Workers’ Comp Executive is excited to announce the launch of a new regular feature for subscribers – topical articles written by outside industry experts on the workers’ comp issues of the day. The high value-added feature launched this week with a panel of three experts, with additional voices and some interesting guests brought into to …
The Division of Workers’ Compensation’s (DWC) attempts to create a copy service fee schedule for California’s workers’ comp system is likely heading for significant changes and another round of public comments. The results of the latest 15-day comment period show respondents pointing out erroneous legal references that would make the schedule more expensive than intended, …
The Division of Workers’ Compensation is continuing to tweak the regulations governing the medical provider networks (MPNs) in California’s workers’ comp system, but the latest draft to implement the SB 863 changes are still problematic. Employers, attorneys and others associated with the system mostly agree the latest iteration of the rules is an improvement, but …
Workers’ comp insiders from all corners of the industry reveal that 2014 is already shaping up to be a action-packed year for the California workers’ comp system. Not only will we see a continuation of past themes, there will be new issues rising. Beyond the ongoing efforts surrounding the implementation and defense of the SB …
The Division of Workers’ Compensation’s (DWC) first set of revisions to new rules governing the independent medical review (IMR) processes addressed some concerns, but also raised new ones for the payor community. Chief among them are concerns about unrealistic timelines, a weakening of SB 863’s call for standardization and the continued ability for some cases …
Department of Industrial Relations officials and workers’ comp insurance industry insiders insist there is more than enough waste and abuse in the system to increase benefits for injured workers. They maintain that any deal struck by employers and labor must create real savings lest the industry face another crisis. Noticeably absent from a recent panel discussion, …
The California Department of Insurance is proposing new regulations to move all the paper that carriers submit to an electronic filing system. The department touts the change as a way to boost efficiency of its operations, and wants to switch effective Jan. 1. But there is concern about whether workers’ comp carriers can meet the …
Ignoring the pleas of self-insured employers and workers’ comp carriers, the Division of Workers’ Compensation filed regulations with the Secretary of State that remove any price controls on fees charged by air ambulance providers when they transport seriously injured workers in California. The move staves off one potential lawsuit but may yet spawn other legal …