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History
- Referred to labor
- Referred to labor
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Relates to pre-authorized procedures
In Assembly Committee · Labor · Sponsor Claudia Tenney
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S5476
Title of bill
An act to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to pre-authorized procedures
Purpose or general idea of bill
This bill would effectively repeal the medical treatment guidelines enacted by the workers compensation board in December of 2010.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1: Amends Subdivision 5 of section 13-a of the workers' compensation law such that the list of pre-authorized (medical) procedures issued by the workers' compensation board, with the approval of the superintendent of insurance;
-Shall be used and maintained for the sole purpose of expediting authorization for patient treatment.
-None of the workers comp preauthorized procedures shall be utilized as medical guidelines, used to direct patient care in any way, nor given any preference over an alternative form of treatment that has not been placed on the pre-authorized procedures list.
Justification
The New York State Workers' Compensation Board implemented its Medical Treatment Guidelines on December 1, 2010. The guidelines limit treatment by type, frequency (days per week), and duration (weeks) and failed to include treatment guidelines for injured workers with chronic conditions. Many of these patients require long-term chiropractic care to alleviate shoulder, neck and back pain and keep them on the job.
Under the new guidelines a patient will no longer receive treatment for a longer duration than is included in the guidelines if that patient does not obtain a variance from the carrier or Workers' Compensation Board. This process could be lengthy, in many cases taking a number of months, in which time the claimant may be denied treatment. This denial of treatment could hinder a claimant's ability to remain employed and cause the claimants medical condition to lead to financial distress. This is in direct opposition to the intent of the Workers' Compensation Law.
Furthermore, since an employer can refuse to reimburse a provider for treatment not included in the guidelines and a provider is prohibited by law from charging the patient, these guidelines are harming the ability of chiropractors to make the most cost-effective, medically sound long term treatment decisions for their patients. Further, the new guidelines are also having a negative impact on small business. In addition to increased paperwork, the higher regulatory compliance costs have forced many practitioners to layoff employees, and in some cases close their practices entirely.
Prior legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
Unknown.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.