California DWC Issues Revised Drug Formulary Regulations for 15-day Comment Period By Lonce LaMon and Newsline from the California DIR - July 18, 2017 The California Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) has issued modified proposed regulations to adopt the Medical Treatment Utilization Schedule (MTUS) drug formulary. The proposed rulemaking implements Assembly Bill 1124 (Statutes 2015, Chapter 525), which mandates adoption of an evidence-based drug formulary. Read More

California DWC Reports More Than 441,000 Lien Declarations Filed By Lonce LaMon and the CA DIR Newsline - July 18, 2017 The California Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) reports that 441,070 supplemental lien declaration forms were filed as required by Labor Code section 4903.05(c).  This represents half of the 882,648 liens filed in California’s workers’ compensation system between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2016 for which a filing fee was paid. Read More

California Insurance Commissioner Reacts To Near-Miss Of A Crash On Return Flight From Toronto. Dave Jones Says The Event Has Inspired Him To Spend A Night Updating His Will. By Lonce LaMon - July 17, 2017 The California Department of Insurance sent out a News Release just before Noon today stating that Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones had just sent a letter on Friday, July 14th 2017, to Air Canada and three aviation and transportation regulators requesting a “thorough and complete investigation” of a near miss of a plane he was on Friday, July 7th 2017.  Jones returned to San Francisco airport that night on Air Canada flight 759 from Toronto, Ontario, Canada where he chaired an international conference of insurance regulators who were focusing on climate change. Read More

California’s Workers’ Compensation System 2012 Senate Bill 863 Created Independent Medical Review Shows Progress By Lonce LaMon and California's DIR Newsline - July 13, 2017 California’s Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and its Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) posted a progress report today on the department’s Independent Medical Review (IMR) program. IMR is the medical dispute resolution process that uses medical expertise to obtain consistent, evidence-based decisions and is one of the most important components of Senate Bill 863, Governor Brown’s landmark 2012 workers’ compensation reform. The 2017 Independent Medical Review Report: Analysis of 2016 Data provides an evaluation of the program during the third complete year in which IMR data was available for all dates of injury. The report features comparisons with figures provided in the previous report, the 2016 Independent Medical Review Report: Analysis of 2014 – 2015 Data. Read More

More News

July 10, 2017 - Insurer Of Grenfell Tower Doubles Reserves

July 5, 2017 - CA Department of Worker's Compensation (DWC) Medical Unit Accepting Applications for Qualified Medical Evaluator Examination on October 21, 2017; DWC Posts Adjustments to Official Medical Fee Schedule (DMEPOS)

July 4, 2017 - Aifeng Su, Los Altos Acupuncturist, Charged With Insurance Fraud

June 30, 2017 - Richard Scheinberg, M.D., Santa Barbara Based Orthopedic Surgeon, Under Investigation By Santa Barbara District Attorney

June 29, 2017 - California DWC Posts Adjustments to Official Medical Fee Schedule (Hospital Outpatient Departments/ Ambulatory Surgical Centers)

June 28, 2017 - California's Department of Workers' Compensation Posts RAND Report on Recommendations for Fraud Prevention in the Workers’ Compensation System

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