IBC calls for regulation of medical assessment clinics

The insurance industry is calling for the accreditation and regulation of assessment clinic ownership to help put the brakes on fraudulent accident benefits claims. Fake accident treatment charges are costing insurers roughly $1.3 billion, a recent Toronto Star article says, citing unnamed sources in the insurance industry.To combat the fraudulent abuse of the system, IBC is calling for tighter regulation around the ownership and operation of medical assessment clinics. For example, ownership should be restricted to regulated health professionals, who could face discipline by a professional college if found guilty of filing fraudulent treatment charges, the Star article says.Such a measure would prevent bogus clinics from being “shut down one day and open[ing] up again the next,” Ralph Palumbo, IBC’s vice president of Ontario, told the Toronto Star.