BILL NUMBER: AB 1376	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  SEPTEMBER 6, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 30, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 18, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Roger Hernández

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2013

   An act to amend  Sections 11018, 11435.30, 11435.35,
11435.40, and 11435.55 of, and to repeal Sections 11435.45 and
11435.50 of, the Government Code, and to amend Sections 4600 and 4620
of the Labor Code, relating to state government.  
Section 4600 of the Labor Code, relating to workers' compensation,
and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. 


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1376, as amended, Roger Hernández.  Administrative
adjudication: language assistance.   Workers'
compensation: medical treatment: interpreters.  
   Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system,
administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of
Workers' Compensation, that generally requires employers to secure
the payment of workers' compensation for injuries incurred by their
employees that arise out of, or in the course of, employment.
Existing law requires an employer to provide all medical services
reasonably required to cure or relieve the injured worker from the
effects of the injury. Under existing law, if the injured employee
cannot effectively communicate with his or her treating physician
because he or she cannot proficiently speak or understand the English
language, the injured employee is entitled to the services of a
qualified interpreter during medical treatment appointments. Existing
law requires that, to be a qualified interpreter for these purposes,
a person meet any requirements established by rule by the
administrative director, as specified.  
   This bill would provide that the requirement that a person meet
any requirements established by the administrative director in order
to be a qualified interpreter commences on March 1, 2014. This bill
would also make technical nonsubstantive changes.  
   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.  
   Existing law requires certain state agencies to provide language
assistance in adjudicative proceedings. Existing law requires the
State Personnel Board to establish, maintain, administer, and publish
annually for these purposes an updated list of certified
administrative hearing interpreters and medical examination
interpreters it has determined meet certain minimum standards.
Existing law requires the Department of Human Resources to designate
the languages for which certification shall be established and to
establish and charge fees for applications to take interpreter
examinations and for renewal of certifications. Existing law
authorizes the Department of Human Resources to remove the name of a
person from the list of certified interpreters if any specified
conditions occurs. Existing law authorizes a hearing agency to
provisionally qualify and use another interpreter if a certified
interpreter, as specified, cannot be present at the hearing.
 
   This bill would allow the Department of Human Resources, until
December 31, 2018, to maintain and publish lists of certified
administrative hearing and medical examination interpreters, as
specified. This bill would require a reasonable fee to be collected
from each interpreter seeking certification, to cover the reasonable
regulatory costs of administering the program. The bill would modify
the conditions under which an interpreter who is not included on one
of the lists of certified interpreters may act as an interpreter.

