglasses, and foreign bills as noted below.
• Pay the following at 100 percent:
• Cosmetic surgery
• Prosthetics
• Hearing aids and eyeglasses
• Foreign providers without regard to the date of service, and accept bills in formats other than the standardized forms required of U.S. providers.