The California workers compensation court has become a collection agency for unpaid bills. This issue is mirrored throughout the US as medical costs have soared and a single payer system has not yet been enacted as in European countries.
The study commission concluded that the volume of liens alone amounts to "coercion to settle." The report reveals that 35% of the present court calendar now involves liens. The cost to employers amounts to an estimated $200 Million annually. Over 450,000 liens are predicted to be filed this yea alone. Medical liens represent the vast majority of the liens filed in compensation cases.
Excluded from consideration in he report are Federal medical programs such a Medicare (Medicare Secondary Benefit claims), VA Medical claims and TRICARE (Military Health Plans.). Those claims can only be resolved only by a tribunal cloaked with Federal jurisdiction.
