Bill Text: CA AB1513 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Employment: workers' compensation and piece-rate compensation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2015-10-10 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 754, Statutes of 2015. [AB1513 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AB1513-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 1513	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 26, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Committee on Insurance

                        MARCH 5, 2015

   An act to repeal  Section 77.7   Sections
77.7, 127.6, and 138.65  of the Labor Code, relating to workers'
compensation.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1513, as amended, Committee on Insurance. Workers'
compensation: studies.
   Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system,
administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of
Workers' Compensation, to compensate an employee for injuries
sustained in the course of his or her employment.
   Existing law requires the Commission on Health and Safety and
Workers' Compensation to undertake a specified study examining the
causes of the number of insolvencies among workers' compensation
insurers to be conducted by an independent research organization, and
requires the commission and the Department of Industrial Relations,
no later than July 1, 2009, to publish the report of the study on its
Internet Web site and to inform the Legislature and the Governor of
the availability of the report. 
    Existing law requires the administrative director, in
consultation with the commission and other entities, to conduct a
study of medical treatment provided to workers who have sustained
industrial injuries and illness, and to report and make
recommendations to the Legislature on or before July 1, 2004. 

   Existing law requires the administrative director, after
consultation with the Insurance Commissioner, to contract with a
qualified organization to study the 2003 and 2004 legislative reforms
on insurance rates, and to submit the study to the Governor and
Legislature. Existing law requires the Governor and the Insurance
Commissioner to review that study and make recommendations, and
authorizes them to submit proposals to the Legislature. 
   This bill would repeal these obsolete workers' compensation study
requirements.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 77.7 of the Labor Code is repealed.
   SEC. 2.    Section 127.6 of the   Labor Code
  is repealed.  
   127.6.  (a) The administrative director shall, in consultation
with the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation,
other state agencies, and researchers and research institutions with
expertise in health care delivery and occupational health care
service, conduct a study of medical treatment provided to workers who
have sustained industrial injuries and illnesses. The study shall
focus on, but not be limited to, all of the following:
   (1) Factors contributing to the rising costs and utilization of
medical treatment and case management in the workers' compensation
system.
   (2) An evaluation of case management procedures that contribute to
or achieve early and sustained return to work within the employee's
temporary and permanent work restrictions.
   (3) Performance measures for medical services that reflect patient
outcomes.
   (4) Physician utilization, quality of care, and outcome
measurement data.
   (5) Patient satisfaction.
   (b) The administrative director shall begin the study on or before
July 1, 2003, and shall report and make recommendations to the
Legislature based on the results of the study on or before July 1,
2004.
   (c) In implementing this section, the administrative director
shall ensure the confidentiality and protection of patient-specific
data. 
   SEC. 3.    Section 138.65 of the   Labor
Code   is repealed.  
   138.65.  (a) The administrative director, after consultation with
the Insurance Commissioner, shall contract with a qualified
organization to study the effects of the 2003 and 2004 legislative
reforms on workers' compensation insurance rates. The study shall do,
but not be limited to, all of the following:
   (1) Identify and quantify the savings generated by the reforms.
   (2) Review workers' compensation insurance rates to determine the
extent to which the reform savings were reflected in rates. When
reviewing the rates, consideration shall be given to an insurer's
premium revenue, claim costs, and surplus levels.
   (3) Assess the effect of the reform savings on replenishing
surpluses for workers' compensation insurance coverage.
   (4) Review the effects of the reforms on the workers' compensation
insurance rates, marketplace, and competition.
   (5) Review the adequacy and accuracy of the pure premium rate as
recommended by the Workers' Compensation Insurance Bureau and the
pure premium rate adopted by the Insurance Commissioner.
   (b) Insurers shall submit to the contracting organization premium
revenue, claims costs, and surplus levels in different timing
aggregates as established by the contracting organization, but at
least quarterly and annually. The contracting organization may also
request additional materials when appropriate. The contracting
organization and the commission shall maintain strict confidentiality
of the data. An insurer that fails to comply with the reporting
requirements of this subdivision is subject to Section 11754 of the
Insurance Code.
   (c) The administrative director shall submit to the Governor, the
Insurance Commissioner, and the President pro Tempore of the Senate,
the Speaker of the Assembly, and the chairs of the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature, a progress report on the study on
January 1, 2005, and July 1, 2005, and the final study on or before
January 1, 2006. The Governor and the Insurance Commissioner shall
review the results of the study and make recommendations as to the
appropriateness of regulating insurance rates. If, after reviewing
the study, the Governor and the Insurance Commissioner determine that
the rates do not appropriately reflect the savings and the timing of
the savings associated with the 2003 and 2004 reforms, the Governor
and the Insurance Commissioner may submit proposals to the
Legislature. The proposals shall take into consideration how rates
should be regulated, and by whom. In no event shall the proposals
unfairly penalize insurers that have properly reflected the 2003 and
2004 reforms in their rates, or can verify that they have not
received any cost savings as a result of the reforms.
   (d) The cost of the study shall be borne by the insurers up to one
million dollars ($1,000,000). The cost of the study shall be
allocated to an insurer based on the insurer's proportionate share of
the market.