STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3493

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 2017

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred H.B. No. 2017, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION TREATMENT PLANS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Authorize physicians to submit workers' compensation treatment plans to employers by certified mail or facsimile;

     (2)  Beginning January 1, 2021, require employers to authorize physicians to submit workers' compensation treatment plans to employers by certified mail, facsimile, secure web portal, or secure electronic mail; and

     (3)  Specify requirements for receipt and acceptance of treatment plans, including requiring an employer to file an objection to the treatment plan, evidence supporting the denial, and a copy of the denied treatment plan within seven business days after receipt.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Injured Workers Association; American Physical Therapy Association, Hawaii Chapter; and three individuals.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Human Resources of the City and County of Honolulu.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Department of Human Resources Development, and one individual.

     Your Committee finds that the State's existing system, which requires physicians to submit treatment plans in workers' compensation claims, is in need of modernization, given the many advancements in technology.  Providing physicians with options, including facsimile, for the transmittal of treatment plans will improve the efficiency and responsiveness of all parties in Hawaii's workers' compensation system.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Replacing "certified mail" with "mail" throughout the measure;

     (2)  Deleting all references to "secure web portal", "secure electronic mail", and "electronic mail address" throughout the measure;

     (3)  Requiring physicians to send treatment plans to an address or facsimile number provided by, rather than as directed by, the employer;

     (4)  Requiring an employer to file by mail or facsimile an objection to the treatment plan, evidence supporting the denial, and a copy of the denied treatment plan within ten business days after receipt, rather than within seven business days of receipt;

     (5)  Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose; and

     (6)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2017, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2017, H.D. 1, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Labor,

________________________________

GILBERT S.C. KEITH-AGARAN, Chair