Found out QME doctors in CA can charge $3,500 for a single eval

I was looking through my case file last night and saw the bill for my Qualified Medical Evaluation. I almost dropped my coffee when I saw it was $3,500 for a 45 minute appointment. The doctor barely looked at my MRI and spent most of the time typing on his laptop. How is this legal when injured workers are barely getting by on temporary disability? Has anyone else seen these crazy amounts on their QME invoices?

2 comments

2 Comments

rileyellis13d ago

Right, $3,500 for 45 minutes of somebody ignoring your MRI and clicking around on a laptop. That's a steal for basically getting ghosted with a medical degree. I swear these QME doctors have the best gig going, they charge like a luxury car payment for what amounts to a bad date where you do all the talking. And the kicker is you're probably still paying off that bill years later while they're off buying a boat. The whole system is a racket designed to make sure the insurance company gets the last laugh while you're stuck eating ramen.

grace_knight7013d ago

And don't forget the part where they spend most of that time typing up a report that somehow finds your pre-existing condition was actually the problem, not the 50 pound box you threw your back out lifting at work. Like rileyellis said, it's a racket. I had a friend who went through this, the QME literally mentioned a chiropractor visit from 2007 as proof their injury was degenerative. Meanwhile the guy was doing fine until that warehouse job. The whole thing is designed to make you feel like you're the one committing fraud just by trying to get what you're owed.