Insurance companies use many different forms in Georgia workers’ compensation claims. The Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation publishes these forms.
Take a look at this article to get a general overview of workers’ compensation forms. This article will focus on workers’ compensation forms that affect the medical treatment or testing you receive in your case.
Change of Physician Request/Agreement (Form WC-200(a), WC-200(b))
There are two versions of the Form WC-200. Form WC-200(a) is used when both parties agree to a change in the authorized treating physician. You should only receive this form if you agreed to change to a different doctor and agreed on a specific doctor to treat your injury. You should not receive this form if you did not agree to change doctors
Insurance companies and attorneys us a Form WC-200(b) whenever an injured worker or an employer wants to ask a judge to change the authorized treating physician. If you receive a Form WC-200(b), then your employer or their insurance company has requested to change your doctor.
Section B of this form indicates the requested change. Section C indicates the reason the insurance company has requested a change of doctors.
You will probably also receive a brief (a document arguing why the change should occur) and medical records. The law only provides 15 days to object to the request for change of physicians. If you receive this form, I recommend that you immediately contact a workers’ compensation attorney to find out what you can do.
Request for Authorization of Treatment or Testing by Authorized Medical Provider (Form WC-205)
The Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation created Form WC-205 to allow doctors to get quick answers from insurance companies about approval of medical treatment. A doctor can complete this form and fax or e-mail it to the insurance company.
The insurance adjuster must provide an answer regarding approval or denial of medical treatment or testing within five business days. When used, this form speeds up approval of medical treatment since it provides a deadline for insurance companies to respond.
It would be unusual for an injured worker to receive a Form WC-205 unless the injured worker’s authorized treating physician provided him or her with a copy of the form that was sent to the insurance company. Our firm often encourages doctors to use Form WC-205 to get an answer from the insurance company about authorized medical treatment because delay and denial of medical treatment is a serious problem in workers’ compensation cases.
Authorization and Consent to Release Information (Form WC-207)
A Form WC-207 is a medical authorization form. The insurance company uses this form to get medical records from the doctors who treat your work injury.
When requested, the Georgia Workers’ Compensation Act requires you to sign Form WC-207s for each medical provider that provides treatment for your work injury. Also, a judge can require you to sign a Form WC-207 to allow your employer to get medical records from doctors who treated you for similar conditions in the past.
Georgia law does not require you to sign a blank Form WC-207. The Form WC-207 should designate the doctor or other medical provider to whom it is addressed.
Also, you may have questions about whether a particular doctor has provided treatment for the injury or treatment for a condition or complaint reasonably related to the injury. If you have any questions about signing a Form WC-207 or other medical authorization, you may need to talk to a workers’ compensation attorney.
