Title 34, Chapter 9, Section 205
( 34-9-205)
(a) Fees of physicians and charges of hospitals and other services
under this chapter shall be subject to the approval of the State
Board of Workers' Compensation. No physician, hospital, or other
provider of services shall be entitled to collect any fee unless
reports required by the board have been made. (b) Annually the board shall publish a list by geographical location
of usual, customary, and reasonable charges for all medical services
provided under subsection (a) of this Code section. The board may
consult with medical specialists in preparing said list. Fees
within this list shall be presumed reasonable. No physician or
hospital or medical supplier shall bill the employee for authorized
medical treatment; provided, however, that if an employee fails to
notify a physician, hospital, or medical supplier that he or she is
being treated for an injury covered by workers' compensation
insurance, such provider of medical services shall not be civilly
liable to any person for erroneous billing for such covered
treatment if the billing error is corrected by the provider upon
notice of the same. The board may require recommendations from a
panel of appropriate peers of the physician or hospital or other
authorized medical supplier in determining whether the fees
submitted and necessity of services rendered were reasonable. The
recommendations of the panel of appropriate peers shall be evidence
of the reasonableness of fees and necessity of service which the
board shall consider in its determinations. (c) Any party requesting peer review pursuant to the provisions of
this Code section shall pay to the board such filing costs for peer
review as established by the board; provided, however, the
prevailing party in any peer review request shall be entitled to
recover its filing costs, if any, from the party which does not
prevail. |