   Vote:  majority   2/3  . Appropriation:
no. Fiscal committee:  yes   no  .
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 4600 of the   Labor
Code   is amended to read: 
   4600.  (a) Medical, surgical, chiropractic, acupuncture, and
hospital treatment, including nursing, medicines, medical and
surgical supplies, crutches, and apparatuses, including orthotic and
prosthetic devices and services, that is reasonably required to cure
or relieve the injured worker from the effects of his or her injury
shall be provided by the employer. In the case of his or her neglect
or refusal reasonably to do so, the employer is liable for the
reasonable expense incurred by or on behalf of the employee in
providing treatment.
   (b) As used in this division and notwithstanding any other
 provision of  law, medical treatment that is
reasonably required to cure or relieve the injured worker from the
effects of his or her injury means treatment that is based upon the
guidelines adopted by the administrative director pursuant to Section
5307.27.
   (c) Unless the employer or the employer's insurer has established
or contracted with a medical provider network as provided for in
Section 4616, after 30 days from the date the injury is reported, the
employee may be treated by a physician of his or her own choice or
at a facility of his or her own choice within a reasonable geographic
area. A chiropractor shall not be a treating physician after the
employee has received the maximum number of chiropractic visits
allowed by subdivision  (d)   (c)  of
Section 4604.5.
   (d) (1) If an employee has notified his or her employer in writing
prior to the date of injury that he or she has a personal physician,
the employee shall have the right to be treated by that physician
from the date of injury if the employee has health care coverage for
nonoccupational injuries or illnesses on the date of injury in a
plan, policy, or fund as described in subdivisions (b), (c), and (d)
of Section 4616.7.
   (2) For purposes of paragraph (1), a personal physician shall meet
all of the following conditions:
   (A) Be the employee's regular physician and surgeon, licensed
pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of
the Business and Professions Code.
   (B) Be the employee's primary care physician and has previously
directed the medical treatment of the employee, and who retains the
employee's medical records, including his or her medical history.
"Personal physician" includes a medical group, if the medical group
is a single corporation or partnership composed of licensed doctors
of medicine or osteopathy, which operates an integrated
multispecialty medical group providing comprehensive medical services
predominantly for nonoccupational illnesses and injuries.
   (C) The physician agrees to be predesignated.
   (3) If the employee has health care coverage for nonoccupational
injuries or illnesses on the date of injury in a health care service
plan licensed pursuant to Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 1340)
of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, and the employer is
notified pursuant to paragraph (1), all medical treatment,
utilization review of medical treatment, access to medical treatment,
and other medical treatment issues shall be governed by Chapter 2.2
(commencing with Section 1340) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety
Code. Disputes regarding the provision of medical treatment shall be
resolved pursuant to Article 5.55 (commencing with Section 1374.30)
of Chapter 2.2 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code.
   (4) If the employee has health care coverage for nonoccupational
injuries or illnesses on the date of injury in a group health
insurance policy as described in Section 4616.7, all medical
treatment, utilization review of medical treatment, access to medical
treatment, and other medical treatment issues shall be governed by
the applicable provisions of the Insurance Code.
   (5) The insurer may require prior authorization of any
nonemergency treatment or diagnostic service and may conduct
reasonably necessary utilization review pursuant to Section 4610.
   (6) An employee shall be entitled to all medically appropriate
referrals by the personal physician to other physicians or medical
providers within the nonoccupational health care plan. An employee
shall be entitled to treatment by physicians or other medical
providers outside of the nonoccupational health care plan pursuant to
standards established in Article 5 (commencing with Section 1367) of
Chapter 2.2 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code.
   (e) (1) When at the request of the employer, the employer's
insurer, the administrative director, the appeals board, or a workers'
compensation administrative law judge, the employee submits to
examination by a physician, he or she shall be entitled to receive,
in addition to all other benefits herein provided, all reasonable
expenses of transportation, meals, and lodging incident to reporting
for the examination, together with one day of temporary disability
indemnity for each day of wages lost in submitting to the
examination.
   (2) Regardless of the date of injury, "reasonable expenses of
transportation" includes mileage fees from the employee's home to the
place of the examination and back at the rate of twenty-one cents
($0.21) a mile or the mileage rate adopted by the Director of Human
Resources pursuant to Section 19820 of the Government Code, whichever
is higher, plus any bridge tolls. The mileage and tolls shall be
paid to the employee at the time he or she is given notification of
the time and place of the examination.
   (f) When at the request of the employer, the employer's insurer,
the administrative director, the appeals board, or a workers'
compensation administrative law judge, an employee submits to
examination by a physician and the employee does not proficiently
speak or understand the English language, he or she shall be entitled
to the services of a qualified interpreter in accordance with
conditions and a fee schedule prescribed by the administrative
director. These services shall be provided by the employer. For
purposes of this section, "qualified interpreter" means a language
interpreter certified, or deemed certified, pursuant to Article 8
(commencing with Section 11435.05) of Chapter 4.5 of Part 1 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of, or Section 68566 of, the Government Code.
   (g) If the injured employee cannot effectively communicate with
his or her treating physician because he or she cannot proficiently
speak or understand the English language, the injured employee is
entitled to the services of a qualified interpreter during medical
treatment appointments. To be a qualified interpreter for purposes of
medical treatment appointments, an interpreter is not required to
meet the requirements of subdivision (f), but  commencing March
1, 2014,  shall meet any requirements established by rule by the
administrative director that are substantially similar to the
requirements set forth in Section 1367.04 of the Health and Safety
 Code.   Code, notwithstanding any other
effective date established in regulations.  The administrative
director shall adopt a fee schedule for qualified interpreter fees in
accordance with this section. Upon request of the injured employee,
the employer or insurance carrier shall pay for interpreter services.
An employer shall not be required to pay for the services of an
interpreter who is not certified or is provisionally certified by the
person conducting the medical treatment or examination unless either
the employer consents in advance to the selection of the individual
who provides the interpreting service or the injured worker requires
interpreting service in a language other than the languages
designated pursuant to Section 11435.40 of the Government Code.
   (h) Home health care services shall be provided as medical
treatment only if reasonably required to cure or relieve the injured
employee from the effects of his or her injury and prescribed by a
physician and surgeon licensed pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with
Section 2000) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code,
and subject to Section 5307.1 or 5703.8. The employer shall not be
liable for home health care services that are provided more than 14
days prior to the date of the employer's receipt of the physician's
prescription.
   SEC. 2.    This act is an urgency statute necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety
within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go
into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
 
   In order to avoid jeopardizing injured workers' access to
medically necessary services, it is necessary that this bill take
effect immediately.  All matter omitted in this version of the
bill appears in the bill as amended in the Assembly April 30, 2013.
(JR11)