BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |ENATE RULES COMMITTEE             |                        SB 914|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                              |
          |(916) 651-1520    Fax: (916)      |                              |
          |327-4478                          |                              |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 


                                   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          DIGEST:   This bill strikes an out-of-date reference to the  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


                                   ****  END  ****