BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|ENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 914|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 914
Author: Mendoza (D)
Introduced:1/26/16
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & IND. REL. COMMITTEE: 4-0, 4/6/16
AYES: Mendoza, Stone, Leno, Mitchell
NO VOTE RECORDED: Jackson
SUBJECT: Workers compensation: medical provider networks:
independent medical reviews
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill strikes an out-of-date reference to the
American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine's
Occupational Medicine's Practice Guidelines in the California
Labor Code.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Establishes a workers' compensation system that provides
benefits to an employee who suffers from an injury or illness
that arises out of and in the course of employment,
irrespective of fault. This system requires all employers to
secure payment of benefits by either securing the consent of
the Department of Industrial Relations to self-insure or by
securing insurance against liability from an insurance company
duly authorized by the state.
SB 914
Page 2
2)Provides that 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. (Labor Code §4600)
3)Provides that the Administrative Director must adopt, after
public hearings, a medical treatment utilization schedule,
that shall incorporate the evidence-based, peer-reviewed,
nationally recognized standards of care and must address, at a
minimum, the frequency, duration, intensity, and
appropriateness of all treatment procedures and modalities
commonly performed in workers' compensation cases. (Labor Code
§5307.27)
This bill:
1)Strikes an out-of-date reference to the American College of
Occupational and Environmental Medicine's Occupational
Medicine Practice Guidelines.
2)Makes additional minor and technical changes to existing law.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified4/8/16)
California Neurology Society
California Society of Industrial Medicine and Surgery
California Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
OPPOSITION: (Verified4/8/16)
SB 914
Page 3
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The author notes that the Medical
Treatment Utilization Schedule (MTUS) was created in 2009, and
since that time has been the sole medical guideline for medical
treatment in the California workers' compensation system.
Despite this, some out-of-date Labor Code sections continue to
reference the predecessor American College of Occupational
Medicine's Medicine Practice Guidelines (ACOEM). SB 914 would
strike these out-of-date references, ensuring that existing law
accurately reflects the status of the MTUS as the sole medical
guideline, reducing confusion and increasing the clarity of
existing law.
Prepared by:Gideon Baum / L. & I.R. / (916) 651-1556
4/8/16 14:09:28
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