Another state is taking aim at automobile crash rings. Kentucky HB 153 goes into effect in late June and makes it illegal to solicit victims involved in an automobile crash for medical treatment for 30 days following the incident.
Mark Treesh, executive director for the Insurance Institute of Kentucky, describes the scheme this way: "Unscrupulous providers learn of an accident and contact people involved, who may or may not be truly injured, with a promise of a cash payment. This is then followed by a series of treatments until personal injury protection (PIP) benefits, usually $10,000, are used up, at which time the patient is cut loose."
Frequently the care is inadequate or may be totally unrelated to the injuries sustained, and patients who truly are injured may be unable to get treatment later because their PIP benefits would have already been exhausted. "Whether the person was injured or not, in many instances the insurance-buying public has paid for unnecessary treatment," adds Treesh.
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