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Comment Period Open for Pharmacy Fee Regulations

The Division of Workers’ Compensation is taking public comments before an April hearing on proposed changes to the workers’ comp pharmacy drug reimbursement and dispensing fee regulations. The plan includes a proposed two-tier dispensing fee that generated controversy before but otherwise aligns the program with the Medi-Cal pharmacy fee regulations. It includes modifications to the … Read More »

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Single Payer Health, Presumptions & Expanded Benefits Bills Introduced

California legislators are setting the stage for the second half of the legislative session by introducing bills to create a single-payer health care system, expand 4850 leave for public safety officers, create a presumption for farmworkers and expand workers’ comp medical benefits for injured workers who have to travel for treatment. Legislators also introduced bills … Read More »

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April Hearing For September 1st Workers’ Comp Regulations

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara will hold a virtual public hearing on April 24th to take public comment on the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau’s proposed regulatory changes for workers’ comp policies incepting on or after September 1st, 2023. The rule changes include a major restructuring of the classifications for the restaurant and tavern industry, updated … Read More »

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Contractors, Brokers Face New Workers’ Comp Laws

The 2022 legislative session was a small year for workers’ compensation, but the industry still faces several new laws. As of January 1st, four classes of contractors are now required to carry workers’ comp insurance even if they have no employees, while brokers face new fraud training requirements to get or maintain their licenses. For … Read More »

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Little Pushback for QME Regulatory Plans

Officials at the Division of Workers’ Compensation say a formal proposal to update the state’s qualified medical evaluator (QME) regulations is in the works and should be released shortly. The proposed regulations follow a public forum comment period that generally produced positive comments from the provider and payer community but saw pushback from some attorneys. … Read More »

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WCAB Accused Of Using Underground Regulation

Five injured workers are asking the Second District Court of Appeal to declare unconstitutional the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board’s “grant and study” procedure that can delay resolution of workers’ comp claims by years in some cases. The plaintiffs maintain there is no authority to hold such cases indefinitely beyond the 60 days the Board has … Read More »

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DWC Gets One-sided Response to SB 863 Rulemaking

The Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) opened the rulemaking process to implement the SB 863 workers’ comp reforms to a full house of community participants including a diverse population of claims professionals, employer representatives, providers and attorneys. But there were far more listeners than speakers during this full day of testimony. When the day was done … Read More »

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Workers’ Comp Reporting Plan

Officials from the California Department of Industrial Relations and the Division of Workers’ Compensation are touting the administration’s efforts to rein in runaway medical costs with a 12-point plan. Destie Overpeck, chief counsel to the division, outlined the latest initiative — an update to the Workers’ Compensation Information System (WCIS) reporting regulations. She noted that one … Read More »

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