Tariffs

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REGISTRATION WITH THE OFFICE OF THE COMPENSATION COMMISSIONER

All suppliers are herewith invited to register as an approved supplier on the database of the Office of the Compensation Commissioner before 5 September 2008.

Click here to download the document.

ATTENTION OTs WORKING WITH WCA PATIENTS

I realise it has been far too long since I, Haley Norval, the OTASA Tariffs’s committee representative for WCA, has communicated with you our members. It was a very busy 2007 and as we enter 2008, I need to share some valuable information with you.

However firstly, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Corianne van Velze, who as our representative for many years, diligently negotiated with the Compensation Commisioner on behalf of OTASA as well as many OT’s. She is directly responsible for paving the road in allowing us to negotiate our fee structure and billing codes with WCA. Corianne, we really appreciate all your time and sacrifice and will miss your input and presence tremendously. However completely understand you need to focus on other areas of your profession. We wish you all the best and may our paths cross in the future.

Please note the 2007/2008 tariff list has been published by WCA and there is a copy on the OTASA website, or can be downloaded from the Dept of Labour website on www.wcomp.gov.za. There have been significant changes to the codes:

• Inclusion of Evaluation codes, 101 and 200 codes, which we have been requesting for a long time.
• Inclusion of the long awaited and essential procedures for Work Rehabilitation, which are imperative for most WCA patient treatments.
• There is also a suggested Assistive Device list that will hopefully be included in the new tariff structure. This has been recognised by the WCA as an important role of the Occupational Therapist nl. Assessing and prescribing the relevant equipment for a client. Further guidelines regarding this will be given should this item be included in the OT tariff structure for 2008.
• Then the most significant addition has been the Rehabilitation Progress Report. This form has received much discussion from us as the committee with those at WCA, both positive and negative feedback. However this form is here to stay for now. It has to be completed with every account submitted, for a month’s treatment. This is valid from July 2007. The form is at the end of the tariff list.
• Please note in order to understand the codes and implement the correct billing procedures, we have updated the OT Guide to Billing, applicable to WCA. This document is also available on the OTASA website.

Furthermore it is important to mention that we have made our submission to the Compensation Commisioner for our OT Tariffs structure for 2008/2009. The main emphasise of this submission was to clarify the balance between unit value and rand value, thus equating to the amount we are reimbursed for treatments provided. We had a very good meeting with the OT Ms Modiba and the relevant doctors involved in the tariffs procedures on the 16 th January 2007. We await the approval and hopefully tariff increase of the codes in the fee structure, which will be published in April 2008. Unfortunately I have recently been informed that Ms Modiba has resigned for WCA and as yet no new OT has been appointed. We have really seen significasnt changes in our negotiations since Ms Modiba has been involved and we extend our sincere thanks to her.

With regards to submission of accounts and payments, the procedure is still the same and a step by step document is also available on the website. The most important aspect is that the WCA is wanting to decentralise and thus urging service providers to go to their local labour departments to submit accounts. However to first make contact with a relevant person, email them a spread sheet with the correct information. Then schedule an appointment to submit your accounts, once confirmation has been given that claims have been accepted. There is also the opportunity to register with WCA for electronic bank payment and this form will also be posted on the website.

I think that I have covered all the aspects and developments of the past year and I need to extend my sincere thanks to especially Gill Coetzee and Dershnee Devan for assisting me with the submission as well as giving of their precious work time to assist in attending meetings. I really do appreciate it.

Should there be any queries that are not covered within the above document or those available on the web, please do not hesitate to contact me on 082 4545933 or email hnorval@telkomsa.net.

Good luck in working with the WCA, it is a trying process but lets look at those we are helping.

Regards

Haley Norval
Tariffs Committee OTASA
9 March 2008

Downloadable Documents:

1. Guide to Billing
2. Occupational Therapy Reference Procedure List (Revised 2007/04/05)
3. Protocol for Claim Submission to Compensation Commissioner
4. Credit Order Instruction
5. Kredietorder Instruksie