Results of the 2020 SEAK Survey of IME Fees and Billing Practices
SEAK is proud to announce the publication of its 2020 IME Fee Survey. The survey was conducted in November of 2020. We received over 300 responses and were able to compile data regarding 56 different specialties.
The average IME now costs $2,128.
The highest reported IME charge was $50,000, by an orthopedic surgeon.
The lowest reported IME was $75, by a chiropractor.
A slight majority of independent medical examiners charge a flat fee for their IMEs.
The average length for the entire IME process (record review, examination, and report writing was approximately 6 hours. This means that on average, independent medical examiners earn $355 hour for IME work. Not surprisingly, the specialties with the longest average IMEs were all mental health professionals (psychiatry and psychology).
The average no-show fee for an IME was reported as $810.