The 2019 shift in QME timelines caught me off guard

I was digging through old case files last week, trying to figure out why my 2018 claim moved so much faster than my buddy's 2024 one. Turns out, the average wait for a QME exam in Northern California went from around 45 days to nearly 90 days after the 2019 rule changes. I found that stat buried in a Workers' Comp Executive report, and it honestly explained a lot about the backlog I keep hearing about. The weird part is, nobody tells you this upfront, you just sit there and wonder if your file got lost. Has anyone else noticed their recent exams taking way longer than they used to, or did I just get lucky back then?

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samhunt8d ago

Doubts that the 2019 rules are really the main thing here, because wait times jump around for all kinds of reasons like panel availability and how many docs are even taking new patients in your area. Maybe it's just me but a single report from one region does not prove much, since 45 days back then could have been luck on your end, not the norm everyone else got. Bumping from 45 to 90 sounds bad on paper but if half those cases were settled or denied before a QME was even needed, the number does not mean what it looks like.

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