Statehouse Watch

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Welcome to the new MyMatrixx Statehouse Watch. Here, we will be featuring current policy developments in workers’ compensation impacting pharmacy in states across the country. Since workers’ compensation is heavily regulated by the individual states, MyMatrixx has been active in this process since we were first established. We will be sharing regular new policy updates, workers' compensation laws and and insights during the year with our interactive map and commentary on items of interest impacting the workers' compensation industry. To the extent workers' compensation is within the scope of any of these state laws, changes could be required to plan design and/or management.

Explained — what is the difference between regulation and legislation?

Learning the difference between these two distinct government actions is essential to understanding the process and meaning of the complex world of insurance services and benefits. This knowledge can help leaders better provide insight and guidance to their companies and clients regarding changes in state law and regulations.

Legislation

Legislation begins with state elected officials, including representatives and senators, crafting new ideas into bills to take through the legislative process. Once a bill is introduced, it will be assigned to a relevant committee for discussion and testimony in support and opposition from interested parties. These committees are typically where amendments are adopted. Once it passes out of committee, the piece of legislation will move to the floor vote of the chamber, house or senate, and be passed to the second chamber for the same process. Most bills introduced don’t get the needed support and die during this process. If the bill survives it will go to the Governor’s desk for signature, veto or passage without signature.

This process typically takes three to five months. The bill that is first introduced usually has many changes before it reaches the governor. Many bills are also short on detail, resulting in potential confusion on interpretation and how to implement the new law in the industry. If so, this detail can be spelled out in the regulatory process.

Regulation

After the legislative process is complete, the enacted law is sent to the relevant state agency for rule making. The agency commissioners are typically appointed by the governors. The agencies impacting workers’ compensation can be the Department of Insurance or Department of Labor. Regulations are designed to clarify legislation and help affected parties facilitate necessary changes to comply with the state law. This detail is outlined, proposed, comments are received and then finally adopted. In most states this process typically takes two to three months.

The Division of Insurance is responsible for regulating the business of insurance within its respective state. They have the authority to write and enforce rules. This includes investigations into practices in the claims payment industry. They have a primary responsibility to protect the consumer from fraud.

The role of the workers’ compensation regulator varies by each state, but they are primarily responsible for the administration of workers’ compensation claims, and provide administrative and judicial services to assist in resolving disputes that arise in connection with claims for workers’ compensation benefits. One area of focus for this agency in many states is adoption of drug formularies, which are lists of name brand and generic prescriptions that can be used to treat the claimant, or injured worker. This allows for high quality of medical care and promotes return to work in a timely fashion, all while reducing administrative burden and cost.

Statehouse Watch

Government Building

California Announces Final Comment Period for Pharmaceutical Fee Schedule

On June 13, 2024, the California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) published amended proposed rule changes to the Physician and Non-Physician Practitioner and Pharmaceutical Fee Schedules. These changes will add to costs for both program administration and the delivery pharmacy services.
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MyMatrixx PharmaWatch Louisiana Legislature Pushes Higher Drug Costs

2024 Louisiana Legislature Pushes Higher Drug Costs

Providing high-quality and cost-effective workers’ compensation pharmaceutical coverage has always been a goal of MyMatrixx by Evernorth. Unfortunately, Louisiana Senate Bill 444, if enacted, will make that more difficult as it will negatively impact how we provide pharmacy benefits to injured workers in Louisiana.
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CA DWC Hosts Public Hearing on Fee Schedules

On April 11, 2024, the California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) hosted a public hearing on proposed rule changes to the Physician and Non-Physician Practitioner Fee Schedule and Pharmaceutical Fee Schedule.
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Archived Policies

New York Notice

March 2021: For the latest updates on the New York Workers’ Compensation OnBoard modernization, please click on the link below.

OnBoard: Building A New Web-Based Claims System (ny.gov)