Benefits Increase Gets an AB 486 Overhaul By Robert Warne - October 4, 2002With three months to go till AB 749 kicks in, it’s author, Assemblyman Thomas Calderon (D-Montebello) whipped up a batch of revisions, packed them into AB 486, and dropped the bill on the governor’s doorstep.
Unbeknown to the general public, but glaring in the eyes of seasoned legislative aficionados and those intimate with the AB 749 changes, were some loose ends that needed to be tied up.
By passing AB 486 the Legislature was able to address certain technical inconsistencies and ambiguities created by AB 749 when it was passed in February.
The new legislation specifically spells out the payment schedule and methods of determining compensation benefits starting Jan. 1, 2003. It also details the death benefits payable to dependants and partial dependants for pre 1991 through post 2006 deaths.
New health care organization (HCO) guidelines are provided in the legislation. Also the bill charges the Administrative Directory of the Department of Industrial Relations with the responsibility to establish an outpatient surgery fee schedule for services not covered under contract.
The bill also calls for the administrative director to adopt and enforce regulations and a code of ethics pertaining to administrative law judges. One such rule is that a workers’ compensation law judge’s pay will be withheld if a pending compensation decision extends beyond 90 days.
The legislation allows the Director of Industrial Relations to establish and alternative security deposit system for self-insured entities. The new system will allow self-insured employees to collectively pool their aggregate liabilities through the Self-Insurers’ Security Fund.
AB 468 was signed by Governor Gray Davis Sept. 25. The Legislature has to hope now that this last minute maintenance measure will allow AB 749 to come out of the gates strong without breaking down on its first lap through the system.
|