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This month the Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation readopted in full the old law rules found at Chapters 41-69 of Title 28, Part 2 of the Texas Administrative Code.
For those who may not know, old law claims are claims with dates of injury prior to January 1, 1991. This means that the most recent old law claims are over 28 years old. The old law statutes and rules are continued in effect for these claims.
The readoption of the Division’s old law rules was done pursuant to Texas Government Code §2001.039, which requires a state agency to review each of its rules every four years and to readopt, readopt with amendment, or repeal the rule.
Public comments submitted during the review proposed amending the medical fee guidelines for old law claims. The Division noted that any suggested amendments may be considered in future rulemaking.
Amendments to the medical fee guidelines were proposed for old law claims because, according to prior statements by the Division, the only fee guideline applicable to old law claims is the1996 Medical Fee Guideline, which contains set reimbursement rates for services that are now over 23 years old.
Therefore, none of the Division’s current fee guidelines apply to old law claims. However, it is not uncommon for carriers to reimburse providers in old law claims using the current fee guidelines.
Copyright 2019,James M. Loughlin, Stone Loughlin & Swanson, LLP