Doctors Dispute Florida Workers’ Compensation Report

Doctors are disputing a state report saying drugs dispensed by physicians directly to patients are raising workers’ compensation rates.

The Florida Medical Association said in a statement issued Tuesday that doctors were unfairly targeted in the annual report released last week by the Office of Insurance Regulation.

The report notes that premiums paid by employers have dropped 56 percent since passage of a 2003 law designed to reduce rates although they have increased in each of the past three years.

It said further reductions would be possible if Florida limited how much doctors can charge for repackaged drugs they sell to patients.

The FMA says that’s a bogus claim because the report itself shows virtually no difference in the cost of such drugs whether dispensed by doctors or pharmacies.