Personal Injury Protection and Billing in the Time of COVID-19

Dealing with injuries and medical issues due to the fault of another is always difficult and stressful, and in the times of the public health crisis surrounding COVID-19, there are more complexities. When it comes to personal injury circumstances for medical professionals, these complexities are mainly surrounding personal injury protection insurance. Many doctors are finding it hard to differentiate when it comes to billing, and how they should bill for masks, gloves, and other means of protection against the coronavirus. 

 

So how do medical professionals account for and bill the time and resources spent on coronavirus-related practices? As hours add up around screening, checking for symptoms, sanitizing, and more, a new code has been developed so that doctors can categorize and bill for time spent and resources needed that are related to COVID-19.  

 

What is personal injury protection?

Personal injury protection, or PIP, is put in place to cover medical benefits or loss of income and wages due to a motor vehicle accident. PIP provides a minimum of $10,000 and is also known as no-fault insurance. Typically, this covers the policyholder as well as passengers who may have been injured in an accident. 

 

In Florida, having PIP insurance is required, but it’s not a substitute for liability insurance. How much a policyholder has in PIP often depends on how extensive their health insurance is, since some plans cover car accident-related injuries.  

 

Billing in the time of COVID-19

When it comes to billing coronavirus-related items, medical professionals should use code 99072, according to the American Medical Association Current Procedural Terminology Editorial Panel. This is a new code that was developed for medical professionals to report additional practice expenses that occur during a public health emergency. This includes anything from supplies to materials to additional time spent by clinical staff. 

 

Circumstances surrounding code 99072

The 99072 code also applies to scenarios like speaking with a patient regarding symptoms over the phone, explaining social distancing and other procedures, screening, the time needed to sanitize, application and removal of personal protective equipment, and more. It’s important to note that code 99072 should only be reported when the service has taken place in a non-facility place of service setting, as well as in an area where it’s mandatory to take measures to mitigate the transmission of the disease that the public health emergency was issued for.

 

How Boltz Legal helps medical professionals

At Boltz Legal, we not only fight for victims of personal injury to get their full compensation and coverage, but we also assist medical professionals in obtaining proper payment of medical bills to the fullest extent of the law. If you have questions about billing related to COVID-19 and personal injury protection or feel you aren’t being paid the appropriate amount, please contact Brooke today. 

 

Brooke is a passionate, experienced personal injury attorney in Orlando who fights for her clients to get the compensation they deserve. Schedule your free phone consultation today.