OLYMPIA – Legislation to provide better medical care to injured workers, while also reducing costs, was approved unanimously by the House late Saturday evening. By creating a network of medical providers for injured workers, it’s estimated $160 million could be saved over the next four years, helping keep costs down for businesses providing jobs.
Rep. Mike Sells, chair of the House Labor and Workforce Development Committee, sees this reform as a good way to help workers and businesses.
“Getting injured workers in for quality medical care soon after an accident not only improves their long-term health, it also helps them get back to work sooner,” said Sells, D-Everett. “We’re not only improving the quality of care, as this medical network will really drive down the costs needed to get our workers healthy and back to work.”
The measure, House Bill 1869, is one of several workers compensation reforms in the House estimated to save $720 million over four years. They’re also a part of the job creation package Gov. Gregoire announced in January, which included the unemployment insurance reform already passed by the Legislature.
“By taking a wide-ranging look at how injured workers are treated, we’ve managed to figure out a way to become more efficient, help employers in our communities, and enable workers to bounce back healthier,” Sells said. “With this reform, Washington’s workforce and businesses will be stronger as we move out of this recession.”
The industrial insurance provider network would be established by the Department of Labor and Industries to ensure providers were using best practices in treating injured workers. Workers, after their initial visit to an emergency room or doctor, would be required to utilize a local network provider.
By 2013, the legislation aims for 50 percent of all injured workers to use a network provider, and by 2015 having all workers being treated in the network.
Washington’s workers compensation fund is the seventh-largest in the nation, and covers about 2.3 million state workers. House Bill 1869 mirrors a companion bill in the Senate, and now passes to that body for further consideration.
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