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THE SENATE |
S.C.R. NO. |
187 |
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TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
requesting the state auditor to conduct an updated study of whether injured employees' access to medical care is being curtailed due to the practice of tying reimbursement rates for medical services to the medicare fee schedule.
WHEREAS, Hawaii's workers' compensation law was established to provide prompt and accurate benefits to employees who sustain work-related injuries or illnesses; however, some injured workers have encountered unreasonable difficulty in obtaining adequate medical services under the workers' compensation law and relevant administrative rules; and
WHEREAS, Act 234, Session Laws of Hawaii 1995, enacted the practice of limiting reimbursement rates of medical services for workers' compensation cases to one hundred ten per cent of the fees in the Medicare Resource Based Relative Value Scale system as applicable to Hawaii, and this practice took effect on January 1, 1997, pursuant to Act 260, Session Laws of Hawaii 1996; and
WHEREAS, there have been reports of health care providers not accepting workers' compensation cases due to the limitation on reimbursement rates enacted by Act 234 (1995); and
WHEREAS, Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 147, S.D. 1 (2001 Regular Session), requested the State Auditor to conduct a study of whether injured workers' access to medical care was being curtailed by linking reimbursement rates of medical services to the Medicare fee schedule; and
WHEREAS, in March 2002, the State Auditor submitted to the Legislature an audit and study pursuant to Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 147, S.D. 1 (2001), which audit found no significant evidence to demonstrate that injured workers' access to medical care was curtailed by tying reimbursement of medical services to the Medicare fee schedule; and
WHEREAS, despite the findings of the State Auditor in 2002, the impacts of Act 234, Session Laws of Hawaii 1995, may still exist, especially on the neighbor islands, in the form of injured workers' limited access to workers' compensation medical benefits, and further study is warranted to determine whether injured workers are able to justly receive appropriate medical benefits under state workers' compensation laws and relevant administrative rules; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the House of Representatives concurring, that the State Auditor is requested to conduct an updated study that determines whether access to medical care for all injured employees affected by the enactment of Act 234, Session Laws of Hawaii 1995, has been limited by that Act and the reasons for the limitations, with an emphasis on any developments within the past five years that have exacerbated the challenge of injured workers accessing adequate medical care, and the effects on injured workers residing on the neighbor islands; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State Auditor is requested to include in its findings, clarification of the procedure for injured employees to access medical care under workers' compensation and a review of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations' adherence to all applicable laws and administrative rules regarding the processing of workers' compensation claims to receive medical benefits; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State Auditor is requested to submit findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2010; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the State Auditor and the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations.
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OFFERED BY: |
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Workers' Compensation; Audit; Medical Benefits