State News : Iowa

Here are the details of a new proposed bill out of the Iowa House that would change the way we handle alternate medical care, among other items:

House File 274

Bill Explanation:
This bill relates to the state's workers' compensation laws by modifying alternate care procedures for medical treatment, creating registries of physicians who treat and evaluate work=related injuries, providing for the retention of a medical director, creating a state workplace injury care providers registry fund, establishing a workers' compensation advisory council, providing for and appropriating fees, and providing effective dates.

MEDICAL AND ALTERNATE CARE. Code section 85.27(4), concerning the provision of medical services, requires an employer to provide written information about the state's workers' compensation laws to an employee upon receiving notification that the employee has suffered a work=related injury.

The employer has the right to predesignate a licensed physician to treat the injury and make necessary referrals and may predesignate a physician listed on the state registry of workplace injury care providers. If the employer does not predesignate a treating physician, the employee may designate a physician of the employee's choosing to provide the treatment. The physician predesignated by the employer or designated by the employee is required to provide ongoing written documentation of the physician's opinions, treatment recommendations, and care plan to the employee along with information about whether the opinions, recommendations, and care plan are in accord with either the official disability guidelines and treatment guidelines in workers' compensation published by the work loss data institute or the American college of occupational and environmental medicine practice guidelines (ACOEM), and if so, citation to the appropriate guidelines. The employee has the right to request and obtain a second opinion from another licensed physician of the employee's choosing at the employer's expense. If the employer or employee is dissatisfied with the care of a treating physician predesignated or designated by the other party or with any referral made by that physician, the employer and employee may mutually agree to alternate care. If they cannot agree on alternate care, either party may notify an insurance claims specialist within the division of workers' compensation, who shall, within five working days, schedule a conference between the parties to review the basis for dissatisfaction and provide an advisory opinion to resolve the dispute. If the parties still cannot agree on alternate care after this conference, the workers' compensation commissioner may, upon application and reasonable proof of the necessity, allow and order alternate care. The employee is responsible to make the application for alternate care and to provide such reasonable proof to the commissioner if the employer provided written information about the state's workers' compensation laws at the time of notification of the employee's injury, and predesignated a treating physician listed on the state registry of workplace injury care providers, and if the treating physician predesignated by the employer provided written documentation to the employee of the physician's opinions, treatment recommendations, and care plan along with citation to the appropriate treatment guidelines. The employer is responsible for making the application for alternate care and providing reasonable proof if the employer and predesignated treating physician did not act as described above or if the employee designated the treating physician to treat the work injury. The commissioner is not bound by the advisory opinion of the claims specialist and must conduct a hearing and issue a decision within 10 days of receipt of an application for alternate care. The employer has the right to request an employee to submit, as often as is reasonable and at a reasonable time and place to an examination by a licensed physician chosen by the employer for any purpose relevant to the employer's duties to provide benefits to the employee under the state's workers' compensation laws and at the employer's expense. If the employer makes the request in writing and pays all expenses, including transportation, the employee shall submit to the examination. Each time that the employer obtains an evaluation of an employee's permanent disability by a physician chosen by the employer, if the employee believes that the evaluation of disability is too low, the employee may obtain a subsequent examination and evaluation by a physician of the employee's choosing at the employer's expense, including transportation expenses to and from the place of the examination.

PROVIDER REGISTRIES ==== FEES ==== MEDICAL DIRECTOR. New Code section 85.73 requires the workers' compensation commissioner to establish and maintain a registry of licensed physicians that offer or provide treatment of work=related injuries. The commissioner shall, by administrative rule, establish requirements for a physician to be listed on the registry and establish a registration fee. The provision shall not be construed to require a physician to be listed on the registry in order to offer or provide treatment of work=related injuries or to prohibit an employer or employee from predesignating or designating a physician to provide treatment who is not listed on the registry.

New Code section 85.74 requires the commissioner to establish and maintain a separate registry of licensed physicians trained to perform independent medical evaluations and to issue impairment ratings of injured employees. The commissioner shall establish, by administrative rule, minimum training requirements for a physician to be listed on the registry and establish a fee. A physician must be listed on the registry in order to perform independent medical evaluations and issue impairment ratings of injured employees in this state. The commissioner may prohibit an employer or employee from using an independent medical evaluation or impairment rating of an injured employee from a physician who is not listed on the registry as evidence at a hearing to determine benefits under the state's workers' compensation laws.

New Code section 85.76 authorizes the commissioner to retain the services of a medical director to assist the division of workers' compensation in advancing the field of occupational health in Iowa and to advise the commissioner on how to successfully apply and administer the state's workers' compensation laws.
STATE WORKPLACE INJURY CARE PROVIDERS REGISTRY FUND. All registration fees collected pursuant to new Code sections 85.73 and 85.74 shall be credited to the state workplace injury care providers registry fund created in new Code section 85.77 and are appropriated to the division of workers' compensation by new Code section 85.75 to carry out the provisions of new Code sections 85.73, 85.74, 85.75, 85.76, and 85.78, including establishing and maintaining the two physician registries, retaining a medical director, and for the expenses of the workers' compensation advisory council created in new Code section 85.78.

WORKERS' COMPENSATION ADVISORY COUNCIL. New Code section 85.78 establishes a workers' compensation advisory council within the division of workers' compensation that is composed of six members, three representing employers and three representing organized labor. The governor appoints two of the members, the president and the minority leader of the senate jointly appoint two members, and the speaker and the minority leader of the house of representatives jointly appoint two members. The members serve six=year staggered terms, except that for the initial terms beginning on January 1, 2014, one member appointed by the governor, one member representing employers, and one member representing organized labor shall be appointed for three=year terms to ensure that members serve staggered terms. The purpose of the council is to assist the workers' compensation commissioner in the successful administration of the division of workers' compensation and to make recommendations to the governor and the general assembly regarding workplace safety and improvements to the state's workers' compensation system.

EFFECTIVE DATES. The sections of the bill creating the provider registry for treatment of work injuries, the provider registry fund, the position of medical director, and the advisory council, and appropriating fees, take effect January 1, 2014. The sections of the bill pertaining to alternate care procedures and required registration of physicians performing independent medical evaluations and impairment ratings take effect July 1, 2014.

If you have any questions on this, please feel free to call Mark Bosscher or Lee Hook at 515-243-2100. We'd be happy to help answer any questions you might have, big or small!