by Vince A. Toreno, Esq.

The Board continues to experience delays processing filings through EDI. On April 7, 2014, the State Board’s website reflected that the Board is currently processing transactions received on February 20, 2014. This can make claims handling more challenging when the initial WC-1 is filed by the TPA through the EDI system. Until the First Report is processed about six weeks later, a State Board claim number cannot be generated, and no further filings will be accepted until the Board number is issued.

Attorneys who file claim forms through ICMS have no problems getting filing confirmation the same day, and usually within seconds of filing, because the confirmations are automatically generated by the ICMS system. Since the EDI system does not allow this, we recommend ensuring that you send copies of any filed documents to the claimant/claimant’s attorney (which is required) but also make sure to document in your system that the form has been transmitted to the Board even if the Board will not acknowledge it for weeks.

The Board recognizes the challenges caused by EDI delays and continues to work to improve the system, but we recommend this extra layer of protection in the meantime.