Authorizes licensed clinical social workers to provide services to injured employees under workers' compensation coverage

Summary of provisions

Section 1: Adds a new Workers' Compensation Law section 13-p to provide that a "licensed clinical social worker" is a person who has been duly licensed and registered as a licensed clinical social worker pursuant to article 154 of the education law, as it is used in this section.

In addition, it amends the Workers' Compensation Law to include licensed clinical social workers as eligible providers of treatment under the workers' compensation program.

In addition, clinical social workers who are authorized by the chair to provide services under this section, will not be authorized to perform independent medical examinations, unless the independent medical exams relate to the need for clinical social work services.

Justification

Currently, the only providers under the workers' compensation Law that may deliver mental health services to injured workers are physicians and licensed psychologists. Lack of access to qualified mental health care providers can prolong an injured workers' return to work.

The state education department website lists the total number of registered licensed psychologists, licensed clinical social workers and licensed master social workers. In each county listed, the total number of licensed social workers outnumbers psychologists at least eight to one. An extreme example is Wyoming County. Wyoming County is 596 square miles and largely rural with scattered small towns. It has a population of 43,424, of which there is only one licensed psychologist. By allowing clinical social workers to provide services which clearly lie within their scope of practice, the availability of service providers in Wyoming County could potentially increase by up to 400%, greatly increasing the pool of culturally competent mental health providers as well as treatment options for injured workers. It may also address geographic issues such as an injured worker who may not be inclined to travel 100 miles to receive services, but by increasing options, he or she may only have to travel 10 minutes, increasing accessibility, and increasing the probability that those who needs service will seek and utilize them.

On December 22, 2005, Judge Budd Goodman presiding in the New York County Supreme Court of the State of New York issued a decision that clarified that licensed clinical social workers, and licensed

psychologists share the equivalent scopes of practice and professional functions with respect the kinds of care that is provided under the Workers' Compensation system.

New York State has a long history of providing health care consumers with the freedom of choosing from a number of qualified health care service providers. Currently, licensed clinical social workers are eligible to receive reimbursement for the mental health services they provide to persons covered by (1) a variety of federal government health insurance plans, including the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBF), which covers 10 million federal employees, retirees and their dependents, the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) which is now referred to as Tricare and serves approximately 5.5 million beneficiaries, and Medicare, which has authorized clinical social workers to provide mental health services since 1990 and (2) essentially all managed behavioral health plans regionally and nationally as well as all group insurance plans in New York State. As such, licensed clinical social workers are currently eligible providers of mental health services to federal and state employees, and the dependents of military personnel stationed in New York, as well as to the many citizens of our state whose medical expenses are covered by managed behavioral and group health insurance plans.

This bill would grant the same access to mental health service providers for job-related injuries under the Workers' Compensation Law that is now available for an insured individual's non job-related injuries. Many rural and inner city areas throughout New York are continuously struggling with a lack of accessible and qualified providers of mental health services. This bill assists the injured workers in the shortage areas throughout the state by affording them the more accessible healthcare option of a licensed clinical social worker.

Furthermore, this bill would not result in increased costs. The cost of providing services to persons covered under New York's workers' compensation system is a function of the number of patients who require such care, not the number of covered professionals who may not provide it.

Lastly, licensed clinical social workers have unique skills in providing psychotherapeutic treatment within the context of the patient's environment as well as utilizing community, family and other social resources as an adjunct to treatment. It is this methodology which may reduce workers' compensation costs by enhancing the process of rehabilitating persons who suffer from work-related illnesses and injuries, and returning them more quickly to gainful employment.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:New Bill, but similar in some respects to S. 2360 of 2014.

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective

This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law.