Personal Injury Protection

MSNJ Comments on Proposed PIP Regulations

MSNJ filed comments on a rule proposed by the New Jersey Department of Banking & Insurance that would make comprehensive changes to the personal injury protection (PIP) program. The proposed rule adds over 1,000 codes to the PIP fee schedule and makes other changes including a standardized appeal process and new arbitration procedure.

MSNJ is generally supportive of the Department’s changes, which attempt to balance cost containment for auto insurance against a fair level of reimbursement for medical treatment. We have asked the Department for continued vigilance on the accuracy and independence of national data bases, more transparency on "off-list" usual, customary, and reasonable (UCR) fee determinations, and the possibility of a class arbitration mechanism. We also asked the Department to revisit the scheduled fees of targeted specialists who are important to the treatment of the PIP patient population to ensure that these physicians will continue to treat PIP patients. MSNJ’s overarching concern is to provide a fair level of reimbursement to ensure this patient population’s access to quality care.

The Department has expressed interest in our concerns. We will keep members updated on developments with the rule proposal.

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