Cleveland, Ohio – May 2, 2014 Following the keynote speakers, Jim Tressel, Exec. Vice President Univ. of Akron and Lauren Onkey PhD, Vice President Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Rebecca A. Reier, President of Med-Econ Inc., presented “The Unresolved issues of Robinson vs. Bates” to an audience of over 200 attorneys, judges and insurance executives at the Davis and Young 2014 Annual Law Seminar. Other lecturers on the program included a panel of Common Pleas Judges from Cuyahoga, Franklin and Lake Counties regarding what is “New and Old” in the courtroom and adding innovation in a changing legal industry.
As a Medical Billing Expert Witness, Mrs. Reier indicated how the Robinson vs. Bates ruling assists the Court in accurately identifying the Usual, Customary and Reasonableness of medical charges. More importantly the ruling allows transparency and an opportunity to identify fraud and abuse in such charges. Criminal activity is escalating at all levels of the medical care and services industry, estimated to be over 80 billion dollars a year. Fraud drives up insurance premiums for everything from healthcare to liability.
The Federal government recently released payment data of the largest healthcare providers in the country and in September 2014 will reveal financial arrangements of providers that can influence their choice of care for their patients. Although transparency does not imply fraud, it nevertheless encourages the public, law enforcement, legal professions and insurance carriers to insist upon accountability and affordability.
Mrs. Reier explained how the Expert Medical Billing Witness provides the Court with unbiased testimony regarding the propriety (validity) of medical service payment requests for personal injury claims. Her straightforward interpretation of the Robinson vs. Bates ruling is that the decision enables the court to avoid rendering a verdict in favor of the biggest bully - but instead to the plaintiff or defense counsel that has the most accurate and convincing data.
