Yes. When you get sent to be examined by the workers’ compensation carrier or your employer’s medical expert for an Independent Medical Examination (IME), they are required to pay your travel expenses in accordance with the Internal
Revenue Code Standard Mileage Rate (IRC-SMR). The IRC-SMR can be found on the IRS website: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=232017,00.html
Will my travel costs to my own doctor be reimbursed by Workers’ Comp?
Probably not. The general rule is that you do not get reimbursed for travel to your treating doctors. This question gets raised often, particularly during times like this when gas prices are high. You might be traveling 20 or more miles one way to go to your own doctor and if your treatment requires frequent visits, the miles can add up quickly. In order to get reimbursed for your travel expenses for medical treatment, you have to fit into an exception to the general rule of no reimbursement for travel to your treating physician. However, the law in this area is a bit murky, so fitting into this exception can be a bit challenging. The courts have identified a number of factors to be considered when determining whether your reasonable travel expenses for medical treatment should be covered by your employer.
The first question is whether the treatment sought is available locally. If treatment is available locally, then you are not entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses, except in extraordinary circumstances.
“Locally” means less than 100 miles. Travel exceeding 100 miles one way for medical treatment is “long distance” travel, not “local” travel as a matter of law. So if the treating doctor is 90 miles away, that’s probably considered “local” and not reimbursable; therefore, you would have to convince the judge that the facts of your particular circumstances are as strange and unusual as to be considered “extraordinary” to be reimbursed for your reasonable travel expenses. Of course, every case is different and every Workers’ Compensation Judge is likely to have his or her own philosophy on this issue.
What if treatment is available locally and you just don’t like or want to go to any of the local doctors? Well, when you choose a physician out of the local area, you are not entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses. Period.
If, however, treatment is not available locally, you are entitled to reimbursement for your reasonable travel expenses as long as you travel to a medical facility where others with the same condition are or would be referred.
