Legislative Update is a brief synopsis of relevant legislative activity currently taking place in Accident Fund core and accommodation states. For more details or further documentation on any of these legislative activities, contact your business development consultant.
Federal
AFHI is very pleased that Congressional leaders came to an agreement early in January to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA). The legislation, now signed by President Obama, will reauthorize TRIA through Dec. 31, 2020, and will increase the program trigger from $100 million to $200 million in increments of $20 million, beginning next year. This is positive news for our industry as a whole. TRIA has been, and will continue to be, very important to the health of the work comp insurance market and our economy. Passage of this legislation means our industry will be protected from catastrophic terrorist events in the future and ensures there will be no immediate impact on our current business, nor will we need to take a different approach as we evaluate our business.
State
Michigan
Senate Bill 211 Substitute, which creates a state-funded fund from which firefighters with certain illnesses can claim benefits directly, was passed by the Legislature and signed by Governor Rick Snyder. Upon signing the bill Governor Snyder noted that no funding has been appropriated to pay for the legislation. He called for the Legislature to identify a stable, long-term funding source. Because the Substitute does not contain the required appropriations for the fund, supporters will be pursuing funding this legislative session. Until financing is secured, however, firefighters will be unable to make claims against the fund.
Moving forward, AFHI will remain engaged in all legislative proceedings related to the funding of this initiative to mitigate industry exposure and risk.
Wisconsin
Changes to the Wisconsin Workers’ Compensation System?
Many industry insiders are communicating that the Governor will include a proposal in his 2015-17 budget bill to remove the Division of Workers’ Compensation from the Department of Workforce Development. Details surrounding this proposal are minimal. On Feb. 3, the Governor is anticipated to officially introduce his comprehensive budget proposal. At that time, AFHI will assess the impact of the proposal and identify a plan to address concerns or our support.
Physician Dispensing
The Wisconsin Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council is considering legislation to regulate physician dispensing by method of capping prices for repackaged drugs. The council discussed a proposal at their first meeting of the year. They’re particularly attempting to implement regulations to reimburse physician dispensers based on a medications’ original National Drug Code and to prohibit doctors from dispensing drugs within a week of the claimant’s injury. AFHI will continue working with our national trade partners and contracted lobbying firms to support the enactment of legislation limiting physician dispensing.
Tennessee
A Tennessee lawmaker has included a workers’ compensation opt-out for self-insured businesses among his legislative priorities for this year’s session, according to the Leaf-Chronicle newspaper. The paper reported that Sen. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, was sponsoring an opt-out proposal to drive down workers’ compensation costs and create more competition.
Texas
The Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation has adopted rules regarding indemnity payments via network access cards. The rules clarify that payment via access card is by mutual agreement of the claimant and the carrier. AIA, in its comments to the DWC, had requested that the rules specify that payment via access cards had to require the consent of both the claimant AND the insurer. The new rules also prohibit certain fees from being charged upon the access cards.
Arkansas
The Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission (AWCC) has proposed adoption of the Official Disability Guidelines (ODG) as the medical treatment guidelines for workers’ compensation medical treatment. The WCC is also proposing adoption of the ODG Workers’ Compensation Drug Formulary. The new treatment guidelines and drug formulary would be effective on July 1, 2015.
A hearing will be held on Jan. 29 regarding the WCC’s proposed rule adopting the treatment guidelines and drug formulary. The proposed rule provides that effective July 1, 2015, the scope and duration of medical treatment under workers’ compensation shall be provided in accordance with the current edition of ODG. Medical treatment provided in accordance with the ODG guidelines is presumed reasonable and necessary and would not be subject to utilization review for purposes of treatment.
Disclaimer of Liability
This document is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. This information is subject to change. Every effort is made to provide accurate and complete information in Accident Fund Holding’s Legislative Update. However, Accident Fund Holdings makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of the Update and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in the contents of this newsletter.
Our 2015 Annual Agent Meetings officially kick off on Wednesday, Jan. 28 – and we hope to see you at one of them. We look forward to gathering with our agent partners to share our key messages, including how ‘We Are Different’ in the marketplace. We’ll also share regional results and where we’re seeing the most success so you can continue to focus your energy on the markets that will benefit your business.
With the winter weather upon us, be sure your Accident Fund customers are taking advantage of our S.A.F.E: Slip and Fall Elimination campaign. This campaign increases awareness of winter weather-related slip-and-fall injuries and offers steps that can be taken to reduce their likelihood.
Accident Fund Holdings is pleased with the recent Congressional approval to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), which has now been signed into law by President Obama.