Florida Injury Attorneys Blog
The answer to this question is – NO. The 1st District Court of Appeals recently addressed this question and issued an opinion which can be found in Boley Centers, Inc./Comp Options v. William Vines, Case No. 1D14-5869 (November 16, 2015).
Specifically, the 1st DCA held that the JCC erred when he ordered the Employer/Carrier to pay the providers, in addition to any and all third party payors for all psychiatric bills because the JCC had no jurisdiction to award payment to the medical providers or to award reimbursement to any third party payor for services. The Court concluded that the JCC could only determine whether: (1) the care was for a compensable injury; (2) medically necessary; and/or (3) was not the Claimant’s responsibility. See Williams v. Triple J Enters., 650 So.2d 1114, 1116 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995)(explaining that although JCC does not have jurisdiction over reimbursement disputes between medical providers and carriers, JCC has jurisdiction to resolve issues of medical necessity as between the claimant and carrier).
As for the medical bills, AHCA (Agency for Healthcare Administration) has exclusive jurisdiction over these disputes between the Employer/Carrier and the medical doctor; thus the claimant lacks standing to seek payments on behalf of the physician. See Avalon Center v. Hardaway, 994 So.2d 388 (Fla 1st DCA 2008).
This is a tricky area to navigate; however, with the help of our office we can ensure that your rights are protected.